Kids and Makeup

Katie: So what do you think is a good age for girls to start wearing makeup?

Aimee: I think it depends on the kind of makeup that they're wearing and the purpose, you know, because to me, it seems like there are two different kinds. You know, there are young children, young girls, young children, who wear play makeup, you know.

Katie: Yeah.

Aimee: It's a toy. It washes off easily, garish colors, very mild on the skin, and you know, it's literally just coloring in their face. It's not, you know, enhancing their features or trying to look as society thinks beautiful, you know. They're not covering up any pimples or spots, you know. It's not like that. It's just coloring in their face, trying to look more like a princess.

And I have a six-year old daughter and she loves makeup. She has her own, like, young like toy makeup and she asks permission to wear it, and I let her wear it. I bought some for her. I make sure that she can only do it if she has a clean face and clean hands and that she washes off properly at the end. And that she tidies it away afterwards.

Katie: That's good.

Aimee: She's actually on her final warning because she used to leave it out – and I've warned her I will throw it in the bin. Because I have a toddler and she wants to see what her big sister is doing and she wants to play with it, so she grabs it and makes a mess everywhere. So yeah, six-year old is on her final warning.

So I guess to answer your question, my six-year old is wearing her play makeup already. So it doesn't, yeah, it doesn't bother me. Young is –

Katie: How old were you when you started wearing makeup?

Aimee: Well, I love makeup, and that's probably where my daughter got it from. I wanted to wear makeup from a young age, the way my daughter does. I wasn't allowed. It was forbidden. And I first actually managed to buy a secret lipstick when I was about 9 or 10.

Katie: Secret lipstick.

Aimee: Yeah. I had to hide it from my mom, and she would only let me wear lip gloss when I was that age, and I wasn't allowed to wear any lip sticks, so I had to buy a secret one. And I was always so interested in my grandmother's makeup and my mom's makeup as well. But she never really wore much. She has a very simple sort of beauty routine.

I'm much more interested in it than she is – she ever was. So I don't know where I inherited that from, but my daughter has definitely inherited that from me. So maybe because it was forbidden for me that's why I was drawn to it more.

Katie: Makes it more tantalizing.

Aimee: I think so. That could be it, but yeah, it's a real hobby for me. I really, really love it. I wish I had more money to purchase more. You can never have enough.

Katie: You can never have too many lipsticks.

Aimee: I know. It's true.

Katie: What do you think about boys wearing makeup?

Aimee: If they want to wear makeup, then they should. Like it annoys me this horrible idea and concept of like men and boys have to be manly, like what is manly?

For me, makeup is an art. It really is. It's artistry. And, you know, if they want it, if they're feeling bad about their skin the way I feel bad about my skin, right. If I have pimples or spots, I'm lucky. I get to just cover up with like foundation and concealer, a bit of blusher. It makes me feel better.

But, you know, if there's like a boy who has, you know, going through teenage years and he's got bad skin and he wants to cover up, and his macho friends catch him wearing it or whatever people in school catch him wearing it and it can be a really bad situation for him. And I think that is awful. It is really, really terrible. I think boys should wear makeup as they like.

I actually follow quite a lot of makeup artists on social media. And I look at many, many pictures of different products and the art that they produce, and I follow male makeup artists as well. And the skills they have are unbelievable, honestly. The blending skills.

Katie: Their contouring.

Aimee: Yeah.

Katie: Oh my goodness.

Aimee: The blending skills and like covering up, you know, basically just like covering up their whole face and putting a new face on top of it.

Katie: It's pretty impressive.

Aimee: It's really impressive. It's so amazing. I would really enjoy a makeup lesson from some of the artists that I follow on different social media sites.

Katie: Absolutely.