MY MOM WON’T LET ME WEAR MAKEUP!!!

Hi Makeup Meltdown,

UGH, that STINKS! Makeup can be so much fun. I could spend HOURS at Claire’s or Sephora just looking at all the glittery, colorful lip gloss and eye shadow. So, if your friends are all wearing makeup, I totally get why you’d feel left out!

I’m definitely on your side in this one. 🙂 But first, let’s try to figure out why your mom won’t let you wear it. Has she ever told you WHY she doesn’t want you to wear any? Has she said there’s an age when you can?

Let’s look at some reasons why your mom might not like you wearing makeup and the possible solutions. I’m not guaranteeing the solutions will work, but they’re still things you could talk to your mom about.

1. WORRY: Makeup will make you look much older than you are. It’s hard for parents when kids grow up! (Which is funny, considering how much they want us to act more mature…) 
   SOLUTION: You don’t have to start with a full face of prom makeup! Talk to your mom about starting small. Lip gloss is a great first step. You can pick out a color that’s not too bright, and it’s hard to over-apply. (I mean, somehow Mackenzie manages, but…) You could also pick out a neutral eye shadow and mascara. “Neutral” just means it’s about the same color as your skin, so it doesn’t stand out as much.
2. WORRY: You’ll apply it badly and look like a clown. Sometimes when we start wearing makeup, we’re all overexcited and go bonkers with the glitter eye shadow and purple eyeliner, etc. Some kinds of makeup are easy – it’s hard to mess up lip gloss. But some techniques are really tricky! I’ve been playing with makeup for a while and I still CANNOT apply eyeliner without looking like a raccoon!
   SOLUTION: You could take a makeup class. Lots of department stores offer these for young people who are new to makeup. You might even suggest it as a fun mother-daughter bonding activity. But, if money’s an issue or your mom doesn’t have the time, there’s always YouTube. I know you’re a teenager, but if you search the web for “tween makeup,” you’ll find tons of videos for people just starting to wear makeup. If she sees you applying makeup correctly, that might help!
3. WORRY: You’ll put the makeup on but not get all of it off at the end of the day. Once you start wearing makeup, you have to be more careful about skin care. A lot of parents don’t want their kids to get their ears pierced until they’re old enough to take care of their ears after they’ve been pierced. So, they might have the same worry about makeup and taking good care of your skin.
   SOLUTION: Start paying attention to skin care now, even before your mom lets you wear makeup. When you talk to her about makeup, also talk about your plan for taking good care of your skin. Be sure to wash your face every night. Get a gentle cleanser and moisturizer from the drugstore, or makeup removal wipes. There are even products you can make for yourself using household ingredients Just don’t do what I did in my eleventh diary when I went crazy with the blueberry yogurt and ended up turning my whole face BLUE ☹️!!
4. WORRY: I think this might be the biggest worry of all—if you start wearing makeup, you won’t believe in your natural and inner beauty. You’ll think you only look good if you’re wearing makeup. Your mom was a young girl once, and she knows what it’s like to live in a world of fashion magazines and TV stars. She didn’t grow up with Instagram filters, but she still knows what they’re for. She wants, more than anything, for you to know you ARE beautiful and enough without makeup!
   SOLUTION: Tell your mom that you want to wear makeup because it’s fun, and because you get to be creative and express yourself. Also show her how much you appreciate your natural beauty and never let makeup replace it!

Hopefully, all of this will help your mom understand why you want to wear makeup, and she’ll finally agree to it.

Hey readers, do you like makeup? Why or why not? Do your parents let you wear makeup? Any advice for Makeup Meltdown?