If you're noticing that younger girls are starting to look more mature (or more colorful), you're not losing your mind--according to new research. The research, furnished by Mintel reveals that 61% of girls aged 9-11 would like to wear more makeup than their parents allow. Makeup manufacturers, not surprisingly, are happy to oblige.
“Between reality stars like the Kardashians and bestselling books like Twilight and Hunger Games, character merchandising plays a large role in how manufacturers are marketing makeup and accessories to the tween and teen crowd and parents might struggle to keep their children from wanting a part of it,” notes Kat Fay, senior beauty analyst at Mintel.
“In order to attract this group and get support from parents, products must be subtle in appearance and emphasize that ingredients are safe for young skin, while still playing on the books and TV shows that tweens and teens find appealing.”
Related: 7 Questions You Should NEVER Ask Your Tweens and Teens
With this in mind you can only imagine how protective and cautious moms are. Michelle Gurel, mother of two girls aged 7 and 9, says she thinks she has a good handle on the makeup dilemma with her girls.
"In the past I have let them have the lightest dusting of PALE blush or eye shadow. It was a sort of pick your battles kind of thing. They see me put on makeup every morning so I want to be mindful of how I frame its use. Once the novelty wore off though they rarely ask anymore," she says.
Back to the report though: When it comes to regular usage, nearly 40% of girls aged 9-17 say they wear lip gloss or lip stick every day while 33% report applying mascara daily. Eyeliner was used daily by 27% of the girls asked and foundation was used by 16% on a daily basis.
The good news (depending on how you look at it) is that more than half of all the teens indicated that their moms helped them make their cosmetic choices. This did vary greatly by age however.
Related: 8 Ways To Help Kids Regain the Childhood
As anticipated, tweens were most likely to rely on their mothers to help with the purchasing decisions, while only 39% of girls aged 15-17 said they need (or want) mom’s help. In addition, 78% of this older segment say they buy whatever looks good on them, while only 36% of tween girls agree with that statement.
Tara Weng is the national editor of parenting and health for GalTime. She is also a media consultant with a focus on medical and consumer topics. Her professional experience includes a stint as a medical/features producer at the NBC affiliate in Boston, MA and a media relations position at a top teaching hospital in Boston. Tara has also done public relations consulting work and has written for several online and print media outlets. She is a wife and a mother to two children (who are fantastic) and an enthusiastic New England sports fan.
More from GalTime:
- 5 Tips to Help Shy Kids
- Is Your Teen Having Sex? Surprising New Survey
- Poker Face: What is My Teen REALLY Thinking?
- 5 Questions You Must Ask Your Kids Right Now
