Blogpost 3: Tween Appropriate

There is really no standard set on how old a girl should start wearing makeup. Some girls are already wearing full makeup starting the age of 10, the probable reason behind this is that some girls copy what they see from older people, our moms and and older sisters are the perfect example. Some girls hit puberty at an early age which makes it a major factor for them to start wearing makeup, because its when they start feeling conscious and they feel mature enough to start doing what older people are doing. Makeup often represents an adolescent girl's eagerness and excitement to become a 'grown up,' and explore her attractiveness to peers, but for parents, it can bring up fear and stress relating to their child maturing and becoming interested in boys.

According to the article "It Starts With Lip Gloss" by Bee-Shyuan Chang, girls follow what they see on what their friends are doing. It is just human nature to copy what looks nice on other people in hopes that it will also look nice on oneself. It is also because of what they see in TV and in magazines. Girls look up to older women like celebrities.  

Chang said, "Defined vaguely as ages 8 to 14, the tween category now has several product lines. GeoGirl , a collection touting natural ingredients like licorice extract, green tea and vitamin E, arrived on the market. Reactions were mixed, with some critics excoriating the line for marketing anti-aging products to children."  this only means that there are some cosmetic lines that are okay for young girls to use instead of using the products that are not age appropriate for them.

 It will be relieving for parents to know that there are these kinds of cosmetics that are fit for their age, this is because some cosmetics that are worn by older women, some of those makeups are not suited for young girl and it might be too harsh for their skin.

According to another article entitled, "Graduating From Lip Smackers" by Douglas Quenqua, the percentage of girls ages 8 to 12 who regularly use mascara and eyeliner nearly doubled to 18 percent from 10 percent for mascara, and to 15 percent from 9 percent for eyeliner. The percentage of them using lipstick also rose, to 15 percent from 10 percent. Women of all other age groups, including teenagers, report using less makeup. Women are cutting back on beauty products to save money and unemployed women feeling less compelled to do their face every morning. So how are tweens getting away with it, mom is the one buying it. When asked to name their primary influence for acquiring and applying makeup, 66 percent of the 365 tween girls polled by NPD pointed to a family member or adult family friend. 

Quenqua said, "Parents may dismiss as a cop-out the excuse that cosmetics companies are only selling what girls are asking for. Mothers who take their 11-year-olds for makeovers are operating under a similar principle: that many tween girls today are sophisticated enough to make at least some of their own beauty decisions."  its actually true, tween girls are feeling mature enough to make decisions not just regarding on their makeup choices but also on other decision making aspects. They feel accountable enough to face these responsibilities because they think they can already handle these tough decisions. 

I have also read an article called " Makeup for tweens and teens: What's appropriate?" by Alene Dawson, according to the article, young girls always puts up a fight with their mom especially when its the back-to-school time once again, arguing about what's school appropriate and not. For parents it should be an opportunity and their responsibility to ensure that their young girls should be educated on the role of beauty in the most responsible way. Parents should teach their daughters that there is a difference in what they see in magazines and what is real.

Dawson said, "There is something inappropriate about young girls painted like grown women. But there's no denying that they watch what adults do and want to experiment.Tweens shouldn't wear a full face of makeup."   I strongly agree to what the author said, basically because some girls doesn't look very nice when they are wearing heavy makeup and its quite deceiving, young girls looks a whole lot better when they are wearing minimal or no makeup at all. For my opinion it is okay for young girls to wear minimal makeup because at least they have an idea on how things should be done properly, and they should know their limit. Sometimes when young girls get carried away they tend to over do their makeup up to the extent that they look like clowns, which are not appealing and suitable. 

Parents should take their time in teaching in daughters on how to apply makeup that is appropriate for their age. They should also be open minded about this matter and not restrict their daughters on wearing makeup because the time will come that when those young girls grow up they will need those skills in real life. Young girls should hone this skill along with parental supervision, to be able to make this an effective tool to be used in the future.  

Blogpost 2: A Girl's Bestfriend

There comes a time when we wake up one morning and find yourself staring at the mirror, and just feel really ugly. We all experience it, even I for one have already experienced it, but then I question myself constantly, how can I make it feel right, how can I help myself without feeling ridiculous about it, and then I started to realize, maybe I should try covering my face with makeup. Then it started, my addiction to makeup had already begun without even noticing it.  Next thing I notice, my makeup collection is already building up. I never really planned on getting into makeup, not until recently when my mom bought me some makeup stuff, and probably because i watched too many makeup tutorials in Youtube. That's when I realized that I'm addicted to makeup. I'm just so amazed on how makeup helps a girl in such so many ways.

There are 3 top picks that a girl must have in her bag, and the first one is a foundation. A good foundation is good helper to hide skin imperfections and blemishes. According to the article "The Makeup of Makeup: Decoding Foundation" by Liesa Goins, the most recent advancements in foundation are "high definition" products claim to cover skin imperfections to get skin-camera ready. HD makeup formulas are designed to moisturize because compared to previous types of foundations, it helps hydrate the face. The hydration also plumps up dry skin to make wrinkles and lines less noticeable. A good foundation helps a lot, not only that it hides imperfections it also gives the face that healthy dewy glow. 

Goins said, "Find your perfect match by selecting a few shades. Apply each on your jawline and look at the results in daylight. Foundation should blend with no noticeable pigment lines. Don't test on your hands or arm -- the color on your face will not match."  trying this method may help you find the right kind of foundation. Just make sure to know first what kind of skin type you have in order to know what type of foundation is a perfect, because there are wide selection of foundations for various skin types.

Second on the list is lipstick. Lipstick helps a girl look beautiful because it is how a girl can show her fun side. Some girls like to wear bold lip colors to show their fun and youthful personality while some girls like to wear dark shades to show that they are mysterious and they want to be taken seriously.  According to the article " The Benefits of Putting on Lipstick" by Courtney, using lipstick not only gives color but it also helps hydrate the lips. Most lipsticks nowadays contains some sort of moisturizing agents such as Vitamin E and Aloe Vera.

According to Courtney, "A lot of the better lipsticks and lip glosses out there also contain sunscreen. While we are all aware of how much damage the sun can do to our faces, we often neglect our lips and leave them at the sun’s mercy." it such a relief that  some lipstick already helps protect the lips from the harsh sunlight. Lipstick already have a dual purpose to us girls, it not only brings color to our face but it also protects our lips.

The third and last kind of makeup that a girl must possess is a mascara. Mascara is used to always enhance the beauty from the eyes by making them seem more bigger and accentuating. Mascara draws attention to your eyes and create fun. According to the article " Eye Makeup Tips: Applying Mascara for healthy Lashes and Eyes" by Harriet Cooper, mascara is used to darken, thicken and lengthen eye lashes. 

Cooper said, "Experiment with different brands to find the one that's the best fit in terms of the right level of smudge resistance, yet still easy to remove without damaging your lashes." It is important to find a very good mascara that gives a nice coverage and doesn't harm the eyes and lashes. Though there are many good mascara available in the market, it is still much safer to use eye makeup remover just to be sure.

For me these three types of makeup helps me a lot when I am not feeling beautiful. Maybe its just psychological but still, whenever I'm done with my makeup, it just feels different, good different. A girl may not acknowledge it at first but I'm pretty sure it all started that way. Girls apply makeup all the time whether they notice it or not, even a simple pat of powder in the face is one good example. Its surely the beginning of a long term relationship with makeup, and the good thing about this relationship is that it never fails to disappoint a girl. 

Blogpost 1: Back to Basic

I have always been a huge fan of makeup and cosmetics, probably because I know that it is such an effective way of enhancing a woman's hidden features and how it helps increase people's perception of a woman's likability, competence, trustworthiness and attractiveness. We use makeup whether we recognize it or not.  Makeup has always been there for every woman all over the world whether rich or poor, black or white, makeup discriminates no one, so I think it is just right to begin this blog with an introduction on how some cosmetics and makeup began.

Since the beginning of time women all over the world has been using makeup as a statement, Early Egyptian women are famous for their bold statement eyeliners. According to the article "A quick look at ancient Egyptian makeup" by N.S gill, there had been traces of makeup on Egyptian corpses.  It is also said that remains of makeup from an ancient jar have been analyzed chemically.Egyptians also thought using lead-based eye makeup helped ward off eye disease.

Gill said, "In ancient Egypt, as you can see in paintings, people applied eye makeup in a ring around the eye to enlarge and therefore beautify it. Women and possibly men applied malachite from copper ore as a coloring agent. The color is a green that was used under the eyes. " This only proves that men also uses this type of method to enhance their eyes. Egyptian women are famously known for lining their eyes to make it bigger with heavy black substance that is called Kohl.

This makeup statement is still present nowadays, the wistful and sleepy eyes can be tricked by using eyeliner. In an instant, the eyeliner will make your face look fresh and will be able to cover the eyes that are tired and lack of sleep. The Egyptians may have started the whole trend of using the eyeliner, but now it has evolved across the world, from India to the middle east, it is now a fashion statement that is a must have in every girls makeup kit.

During the Victorian era, the trend back then was to have a very pale skin and more subtle look. Having a pale face and skin is one sign of nobility. It meant that they were well-off and could afford not to work outdoors, which would obviously result to a tan. According to the article "Early Victorian Era Makeup; cosmetics and embellishments " by R.S Fleming, Queen Victoria denounced painted face as vulgar. In the 1840's, only prostitutes and actresses were allowed to embellish their  appearance with excessive paint and gaudy jewelry. Although cosmetics were frowned upon, makeup was still used but very sparingly and in softer tones to achieve a very natural look. All of the makeup used were very pale toned and applied carefully and lightly so they wouldn't be too obvious.Rouge was the only makeup allowed that time. 

According to Fleming, "The Church of England, along with Britain’s empire building, was determined to bring purity and modesty to women of all lands. "  so this is the reason why mostly all the women during that era was strictly required to use only minimal amount of makeup, but there was an exception to that banned, the usage of rouge. Rouge or blusher were famously known from this era. Blush makeup is used to make the face look flushed and subtle. It is still famously used nowadays as one of the most basic makeup must have.

When asked what is a geisha, most people's perception of a geisha is that they are prostitutes or call girls, but this is far from the truth. Geisha's are entertainers and are professionally trained performers. An aspiring geisha must learn how to be a dancer, singer and a master of the traditional arts. Geisha's are famous for wearing white heavy makeup that were once lead-based and very poisonous. Once their face are covered with white makeup, its like painting a blank canvas, their eyebrows are concealed and then redrawn, pink eye shadow is applied to the corner of the eyes, and then lining the eyes with eyeliner finishes the look. Lastly a geisha applies a red lipstick on her lower lip. This step by step process must be achieved so one can be called a traditional geisha.

According to an article by Naomi Graham-Diaz," Makeup of Geisha and Maiko ", the origins of the white makeup on a geisha's face are still uncertain, but one theory has it that in the middle ages, a traveler returned from Europe with the stories of pale-faced beauties, but it is said to be that the white face makeup really originated in China and was only later adopted by the Japanese courtesans. There are still no clarity on where it really originated, but somehow the Japanese managed to adopt it well. 

According to Diaz, "Originally, the use of white lead for the face was quite common, but, as it is known today, it is highly toxic and must have lead to illnesses and an untimely death for some of the ladies who used it. Today, rather than the lead counterpart, modern cosmetics are now used for this purpose. When applying the foundation, they leave a line of bare skin around their hairline - this gives the illusion of wearing a mask." this means that because of modernization cosmetics had evolved in a more positive way, so that women can still use makeup without worrying if they will have to jeopardize their life on doing so.

This is to show that since the beginning of time makeup has always been there for every women and men. We have to thank our ancestors for giving us this knowledge about the art of makeup and I think it is just right to still practice some of these traditional doings. We have learned a lot from our ancestors on how to use makeup traditionally,  but since the time has passed and  traditions have been modernized, we may not used the exact same cosmetics that they have used before but at least we have managed to adopt and still look back to those early statements to set as guidelines to keep us all aware of the importance of makeup and cosmetics.