Do you let your kids wear/play with your makeup?

I don't have kids of my own - I'm just a 20-something with an overactive biological clock (crying so hard) and I think about babies all the time. Last week, I was actually thinking about how I used to play with my mom's makeup when I was younger. I spent the first six or so years of my life growing up in China, and back then, cosmetics were even less regulated than now obviously, and despite being a doctor, I really don't think my mom thought that much about the chemicals in the products.

So apparently this site called Zulily (which is basically like Hautelook/ideeli/BTR for moms+kids) is having an event with Julep tomorrow, and they had a picture of a woman painting her nails with a little girl. Julep is a pretty expensive brand, and they don't have much polish in their bottles... on top of that, I don't know if the colours they do have would appeal to little girls as much as the demographic Julep is after. That got me thinking... especially since most of us at MuT collect makeup from rather exclusive, pricey brands, do you let your kids play with your makeup? Some of it, or all of it? What do you do if you don't then? Do you lock it up/hide it somewhere they can't reach?

I thought a little bit over the fact that getting your kids their own makeup might be a good alternative, from drugstores, for example, since they probably don't care nearly as much about the texture, finish, quality, etc. But that also leads to questions like, drugstore nail polish is less likely to be 3-free, and what if your kid accidentally licks off their lipstick or lipgloss? How do we know that's nearly as safe?
 

So share your wisdom, ladies. What do you do? I'm approaching this as investigative market research for short story writing. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

If your kid eats your nailpolish it being 3-free or not won't make a difference. Teach your kid not to eat things if you're worried. Though I'd think the smell of nailpolish would be too unappetizing for any child.

Lol that reminds of the ep on Nail Files where the tech told the customer the products are edible because the products are vegan. The customer drank her drink with soap and eventually end up in the bathroom very sick!

I have a 3 year old, and I paint her nails pretty frequently. I don't necessarily worry about what brand I'm using, but I think most of my polish is 3 free. She has her own makeup brushes and empty (or nearly empty) containers of stuff to play with while she watches me do my makeup.

I actually had seen something on pintrest where the women took her empty palettes[like the cover girl trios] and filled each one with colored nail polish and let it dry completely. That way their child felt like they were using colors, but it wasn't really putting colors on their face.

I remember seeing that! It was on Tumblr as well. Anyone have a link to it? It's actually pretty simple - clean container, allow to dry, fill each pan with nail polish color of your choice, allow to dry.

That's an awesome idea! Someday maybe I'll finish a whole palette and do that, lol

I let my daughter play with my makeup. Why not? It doesn't matter what brand either. I let her paint her nails with my Chanel polish if she wants. She is 10, and I talk to her about taking proper care of cosmetics, etc. She knows she is not to use my makeup without my permission or supervision, and we haven't ever had an issue.

First, the disclaimer: I'm not a mother. I'm in my mid-40's, grew up under the teaching of strict nuns and was raised in an "old-country" home where there was a pretty solid delineation between child and adult. I guess it's because of this that I don't approve of very young children (and by that I mean toddler through the first years of elementary school) play with or use colored makeup. I don't mind the idea of giving a little girl some clear lip gloss for when she wants to play dress up and have a tea party with her dolls; but if the kId can pretend she's a grown lady in her mothers dresses and shoes, she can pretend a Lipsmacker is a red lipstick. My viewpoint has gotten me into trouble. I have a niece who is now 5, and she was pestering me one day to put my very red lipstick on her. I don't share my makeup; I don't even like to go for one of the events at Macy's to get my face done and the gift with purchase, because I don't know where the brushes have been and will actually bring my own. Plus (please don't hate me, this is only my opinion) I think little girls have no business wearing scarlet lipstick. So I ended up telling the child no, because it was ICKY. Of course I became Public Enemy #1, the child hater, to which I replied that if the other ladies wanted to provide an example of poor hygienic practices they were welcome to do so with their own products. I know that they have to learn someday about proper application, skin care, and common sense hygiene, I just think that kindergarten is way too early. *edited for spelling corrections

Heres the article for those wondering: http://notsoidlehands.blogspot.com/2009/08/freecycle-friday-faux-makeup-for-your.html

The easiest and cheapest way would be to get like $1 elf polishes or polishes from the dollar store. Since you end up using quite a bit of polish.

You also could even get the cheapo quads/trios from the dollar store and taking out the color[you could turn it into a pigment for nail polish or even just a pigment if you liked the color enough] if you don't have any used up palettes.

You could even do it with the $1 elf palette that you buy each eyeshadow to put in: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/sets-and-palettes/palettes/compact_w-_mirror and just put the polish right in there.

I have an 8 year old and she is not allowed to touch my makeup. She is known for being messy though. She is allowed to use sparkly, shimmery type things once in a while and have let her wear nail polish but not put in on herself. The nail polish ends up all over her fingers if I let her do it. She has flavored lip balms and lip glosses and that is the only thing she owns. She does not even know where most other makeup goes. Going to Sephora with her she ends up with random makeup on random places on her face. Streaks of eye shadow on her cheeks type thing.

My aunties used to put makeup on me when I was 3 or 4 before we went somewhere.  My mom did to but sparingly and only on some occasions. 

I bought my daughter some brushes (inexpensive ELF brushes) when she was 5, I picked out some of my own stash that I wasn't too fond of and I also made her some cosmetics as well.  She is now 9. She can borrow my nail polishes as long as she is tidy and returns them.  I think its fun.  I showed her how to apply some things.  The rest is just play and experimentation.  She's only allowed to wear makeup outside the house if we were going shopping or to my parents.  She's not to wear any to school on any day.

I don't have children, but I play auntie to many of my friends' children, with ages ranging from 2-13. I've painted nails and dipped a finger in a balm to share, but not regular makeup. None of my friends let their kids in their product stashes, but will pull out something shimmery and give the little girls a dab every so often. Of course, with Halloween right around the corner, I imagine makeup will be allowed. I take that back..my close guy friend's child (age 4) wears lipstick on occasions, sometimes colored shadows. Her mom prefers MAC products, so I'm guessing that's what the kid wears. I dunno about the idea..I wouldn't want my child.. 10 and under wearing makeup regularly, but a LipSmacker and polish..sure or Halloween. Into puberty and past, I'd be more open and hopefully they'd feel comfortable and think I'm "cool" enough to recommend some products lol. I guess it's personal preference and ultimately, I'll know when I finally have babies of my own lol. I can say with certainty I wouldn't want my future babies going out every day looking like a pageant girl.

LOL you don't have to be very young to make careless mistakes. I left a sally hansen nail pen in the bathroom once, and my mom--being careless and not reading the label--thought it was an interesting lip gloss. she only realized it was nailpolish after she had applied it all over her lips. I was genuinely scared for her.

My PSA to the world: if you have small children or clueless adults in your household, don't buy products that look like other products. Like nailpolish that looks like lip gloss.

Originally Posted by Kyuu /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 what if your kid accidentally licks off their lipstick or lipgloss? How do we know that's nearly as safe?

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I have 9 and 10 year old girls that are allowed to use all of my beauty products. They have been taught to ask me before using my beauty products. They don't destroy my makeup and have always treated it with respect and care because I taught them to. We practice our makeup together and I always just kinda figured that is how little girls learn. We talk about what colors look good with certain eye/hair combos or different makeup for different seasons and they love it. They love giving their own opinions and sometimes they end up with wild or scary combos, but as I said, that is how you learn.

I ask them to limit it to pale pink lip gloss and light shadow when going to school unless it's a holiday and then we add a little more sparkle. In their free time I will let them wear any color, including red lipsticks, black eyeliner, bright fuchsia eyeshadow etc. Once they are in Jr High they are free to wear whatever they wish to school.

Originally Posted by Kyuu /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I don't have kids of my own - I'm just a 20-something with an overactive biological clock (crying so hard) and I think about babies all the time. Last week, I was actually thinking about how I used to play with my mom's makeup when I was younger. I spent the first six or so years of my life growing up in China, and back then, cosmetics were even less regulated than now obviously, and despite being a doctor, I really don't think my mom thought that much about the chemicals in the products...

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I had to comment on this. I am the exact same way!! lmao, I know I'm in no place to have children yet which is why I don't and am not trying, but I also have an overactive biological clock and think about babies often. That cracked me up to see someone else put it in words lol!

On the topic actually at hand, here, my mom cringed at the idea of me wearing makeup. EVER. lol. SO I'd play with her lipsticks mostly, growing up. I like to think that when I do have children, I will let them play with makeup. Obviously not at 5 year old, but I don't see any harm in painting my daughter's nails and doing her lipstick/gloss once in awhile. =]

I don't have kids of my own, but I have 5 younger sisters, with the 2 youngest being 6. I don't share my makeup with them, except the occasional bit of lip gloss or nail polish that I (or my 10, 12, or 18 year old sister) applies. 

When I do have kids though, they won't be allowed to wear anything but lip gloss until they're in middle school -- probably 13. That's when I started wearing makeup, and I think it's a good time.

My view I'm sure is shaped by the fact that my own mother rarely wears any makeup. The most she ever has on is eyeliner and lipstick. She's never even worn foundation in hr life, and she's 58. I also don't have any older sisters, so I was never able to get any makeup/tips/whatever from that either.

Originally Posted by Dalylah /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I have 9 and 10 year old girls that are allowed to use all of my beauty products. They have been taught to ask me before using my beauty products. They don't destroy my makeup and have always treated it with respect and care because I taught them to. We practice our makeup together and I always just kinda figured that is how little girls learn. We talk about what colors look good with certain eye/hair combos or different makeup for different seasons and they love it. They love giving their own opinions and sometimes they end up with wild or scary combos, but as I said, that is how you learn.

I ask them to limit it to pale pink lip gloss and light shadow when going to school unless it's a holiday and then we add a little more sparkle. In their free time I will let them wear any color, including red lipsticks, black eyeliner, bright fuchsia eyeshadow etc. Once they are in Jr High they are free to wear whatever they wish to school.

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you sound like a really cool mom!

I'm not a mom. I do, however, have five (much) younger siblings, so I might as well be, sometimes...

I personally would (and have) allow kids to play with my cheaper makeup, like Wet n Wild, Coastal Scents, ELF...

but for me, personally, my higher end things are and would be off limits. Mostly for budgetary reasons - I'm broke most of the time, so if something happens to a more expensive product or palette, I can't likely replace it right away.

Of course, now that my sister is a teenager, more responsible, and understands how to take care of such things, I let her try out pretty much whatever she wants...exceptions being things like eyeliner and mascara, just because I won't share those...don't want to risk infection.

My dad never liked us to wear makeup when we were younger, but I personally don't have an issue with it within reason. Of course I wouldn't want to see a 7 year old with a full face of caked on makeup, but I see nothing wrong with some lipgloss and shimmery eyeshadow or something.

I'm not planning to have kids for like 10 years (I'm 21), I have a bf and he seems to be you know...THE guy <3 and we both agree on waiting for kids for a while, cuz I love to spend my time with him...either way when and if I do have kids, I wouldn't let them play with my make up, I think their skin is too young and sensitive to be applying make up at all, I didn't start wearing make up till about 2 years ago and even then it was really rare that I would wear it( I really don't think I need it that much, but I just love it now <3). When I was a kid I know I used to have some make up to play with, like specific for little girls, so that would probably be what I would do if I ever have kids of my own. ( I used to love my tiny lipsticks <3).