My 12 year old daughter wants to start wearing make-up and I'm sort of on the fence with the issue. She has beautiful skin, which I would kill for and super thick long eyelashes, that if you don't look closely you would think they are fake. I don't think she needs it at all....I'm sure some of that is the "mom" in me. I have told her I was willing to let her do some colored lip glosses and light colored eye shadows, but she wants the whole package......eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, blush, foundation, lip liner, lipstick and a powder......

What age did you start wearing make-up and what age did you/ will you let your girls wear make-up?? I wasn't allowed to wear make-up till I was a Sophmore, and I know this was much much much much later then my friends.

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"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

Here's my two cents...

I let my daughter start wearing make-up when she went to middle school. That was 6th grade and now she is going into 8th grade.

I got the "everyone else is doing it" line so instead of her sneaking off to school and using someone else's makeup and over doing it...I let her use it at home. I get to see her face before she walks out the door. I taught her how to apply everything correctly and how less is more.

She uses eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, concealer and colored lip glosses.

My dd, age 12 going into 8th grade, started wearing concealer at the beginning of 7th grade. She also has blush, tinted lip glosses and powder which she rarely wears. She came home from school one day, this year, with mascara on. I told her I didn't want her sharing makeup and that if she wanted to wear mascara I would take her to the store and buy her some. The only thing she wears on a regular basis is the concealer to cover blemishes. Very rarely does she use the mascara.

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I didn't start wearing makeup on a daily basis till I was 32. LOL

I think that if my dd wanted to wear makeup at 12 I would let her wear some colored lip gloss, maybe a neutral color eye shadow and some blush, that would probably be it. But as me again in 5yrs

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I started at about 15, which would have been ten years ago when we had Urban Decay and Hard Candy and the cheaper knock-offs we could afford. So, I ended up with some really odd coloured mascaras, and things you wouldn't see now. I think it was okay at the time, though. I'd let her start putting it on at home, but not wear more than a clear lip gloss outside of the house for a few years.

I think it's better to teach her how to do it right and buy her the right stuff than tell her no and have her go to school and use someone elses and look all made up and trashy.

Can you take her for a girls day out and make an appointment to have a makeup consultaion done? They can tell her what would look good and how to apply it.

I don't think it's too young, she's trying to get comfortable with you looks and if it gives her a little more self confidence then I am all for it. Those preteen years are hard.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

That is a great idea.....I called our Dilliard's and have a day set up for next weekend.....now if I can arrange a babysitter.......

I do not want her to wear anyone else's makeup so I will let her wear the basics....I guess I'm also a little afraid of her ending up with skin issues...She's hasn't had them yet and some of her friends are starting to struggle with them....

Thanks for all the input!

__________________
"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

DD is 11, going into 8th grade this Fall. She has just recently been allowed to start wearing make-up. DH and I don't think she needs any, she is truly a beautiful young lady. However, those pre-teen years.....and, many girls in her grade level are older, and already wearing it. Heck, I saw a lot of them in sixth grade wearing it. Over the Summer DD is allowed to experiment a little, so she gets better at applying it. We've found lots of great deals on cosmetics, so, we have tried many brands and shades to find the right one. I also used to sell cosmetics, and OMG, if some of those customers knew what they looked like....YIKES. Yes, less is more, for sure. Anyway.....no heavy stuff, and if we're going out somewhere she can only wear a little powder, mascara and lip gloss. That's enuf, IMO. I understand the whole self-confidence issue, etc. DD has no acne problems, just gorgeous clear skin.....why hide it with tons of foundation???

Anyway, what I was really wanting to say is IMO, there is no set age, just what you feel is right.

HTH.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Get her some good make up and facial cleaners and her skin should be fine!
I started wearing make up maybe at 13 or 14, I can't remember. I started with just mascara and then foundation, blush, lip gloss. But the one thing my mom was insistent on was good, hypo allergenic make up. She took me to the Clinique counter, made the investment and I never had skin problems. I never had acne as a teenager/preteen and my mom didn't want the make up to be the cause of any skin problems.
Good luck. This is one aspect of having daughters that I'm NOT looking forward to, LOL!