Back in the ‘90s, a makeup set was precious commodity. It was expensive, so most mothers only had one complete set, if they’d even have any. My mom would take hers out only on special occasions. For every day, she’d go with only lipstick and powder. Makeup was so much of a holy grail that she’d keep it very high out of my arm’s reach — together with my dad’s guns.

As such, growing up, I always aspired to become tall enough to reach her makeup set. And when I finally did, it opened a Pandora’s box full of wonders for me — feeling the textures, smudging the colors into my face were definitely a big part of my core childhood memories. 

But I wasn’t allowed to put on makeup regularly — only when there’s an important school presentation, or a graduation. I had to join the yearly Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo — and endure many itchy and heavy gowns under afternoon heat — just to be able to relish the joy of being able to sit down for a makeover. 

It was when I was about to graduate with honors from high school that I bought my very first makeup from my savings from my meager allowance — some lip glosses and glittery eyeshadow pots from Divisoria. Without YouTube or video tutorials then, I relied on principles from art classes — and did my own graduation makeup following gradation and shading techniques from painting. At the marching line, my crush’s sister kept on telling my crush how beautiful I was. I knew he noticed it, too!

When I became a mom, I promised my children I’d not deprive them the joy of enjoying makeup even at a young age. They have their own vanity mirror and small pieces of luggage containing their own makeup sets from prestigious brands — most are hypoallergenic and with their favorite cartoon characters like Barbie and Sanrio in the packaging.

Having your own makeup set — even without playing with it and just by looking at it — is already scientifically-proven color therapy that is good for mental health — even among kids.

Recently, I came across Adam Plowright’s Agence France-Presse article “Driven by TikTok trends, new beauty brands target children,” published last 28 November.

“Should children be using beauty face masks? Dermatologists say no, but a growing number of companies are targeting a new generation of kids who have grown up with TikTok skincare and makeup routines,” he wrote.

“The cosmetics industry and parts of the internet have been abuzz since the launch of Rini earlier this month, a beauty company pitched at children as young as three and backed by Canadian actress Shay Mitchell.

“Its bundle of five child hydrating face masks, including ‘everyday’ varieties named Puppy, Panda and Unicorn, sells for around 35 dollars (30 euros) on its website.

“Another growing US-based brand, Evereden, sells products for pre-teens such as face-mists, toners and moisturizers and claims annual sales of over 100 million dollars.

“Fifteen-year-old American YouTuber Salish Matter unveiled her brand Sincerely Yours in October, drawing tens of thousands of people — and police reinforcements — to a launch event at a New Jersey mall,” Plowright reported.

Early this week, my seven-year-old daughter and I visited the newly opened LOOK At Me beauty store in SM North Edsa, its first branch north of the Metro. There, we tried the Korean beauty brand Fwee, which targets mostly pre-teens, but its cosmetics are reportedly hypoallergenic and vegan, making them safe even for kids like my daughter and even for expecting moms.

Apart from Fwee, we spotted a vegan body perfume called Star Balm from the makeup brand of celebrity makeup artist Albert Kurniawan, Teviant. The attendant told me the balm’s glitters are not made of microplastics, so the balm is a safe alternative to perfume for everyone.

At LOOK At Me’s Fragrance Wall, my kid was immediately drawn to Toy 2, the new fragrance of Italian fashion house Moschino, mainly because of the perfume’s gummy-bear-like bottle. It has a delightful fruity scent my kids love. At first, I was afraid my youngest daughter would have eczema flare-ups if I’d spray the perfume straight to her skin. But she has been using it for days now — and so far, there’s no side effect but the lingering fresh smell.

Elsewhere at the store, there are the Dermo-science products (for sensitive skin) that my children use — specifically the non-scented ones that keep their skin moisturized by mimicking the skin’s natural pH and skin barrier. My pre-teen daughter uses these products to get rid of pre-pubescent acne, but in the long run, these do not only make her skin clear but even give her a rosy glow.

‘Sephora kids’

Last year, my then six-year-old daughter surprised me with a new word in her growing vocabulary: Sephora. 

According to my daughters, they have been watching reels of children makeup vloggers — some had been reviewing products right inside the beauty store chain Sephora, with others opening new makeup and not using testers and wasting the products, prompting some stores to reportedly ban kids from coming in unless they come with an adult who would pay for the damage.

Through these videos, my kids have been very acquainted with Sephora that they know what brands are in there and which countries have the store.

“Child-focused beauty products are part of a broad society-wide trend… Many girls in Gen Alpha – a marketing term for youngsters born between 2010 and 2024 – are adopting skincare, makeup and hair routines more typical of older teenagers or their mothers,” Plowright said in his article.

“The most precocious have become known as ‘Sephora Kids’ — a reference to the popular French beauty retailer -- as they seek to copy popular TikTok or YouTube influencers, some of whom are as young as seven.”

Experts weigh in

“Children’s skin does not need cosmetics, apart from daily hygiene products – toothpaste and shower gel -- and sun cream when there is exposure,” said Laurence Coiffard, a researcher at the University of Nantes in France who co-runs the Cosmetics Watch website, as cited by Plowright.

According to Plowright, Coiffard cited research showing child users of adult cosmetics and creams had a higher risk of developing skin allergies in later life, as well as being exposed to endocrine disruptors and phytoestrogens which can disrupt hormone development.

Molly Hales, an American dermatologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, spent several months posing on TikTok as a girl of 13 who was interested in beauty routines.

After creating a profile and liking several videos made by minors, the algorithm of the Chinese-owned site “saturated” her and fellow researcher Sarah Rigali. 

The duo went on to watch 100 videos in total from 82 different profiles. In one, a child smeared 14 different products on her face before developing a burning rash. Another showed a girl supposedly rising at 4:30 a.m. to complete her skincare and make-up routine before school.

The most popular videos were titled “Get Ready with Me,” with the routines featuring on average six different products, often including adult anti-ageing creams, with an average combined cost of 168 dollars.

“I was shocked by the scope of what I was seeing in these videos, especially the sheer number of products that these girls were using,” Hales told AFP. Her research was published in US journal Pediatrics last June.

Several “disproportionately represented” brands, such as Glow, Drunk Elephant or The Ordinary, market themselves as healthy, supposedly natural alternatives to chemical-laden competitors.

The top 25 most-viewed videos analyzed by Hales contained products with an average of 11 and a maximum of 21 potentially irritating active ingredients for pediatric skin.

The pitch from new child brands such as Rini, Evereden or Saint Crewe is that they are orienting tweens and teens to more suitable alternatives.

“Kids are naturally curious and instead of ignoring that, we can embrace it. With safe, gentle products parents can trust,” Rini co-founder Mitchell told her 35 million Instagram followers.

Hales said she had “mixed feelings” about the emergence of the trend, saying there was a potential benefit of providing less harmful products to young girls. 

But they are “really not necessary” and “perpetuate a certain standard of beauty, or an expectation around how one needs to care for the health and beauty of the skin by using a very costly and time-intensive daily routine,” she said. 

The products risked “steering girls away from better uses of their time, money and effort,” she added. 

Pierre Vabres, a member of the French Society of Dermatology, believes there is also a pernicious psychological effect of exposing children to beauty routines – and then seeking to sell them products.

“There’s a risk of giving the child a false image of themselves, even eroticized, in which they are ‘an adult in miniature’ who needs to think about their appearance in order to feel good,” he warned.