Preteen girls…do they really need make-up???
“It starts with flavored lip gloss, maybe strawberry or bubble gum, then shimmery blush and before long, a mascara wand.
Well before they hit their teens, American girls are wearing makeup. As much as this may elicit groans, it’s also probably not a terrible surprise to anyone with preteenage girls in the house.”
via Wal-Mart’s geoGirl, Target’s Hello Kitty Cosmetics Bring Preteens and Makeup to Mainstream – WSJ.com.
Marketing make-up to young girls, (pre) pre-teen is here with lip gloss, blush, and even mascara.
Is this what little girls need? I remember “Little Lady” which was marketed to little girls in the ’50s so this really is nothing new.
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1950s-little-lady-bubble-bath-w-box-helene
“Up for auction “Every little girl should have her very own cosmetics” and back in the 50’s little girls loved to play grown up like t mommy with the make up toiletries designed by Helene Pessl, Inc. Fifth Ave. New York. In orginal box with product information insert. The 40z. bottle is full with lid securely in place. Very nice vintage collectable”
From the looks of the products available in the 50’s the focus was more on little girl bubble bath, cologne, and bath powder rather than lipstick, rouge and eye make-up.
I have no objection to flavored lip gloss with sunscreen, and perhaps some sunscreens marketed to the pre-teenage or younger girls as this may influence their use of these products as they get older and have more sun exposure but blush and especially mascara is another story.
Blush and mascara are product that need to be applied carefully. Blush applicators should be kept clean and not shared for the obvious reasons…skin bacteria can cause havoc with young skin. Mascara also can be problematic…it should be replaced at regular intervals so that bacteria does not contaminate the wand and get into the eye. It should be applied very carefully so as not to get in the eye and it should never be shared. Eye infections can cause extremely serious problems including loss of eyesight. Lip gloss is less problematic in my opinion but of course it should not be shared either.
It is my feeling the pre-teen group is being targeted by these particular companies for their own financial gain. Girls are concerned enough with their looks and weight and now they are being pushed to use mascara and blush which can be well be left for the teenagers which is way early enough.
The only way these companies will get the message is for us as parents to refuse to buy age inappropriate cosmetics for our girls and to let our girls know that it is okay to be themselves for just a little while longer.