When I Look at Her I See My Mom

When I Look at Her I See My Mom

Hair in Curlers

Some of you already know this about me…but I am NOT a girly girl. I don’t wear dresses and skirts, I don’t wear makeup, and I my hair is cropped so short I don’t even have to brush it…ever. Even as a child I was the tom boy. I spent all day outside and I don’t even think I had any play makeup.

My mom though was/is very much that girly girl. She dressed to the nines, she wore makeup whenever she went out, she like to put makeup on me, even though I insisted I looked like a clown. She curled her hair all the time and loved to put me in curlers you wore all night. I would wake up and promptly brush out all the curls. Just about the only thing I liked her to do to my hair was french braid it..that way it was out of my face and out of my way.

Well, now I have a daughter of my own and she is just like my mom. They spend a lot of time together primping and beautifying. In the picture above you will see that my mom has already started her on the hair curling…which mystifies me because she inherited my naturally wavy hair. The other day though I was hugging her after one of her beauty marathons with nana and I noticed she had rashes on both sides of her face. Her skin was reacting to blush my mom had let her put on. Make-up in general has TONS of nasty chemical ingredients and carcinogens as outlined in the book Dying to Look Good. Last year my daughter got a pack of children’s play makeup from a family friend and the ingredient list made my skin crawl. It baffles me that looking a little better could be THAT important to anyone.

I do not want to be down on wearing makeup though. I am very glad that my daughter has someone to share this passion with because this is just one area that elludes my understanding and I want her to be herself…whomever that is. It lead me to the realization that I need to buy her some natural and safe play makeup for little girls but I am really having a hard time finding any!! So far she has non toxic nail polishes from Piggy Paints and lip balms from Jess Be Natural and Badger. I think I will pick up some Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmers for her too.

So that just leaves color for her cheeks and eyes. I have my eye on the Mineral Blush Powder in Apricot Dew and the Peach Shimmer for eyes, lips, and cheeks at Ely Organics. The stuff at Ely Organics is no natural you could probably eat them.

If a company were to create and market a very natural , organic line of children’s makeup I would be all over it. What about you? Do you have little girls that loves to play with makeup? How do you handle it?

17 Comments

  1. Sheri

    I don’t wear makeup and my daughters don’t play with it, so I can’t offer any info…but I wanted to tell you how stinkin’ adorable Paige is with her little curlers in her hair! What a cute girly-girl you have there :)

  2. She’s so cute!
    Who knows, maybe you can get your mom using more natural makeup too. :)

  3. Connie

    I have two little girls of my own. They love makeup and just recently I got rid of all of it once I started reading the ingredients. The only thing they have left is nail polish and some glitter to sprinkle in their hair on occasion. I too would love to find safe, organic makeup for my little girls. I’ll let you know if I locate any. Burt’s Bees has quite a large selection of fun lip balms and gloss too. There are some other brands out there to but I’m not sure since I haven’t used them on myself. I use Arbonne which are pure and safe and beneficial. Their products are formulated in Switzerland but they are not organic. They don’t use mineral oil or talc in their makeup or other beauty products.

  4. First of all, your daughter is the spitting image of you! She looks so cute in those curlers. Josie Maran, the cover model for Maybelline started her own line of non-toxic cosmetics that are in bio-degradable containers. She is a super cool mom – gave birth in her backyard too. It’s not a children’s line – but really what makes it for kids? The cute packaging? Put some stickers on the powder compact :-) Here’s a link to her site with packaging info. http://www.josiemarancosmetics.com/packaging2.html
    I recently purchased some products and was going to blog about them b/c I love them!

  5. Lindsay

    Alima and 100% Pure are my faves. I LOVE the fact that Alima doesn’t use any micronized minerals so it’s one of the safest mineral makeups you can get. I also really like 100% Pure’s packaging and the fact that they use real fruit to pigment their cosmetics! I haven’t really had any experience with anything else. Hope this helps. ;)

  6. Jackie

    I can’t really offer any advice yet b/c my two girls are too little for makeup still (19 months and 2 months old). But – I cannot wait until they get older and I can paint their nails (non-toxic nailpolish of course) and do their hair. I’m not really a make-up person either so we’ll see how the two of them turn out. As of right now – I don’t wear make-up. Maybe it’s more because I stay at home now and don’t really see the point – haha!

  7. Angela

    http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com is a good resource for picking products! It is quite interesting to see them all rated side by side. My daughter is almost 3, so I am sure we will be dealing with this sooner than later. Good luck with your search.

  8. dianne

    I love this post. Will you let the mom-stuff web site use this in they Mother’s Day tribute? Thanks for all of your posts. I love your attitude. Contact me I need an expert in your field for http://www.mom-stuff.com

  9. Sara

    This is such a coincidence because I was thinking about this exact topic this morning. My little girl will be due in September but I’m already thinking about all of this. I use Alima and will let her play with it when she’s at that stage but I def. will not let her use any of the “kids” makeup out there. I have a double whammy because I also avoid products with animal ingredients so I think I’ll just let her use what I already have in the house. It would be great to have a special organic kids line but I love the idea above of just making the packages you already have in the house cuter with stickers and such.

  10. Rhonda

    i don’t really let my little girl use make up for play. She would love it if I did though. She uses some burt’s bees on her lips. Except for dance pictures and dress rehearsal as well as recital night she has to be in full face make up. For those few times she wears my Larenim makeup. And even then I am kinda queasy about it… feels a little JonBenet like… but she would be washed out under the stage lights w/out it…

  11. Liane

    I’m a lot like you… short hair, no make up and my work attire is jeans and a t-shirt (I’m a massage therapist). Life is too short to waste time putting on make up and styling my hair. When I was pregnant, my husband really wanted a girl and I wanted a boy. I’m so glad I got what I wanted. I don’t know what I’d do with a girly girl. Your daughter is precious!

  12. SashaJ

    I am so glad I have found this blog site as I am looking to start a line of “natural, safe, and fun” makeup for young girls.

    All your comments support my own view that what is available right now is really limited. My aim is for the ingredients/packaging to meet mums’ needs (non-toxic, natural, recycled packaging) whilst still creating products that little girls go crazy for (glitter, colour, and sparkle).

    Any further comments to help me create something really wonderful would be appreciated!

  13. Kim

    Hi Ladies,
    It’s nice to see so many savvy moms who are keeping their girls away from toxic chemicals. Way to go! When your girls are ready for skin care come and visit our site. Our premium line of 100% natural skin care is free of parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, synthetics, dyes or irritants.
    100% good-for-her-skin ingredients that pamper and protect young skin while teaching her safe healthy habits. Perfect for moms with sensitive skin too.
    All the best!
    Kim
    Founder/Owner
    Good For You Girls
    http://www.goodforyougirls.com

  14. Starla Tyler

    You might want to try littlecosmeticsshop.etsy.com .  Super cute, nontoxic makeup.

  15. Sam Gam

    I just got a package from my mom with  products from Luna Star.  All natural and cruelty free.  I know this post is old but in searching for companies, I came across this and thought I would share.  http://www.lunaorganics.com/index.aspx

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