The Makeup Test

I have referred to makeup a few times in previous posts – most specifically, I think, in the post about the connection (or lack thereof) between child modeling and pageants.  I’ve been thinking more about it lately and a mom friend (shout out!) gave me some ideas that I can address in a post.

A little back story on me.  I loooooove makeup.  LOVE!  You could lock me in a Sephora for about three days and I would be happy as a pig in poop.  (I really want to say the sh-word, but I’ll keep it PG.)  My mom was never uptight about when I could or couldn’t wear makeup and I always favored a very natural look, so I began playing around with it sometime in middle school.  (And my mom is a makeup whiz herself.)  Now let me put a little emphasis on playing with makeup.  I almost never actually wear makeup.  I own a full set – foundation, powder, mascara, etc…but I only wear it for special occasions.  I am a very low-maintenance “wash and go” kind of girl who gets up at 5:30 am and likes to be out of the house by about 6:20, so I just don’t make time for it.  Drying my hair is, like, a big beauty day for me.  And, I have an extremely un-glamorous profession, so I don’t really need to dress it up on a daily basis.  But I still love makeup!  I like to put it on for fun, try new products, in search of the Holy Grail item that will make me look ah-mazing.

When I started playing with my mom’s makeup and then fiddling around with my own, I knew exactly what I was doing: I was trying to look grown up.  Playing grown up is a childhood rite of passage – we play house so we can be the parents; store so we can be consumers; and doctor so we can…KIDDING!  Anyway, I associate makeup with looking grown-up and I get uncomfortable when I see little girls with a lot of makeup.  It’s obviously a bias that I have that some others do not – and my bias doesn’t necessarily apply to little girls playing dress up.  I get it; that’s fun.  A few months ago my daughter did a photo shoot in which she was fully made up; foundation, blush, eye makeup – and I was on the fence about how I felt.  It really was nothing was over-the-top; it was mostly a natural style, but it noticeable and was much more than she would normally wear at a typical photo shoot.  I think I mentioned before that paid photo shoots for most children in our market involve very little makeup.  The typical look can include a tiny bit of concealer (little kids often have thin skin and can look dark under the eyes), a tiny bit of blush just to give a rosy glow, and maybe a bit of lip gloss – not so much for shine but to eliminate dry lips.  Older kids may get a wisp of mascara, usually clear or in a color that matches their natural lashes – and usually only on the ends of the lashes so they are “visible.”  My daughter’s and my eyelashes are light blonde on the tips, so a tiny bit of mascara can actually make it look like we have lashes.

Once I saw the pictures from that made-up shoot, I realized it really wasn’t a look I preferred for my daughter.  My parents were really not happy with the pictures – they have a much more conservative stance on how children should appear in pictures, and I kind of thought – well, this is not really for us.  Contrast that with the shoot we did with Gina Kim a couple of weeks ago (see previous posts) in which my daughter wore NO makeup, and I have a definite preference for the natural face of my child.

But back to that list of the makeup that is more common for the shoots we usually do.  What about makeup cleanliness?  I believe that the sickest my daughter has ever gotten was within about a month or two after she began working regularly.  It was one of those stomach-fever-lethargy viruses that seemed to hang around for about a week.  I chalk that up to a shoot in which she was one of several little kids on set – germ city.  Was it the makeup – perhaps the lip gloss – that they used on her?  Maybe, but we all know little kids can catch a bug from any number of forms of contact.  (And if you are getting started in the biz and you’re worried about your young kiddo catching a bug from other little kids, it WILL happen and it’s just like any activity your kid would join.)  So I’m wondering if I should get our own little makeup bag of a few items to use when we’re on set – and just hand it to the makeup artist (that’s MUA in biz lingo) for our own personal use.  I mean, we don’t just put samples on our own faces willy-nilly at Sephora…you just cannot always guarantee the cleanliness.  Does anyone bring your own makeup to shoots?  I’m not super over-protective about stuff – I realize that germs happen, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  Because, as we all know…herpes (mouth or otherwise) is the gift that keeps on giving.  I’d also love to know exactly what to get for a little kit – any ideas?  Essential items?  Brands?  Let me know!

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