It was when I lost a brand new $60 eyebrow pencil to the hands of my two year old that I knew I had to do something about her love of makeup. I could continue on, always in fear of her discovering my beauty stash, or I could look into some makeup for kids. And so here we are!
For me, natural and toxin free products are particularly important when it comes to my daughters skin so this was top of mind when searching for the right products. I found three kids makeup products that really impressed me and have shared the inside scoop below. All products included were gifted to me for the purpose of review.
The non-makeup makeup
Makeup for kids without the mess! Little Makeup Lovers use real makeup containers but the contents inside are non-transferrable. Such a clever idea! The products are non-toxic, child-friendly and no mess. Kids makeup can be messy so these products are perfect for keeping in your handbag for play while out and about. They also take away the worry about having to clean up spills and stains on furniture and clothes. I also love that they have a really long shelf life because you aren’t actually using the contents.
My Little Miss did notice immediately that the makeup wasn’t actually transferring to the brush or her skin but once she got over that we had a lot of fun. And just quietly, I want a set of these brushes for myself – how pretty are they!
The washable nail polish
There are two reasons why I don’t like to paint my daughters nails. Firstly, I always see her with her hands in her mouth biting off the nail polish. And secondly, whatever she doesn’t chew or chip off needs to be taken off with nail polish remover. I can barely stand the smell myself and I dread to think what is in it!
New to Australia, Nailmatic is a French product that is water based and non-toxic, made without organic solvents, phthalate-free, formaldehyde-free, toluene-free, BPA-free and fragrance-free. It simply washes away with warm soapy water, or just water if you get to it quick enough. Little Miss and I painted each others nails and thank goodness it was so easy to remove, as at the age of 2.5 she hasn’t quite perfected her manicure skills yet… There are some gorgeous colours in the range and it goes on really smoothly, unlike other cheap and nasty kids nail polishes I have seen in the past.
The play makeup
Kids love the sensory experience of feeling powders, glosses and paints on their skin. And they love to get messy! I came across No Nasties Makeup, which are all handmade in Sydney. They have no FD&C colours, synthetic dyes, talc, mineral oil, bismuth oxychloride, ferric ferrocyanide or paraben preservatives (or for lay people like me – no nasties!) and have a full ingredient list on their website so you can check it out before purchasing.
We had a play with the play makeup as well as the face paint. So. Much. Fun. The makeup goes on easily but it isn’t over the top. Of except for when Little Miss used a large sponge to apply pink eye shadow all over her cheek…. There is enough colour to elicit a big grin, but not so much that it is difficult to clean up when play time is over. A face washer with water is enough to take it off.
And despite my terrible skills in the face painting arena, we had a blast with this! Little Miss loved painting my face and she thought my attempts were pretty good. Unlike some face paints, it was really easy to clean off, again with a wet washer.
I have to say that this was probably the one time when Little Miss didn’t mind helping me out with work. She invited her friend over for a play and they really got stuck into the makeup. Would you just look at those grins?!
Do your kids love to play makeup? Any tips for other mums?
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