How to Convince Your Young Teen Daughter to Wear Less Makeup

If you have ever made even the slightest attempt to convince your teen daughter to wear less makeup, chances are you've been hit with every insult from "you're just too old fashioned" to "you never let me express myself." Oh, the joys of raising a teenage daughter. You're concerned about child molesters, stalkers, sex coming too soon, and your daughter's self-esteem, while she wants to attract attention and look like she just trotted off the runway. Fortunately, rather than throwing hundreds of dollars of your daughters face paint in the garbage you can come to a middle ground with the following tips in hand.

First, understand that this argument's going to be all about trade-offs. While you can simply refuse to allow her to leave the house looking like an over-eager Extreme Makeover candidate, she can always slip her lipstick and eye shadow on after she's well out of your view (and then wash it off, of course, before you ever see her again). You know you did the same thing to your parents, so let's try to come up with a more results-oriented approach, shall we?

To keep your daughter's fresh face from looking like as if it has recently been attacked by the pan-cake foundation mafia, take her out to find a more age appropriate substitute with tinted moisturizer. This will allow her to conceal any teenage acne that might be present as well as give her a more even skin tone, while also helping her avoid any excess foundation buildup.

Next, ask your daughter to switch from power blush to a cream formula. No matter how much she slathers on, cream blush will remain sheer on her young face. Since teens rarely understand the concept of "too much," switching to a cream blush will reduce the chances that the circus will try to recruit your teen while she's at the mall with friends. Regardless of the shade she selects, a cream blush will almost always look natural.

Next, have your daughter purchase "clean" formulas of mascara only, meaning that they won't clump even after her sixth layer. This means forgoing any formulas that are water-proof or made for lash thickening. A lengthening mascara formula is what you want to aim for here. The result will be singular, extended lashes, rather than a mass of spider-like, black lumps.

While restrictions are never a good idea altogether, when it comes to lip and eye pencils, we may be forced to make an exception. One colored pencil at a time should be used until your daughter is a bit older and more experienced with harsh, dark lines. In other words, if eye liner is used, omit the lip pencil or restrict colors to neutral or clear. If darker lip liner is used, eye liner should be omitted. This will keep the focus on just one facial feature, which is a key makeup application technique for women and girls of all ages to keep in mind.

Finally, do allow your teen daughter her moments of complete "self expression." While dark red lipstick and green, glittery eye shadow may not be appropriate for school day wear, let her go wild with her artistic side when she's going to a sleepover with friends or to a football game. She does have to learn on her own. Let her have fun making fashion memories to regret later on in life. After all, you got to wear hot pink blush and bright blue eye shadow with your frizzy, bleached perm. This is her time to shine.