"Makeup" and skincare appropriate for a tween

My niece will be 11 soon and has started to become interested in makeup, so I thought it would be fun to put together a makeup kit for her for Christmas.  I have no kids and none of my friends have girls that are old enough for me to ask what would be appropriate or what's "cool", so I thought everyone here might be able to give me some ideas.

I want to emphasize right off the bat that I am NOT in any way pushing, advocating, or encouraging a girl this young to start wearing makeup (even thought I'm asking about it).  Since she's becoming interested, I'd rather get her some things that are appropriate for her age, so that she won't spent her allowance getting things that are too grown up because she didn't know any better, if that makes sense.  I'm also wanting to keep this to drugstore stuff.

The first thing I was thinking about was a face product, like a tinted moisturizer or tinted sunscreen.  I was initially thinking she was too young for a face product, but now I'm wondering if this might be a good way to get her in the habit of wearing a daily sunscreen.  Thoughts?

The second thing I'm planning to get are lip products.  Lip Smackers were the thing when I was a kid, but I don't know if that's still the case or if there's something cooler now.  Are those Eos lip balms good?  Baby Lips?  Is a clear lip gloss too much?

She does have an eyeshadow palette already, and might have some play makeup, so I was thinking some ELF brushes would be fun.

I would like to get her a face cleaner, but I'm at a loss about what would be the best kind to get.  I'm thinking something for sensitive skin, fun packaging, maybe with a pump?

I'm also thinking about rounding it out with some smelly lotion, body wash, and maybe a poof or something, all packaged up in a train case or Caboodle (are those "in" anymore?)

Thoughts or opinions?  

Bath & Body works sounds like the perfect spot for smelly things, haha! They have gift sets of body wash, sparkly handsoap and lotions, plus their little hand sanitizers are super trendy and have tons of fun cases.

I've only tried high-end BB Cream, but the Maybelline Dream-Fresh one seems to be very tween-oriented with awesome packaging.

Ooh, lip balm! I love the ELF pots of lip balm because they're yummy, but if we're talking trendiness, Baby Lips are very collectable and cute, I just don't know how good they are. Same with EoS. I think she would have fun with the Softlips cubes or some of the Nivea lip balms (pot or stick). There's ones that have shimmer or a very light rose tint to them. Another thing that I found changed my life as a tween was an eyebrow comb/spoolie- weird, I know, but it made me feel sophisticated. Also I LOVE the CO Bigelow Mentha lip shines- they're yummy, sheer and awesome!

Burts Bees is a good way to go in any case.

For a cleanser, Neutrogena or Nivea are good. The Neutrogena Grapefruit line is marketed a lot. For sensitive skin, I would recommend a cleansing milk instead of a gel.

Spectro's skincare has been my HG since I was twelve. It's so gentle.

I've been wearing makeup since age 8 and had a phase where I would wear copious amounts of bronzer all over, and blue eyeshadow on one lid and frosty purple on the other with bright fuschia lipstick. So I know what is tempting for tweens to overdo! I would skip eyeliner and lipstick at this point, just as a skill-level and fine motor skill thing!

Good luck, I'm so excited for you!!

I'd say to stay away from anything heavy or super pigmented. A BB cream or tinted moisturizer would probably be the way to go in terms of not being too adult or heavy coverage for a tween. At that age, there's some self consciousness due to starting to get acne and blemishes so I don't think a face product is too old for her. Definitely include moisturizer and cleanser. Wipes might be a good start because they do a pretty good job of removing makeup. I'm drawing a blank here because I pretty much only use the same face cleansers every day and they don't smell that great so I don't have anything earth shattering to suggest. 

In terms of lip products, I'd stick to lightly pigmented tinted balms or glosses. ELF, Burts Bees, Baby Lips, NYC all make good inexpensive lip products that won't be too harshly pigmented.

As for eyes, I think it's really easy to go overboard on eye products when you're starting out. A basic neutral palette and clear or brown mascara is really all she needs- eyeliner can be a bit much starting off. 

I'm utterly terrible at blush and bronzers but I think those should wait a few years, maybe a highlighter product. 

Nails, though, are the one place where I think it's completely okay to go overboard with all sorts of fun colors, glitters and fun stuff. Get her a nice base coat and top coat to go with polish, and polish remover if she doesn't already use nail products. 

ELF makes good products that aren't too terribly expensive, so that would probably be a good start. Same with Wet and Wild, they've really stepped up their game in the past few years. I also like NYC. Some Walmarts carry some makeup catering to the tween/young teen crowd that might also be a good place to look into. I second Bath and Body Works products for good smelling things. 

Another idea that would encourage some learning and fun would be a kit to make her own products. Here's a soap kit, spa kit, manicure kit, lip gloss kit, and there are a ton on Amazon that would give a fun learning experience with an end product she can use. 

I think that teaching her how to apply it and the basics of makeup- less being more to start off would be very helpful. I never had anyone teach me how to do this makeup nonsense and I cringe looking back on pictures because it was clear I had no idea what I was doing. Emphasizing the need to have a basic routine of skincare to remove makeup and keep your face clean to reduce breakouts will do a lot of good. After she opens the gift, teach her how to use the products. There are some books that would fit her demographic to show her how to use makeup. Apparently Bobbi Brown's teen book isn't very makeup centric but focuses more on inner beauty and self esteem which would also be a good addition to the gift. Used copies are cheap on Amazon.

For lips, I think maybe the Covergirl Smoochies might be good. They seem highly targeted to teens and tweens, but I haven't tried them personally.

I think glosses that are clear or lightly tinted would be fine. For cleanser, I'd probably go with facial cleansing wipes. Easy to use and there are a lot of drugstore ones that are quite gentle and still are able to remove makeup well. I mostly use the Simple brand ones, since I get them cheap with coupons a lot.

The brush idea is good! I know I felt pretty cool when I got my first "real" brushes ie ones that didn't come with the makeup!

I don't think she needs a foundation or BB cream. Not for a couple of years, especially if she still does have healthy, youthful skin.

A sunscreen would be better and a nice face wash with a moisturize. Maybe a small eyeshadow palette for her to play with, some lip balm/gloss that doesn't have a lot of pigment, and Elf makes cheap brushes for everything. A manicure set and a bunch of cheap polish would be fun her to mess around and experiment on! Just make sure you get her some makeup and nail polish remover. Oh, face scrub/washes/masks are always fun to play with at any age!

I would say avoid too much face color and go with more polish if you want color on her somewhere.

hipsterhippo said:

I think that teaching her how to apply it and the basics of makeup- less being more to start off would be very helpful. I never had anyone teach me how to do this makeup nonsense and I cringe looking back on pictures because it was clear I had no idea what I was doing. Emphasizing the need to have a basic routine of skincare to remove makeup and keep your face clean to reduce breakouts will do a lot of good. After she opens the gift, teach her how to use the products. There are some books that would fit her demographic to show her how to use makeup. Apparently Bobbi Brown's teen book isn't very makeup centric but focuses more on inner beauty and self esteem which would also be a good addition to the gift. Used copies are cheap on Amazon.

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YES!!! How come nobody told me purple eyeshadow every single day is not acceptable..... This is why I say focus less on color and more on healthy skin! The better her skin and complexion, the more her natural beauty will come through without the help of makeup.

ETA: Girls tend to take cosmetics and run with it.. it's fun! You have the chance to set her up for some good habits /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Thank you all for the suggestions!  I've got lots of good stuff to check out now!

If you're buying brushes, Coastal Scents has all their brushes on sale for either $1 or $3 until next Thursday or Friday. 

If you want to go for some sheer/light shadows, the Nyx Nude Matte shadows are very subtle, and they're dirt cheap. If you want to splurge, one of the UD Naked Basics palettes would be a nice gift! 

Nyx also makes good lip products, many of them in very light or nude shades. Tinted balms are a nice start, because the color is usually quite sheer and buildable if desired. I quite like the Clinique Chubby Stick balms, but for a less pricey option, Nyx Butter Balms run about $3 each. 

Neutrogena makes a decent sheer-coverage TM with SPF 30 or so -- I'd suggest including skincare just to get her into the right habit early on. A gentle cleanser, makeup remover towelettes, and a moisturizer would be a good starter kit. A lot of young folks (myself included, back in the day) use harsh cleansers to overcompensate for acne, and it does more harm than good. (I was a teenager in the day of Stri-Dex pads. *shudder*)

Benefit's Dandelion is a pretty nice starter blush for someone young, and you can get a deluxe sample of it for $8 from Benefit's web site. Again, the Nyx blushes are pretty nice, too, and there's some very light and subtle shades.

Yeah, the skincare stuff was the thing that was stumping me the most.  I remember not having a clue what cleansers were good for my skin and used stuff that was really harsh, even for my extremely oily skin.

She already has the UD Ammo palette and I just bought the BH Cosmetics Eyes on the 80s shadow palette.  I know it's super bright, but after thinking about it, figured that one totally crazy thing might be fun.

Oh, thank you for reminding me about nail polish!  Manicure stuff would be excellent as well!

splash79 said:

Yeah, the skincare stuff was the thing that was stumping me the most.  I remember not having a clue what cleansers were good for my skin and used stuff that was really harsh, even for my extremely oily skin.

She already has the UD Ammo palette and I just bought the BH Cosmetics Eyes on the 80s shadow palette.  I know it's super bright, but after thinking about it, figured that one totally crazy thing might be fun.

Oh, thank you for reminding me about nail polish!  Manicure stuff would be excellent as well!

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I've had great luck with Paula's Choice products, and for a higher-tier brand, their prices are really not bad, and you can buy travel sizes and foils to test before diving in.

Maybe try putting together samples that would last a week or so from a couple of different brands, and see what works best for her? 

Ohhh, nice. I keep looking at all the UD palettes and wishing they existed when I was a teenager, because I would have been all over those. I wore those colors in the actual 80s, so I think that's a fun gift! 

You know, I've actually thought quite a bit about makeup and its affect on young girls. Like, if I ever acquire a daughter someday, what will I say when she says she wants to start wearing mascara and such?

My mother had a pretty strong absolutely no makeup whatsoever policy when I first mentioned that I had an interest, and I remember resenting her for it quite a bit. But, I also had that mindset that if I wore makeup I'd be able to get boys to pay attention to me, and other girls to like me. I wasn't very popular when I was young. I got bullied a lot, called ugly, weird and fat ect (Jokes on them though, because I won the puberty lottery. Ah-a!) so I dreamed of the instant-popularity magic that I thought makeup was.

Of course, that was a very unhealthy mindset in retrospect. But at the same time, I don't think my mom should have absolutely refused to let me wear any makeup as a young girl because I think it can be a great tool of empowerment. And even a confidence boost from an unhealthy point of view might have still helped me at that age. I mean, I didn't really develop a healthy relationship with my self image and makeup until just a few years ago. I relied very heavily on makeup to feel worthwhile, but I think that's just part of growing up.

So I think makeup can be good, but I also think it must be given with a lot a guidance and explanation. Young girls need to be made aware that while makeup can be fun and empowering, it should never be used as a tool for acceptance. I think making sure they understand that is the true "key" to making makeup appropriate for adolescent girls.

I kind of rambled there. Sorry. Haha. Anyway! I think tinted moisturizer or a light coverage BB/CC cream would be appropriate, especially considering that teaching her to apply sunscreen will protect her young skin and keep it all glowy and fresh throughout her life! Emphasis on light coverage though. Just enough to smooth out her complexion and help her feel better about any acne that pops up. And tinted lip balms would be good too. Maybe find a cute cheek and lip tint so that she can experiment with blush and lip color. I would even say some mascara would be fun for her. Perhaps just brown or clear for now.

Personally I would stay away from tinted moisturizer or those type of things. I remember a girl in my high school who wore full makeup everyday and was constantly applying powder, almost obsessively. Everyone else had maybe lipstick and mascara. Lip and eye products are more fun anyways. Justice has a battery operated face scrub brush, lotions, lip glosses and fun nail items. My daughter will be 11 in a couple of months and her and her friends are all about the colors. Hair and nail mostly. I don't think any of them would even think of foundation on their own.

 Seriously, for that age I would say a facial sunscreen with broad spectrum SPF of at least 30, and a very light colored lip balm such as Maybelline Baby Lips or a Lip Smacker. Period. Can you do at home only purely for fun makeovers? Absolutely! That's huge fun for all. But for going to school, I don't think so. As we all know from growing up ourselves, just because others kids do, doesn't mean you should.

  Kids need something to look forward to, if they get proms in 8th grade, makeup at age 10, where are the fun milestones? Sometimes the most loving thing a person can say is "Not yet, but when you are older we will do it up right" JMHO

I thought I'd give an update about what I decided!  I had started to buy some makeup things (the shadow palette, some ELF brushes), but I wasn't really excited about it.  I generally try to make part of her gift and there wasn't much to make.  So I decided to stick with lip balms, glosses, and nail polish, and I'm making a vanity set, ripping off some ideas I saw on youtube.  I'm turning a picture frame into a tray by spray painting the frame a high gloss white and the "picture" will be a chevron pattern in glitter.  Then I'll take some acrylic jars and adding a glitter band around the end, one for the glosses and the other for the polish.

I will say, I do sometimes help out in a middle school, and even 6th graders are wearing makeup these days. So much clumpy mascara and smudgy eyeliner, I just want to help them out so bad! I would suggest to get a couple of fun polishes, EOS (Those are a big thing nowadays), and a baby lips (Also I have seen around a lot). I would not get here any foundation, concealer, tinted moisturizer, etc though, as she probably does not need it. If she does need it though, I would say that would be up to her mom and herself to get. The vanity idea sounds really fun too! Bath and Body works are also great, there pocket hand sanitizers and mini lotions and shower gels are great!

1. Avon Magix Cashmere "Foundation" has SPF 15, is moisturizing, and has very little coverage. Will definitely not look "makeup"-y if used in moderation of course (it would talk a lot of effort to make it cake up). 
2. Maybelline Fit Me Blushes are very light, and not very pigmented, but getting to put on blush can feel very "grown up". 
3. Elf has a clear mascara. 
4. Baby lips are fun, some are more pigmented than others so you may want to test them before you give them to her. Also Covergirl Smoochies are similar. 

My mother's rule was as soon as I got my period I could wear whatever makeup I wanted. This meant I was wearing thick eyeliner, and plum lipstick at 11, it was bad. I am home schooled though so it wasn't a distraction to "class mates", but I also hadn't been surrounded by the idea that makeup was intrinsically linked to myself as a person. I think makeup is sometimes taken too seriously. Being allowed to wear makeup how wanted, meant that it wasn't a taboo thing for me. So you might also consider encouraging her to explore the more fun things (if her mother allows of course) in the appropriate settings as well? Just my personal opinion though, and it's no one's place really to demand children be raised any one way so don't take any of this too seriously. 

My daughter's class is doing secret santa and she got one of the really trendy girls and all she wanted EOS lip balm and Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer.

Lip gloss and nail polish are perfect for that age. I think foundation, mascara, liners etc are a bit too much and not really needed. You don't want to be sending a message that you need all this makeup to look pretty. You want it to be simple and fun. I remember at that age I loved shimmer/glitter stuff /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I started out with a tinted moisturizer with SPF, tinted lip balm, and some concealer. I don't think every 11 year old needs concealer though, but I have always had terrible veins under my eyes, so this was a big insecurity for me. 

I suggest the tinted products because it will promote good skin care habits, but also apply like something grown up without the risk of looking too makeup-y for an 11 year old. Baby lips are cool because they are cute, but it was mentioned that some were more pigmented than others so you should do some research before purchasing for her if that is something you are concerned about. I got a hot pink one as a gift, that might as well have been a lipstick because of how pigmented it was. They don't stain or anything though, so worst case scenario is she gets some on her teeth or off her lips and has to wipe it off in the bathroom. Not the end of the world. 

I had a purple Maybelline shadow trio with purple shadows for brown eyes and a little Beauty Talk palette with a bunch of colors in it. The Maybelline shadow trio was my favorite because the shadows weren't very pigmented and they told me where to put everything. This wasn't until I was about 13 though, but I know my little sister (who is 10) has play shadows for at home, and wears no makeup to school. Her Girl Scout troop also got their makeup badges recently.