How to Make Pretend Makeup for Little Girls

Little girls love to dress up and pretend to apply makeup. Parents do not always relish taking their daughters out of the house painted with makeup though and some makeup can stain clothing and carpet. One way to indulge a little girl's desire to wear makeup just like mommy is to supply her with pretend makeup. The best part is pretend make up is easy to make, inexpensive, a great way to repurpose old makeup containers, and is sure to be a big hit at the next dress up date.

Items needed for pretend makeup

Items you will need to make the pretend makeup include old makeup containers or other small containers, nail polish in a few different colors, some small brushes or applicators for pretend play, cotton swabs and toothpicks (nice, but optional), and some newspaper.

Instructions for how to make pretend makeup

To make the pretend makeup, start by collecting old makeup containers. Make sure you collect a variety of different sizes and shapes of containers for the pretend makeup to make the experience more realistic and stimulate the child's creativity. If you do not have any old makeup containers, dollar stores often sell makeup inexpensively that you can use or ask friends if they have any they don't need any more. Other non-makeup containers can be repurposed into pretend makeup containers, but they should be similar in size and shape to actual makeup containers for the best effect. Remember not to use glass or breakable containers for the pretend makeup as they could hurt the child if dropped. It is also a good idea if you are repurposing a container to not use something that was filled with a cleaning agent or has lead to minimize exposure to potentially harmful substances as it will be used as a toy.

Once you have a variety of containers to use for the pretend makeup, you will want to clean the containers so any remaining makeup in the container is removed. Dig out any remaining blush, eye shadow, powder, etc. that is left in the container. Rinse the container with soap and water and dry.

Next, collect an assortment of nail polish in a variety of colors. The least expensive pretend makeup can be made from nail polish that is old or no longer your favorite color. You could also pick up some on clearance at your drug store or splurge so your girl can have pretend makeup in her favorite color. If the polish has started separating, mix it up as best as you can by rolling it between your palms or shaking it. If it is dried out, add a drop or two of nail polish remover. It is best to do this only one drop at a time and let it sit over night and shake or mix it or your pretend makeup will not harden properly.

This next part could potentially be messy. Wear old clothes or be careful and protect your counters with some newspaper before you lay out your makeup containers. Pour the prepared nail polish into the makeup containers to make the pretend makeup. Use a variety of nontraditional colors for the makeup as they can sometimes be favorites of children for pretend play and also some more traditional makeup colors for more realistic pretend makeup play. Try to pour the nail polish slowly to minimize air bubbles. Swirl a cotton swab around in the nail polish to make it spread more evenly or hold the container and tip it to get the polish to be as even as possible in the containers. If you end up with a few air bubbles you can try to pop them or remove them with a toothpick. After any air bubbles are removed, rotate or tip the container for the smoothest looking pretend makeup.

The odor can be quite strong with some nail polishes as it dries. Put the pretend makeup where the odor from the nail polish will not bother you. You can put it in a bathroom with the door closed and the fan on or put it in the garage. The amount of nail polish you poured in the containers will determine how long to wait before the pretend makeup is dry and ready for play. Wait a minimum of 48 hours before checking the pretend makeup. It will shrink down in size as it dries so parents can use multiple layers of polish if a more "full" look for the container is desired. If you check it and it is still soft and it has not fully hardened you might leave a fingerprint or mark. Just add more polish to cover it up if you want a smooth finish and next time wait longer before checking the pretend makeup.

Before presenting the pretend makeup to the little girls, add some small brushes, makeup sponges, and eye shadow applicators. Extras of these are sold separately from makeup and can be found at a beauty supply store, drug stores, and retailers like Target or Wal-mart. For an extra special touch put the pretend makeup in a little cosmetic bag or small purse. It's dress up time!

More hints for how to make pretend makeup

Try using iridescent or glittery nail polish for shimmery, sparkly pretend makeup. Iridescent nail polish makes great swirly designs in pretend makeup. Add a drop of food coloring (not too much!) to add more variety to the hues of pretend make up you can make with one bottle of nail polish. Once your first layer of nail polish has dried completely, try painting small designs with an alternate color of nail polish on top (hearts, the child's initial, or flowers) to further personalize the pretend makeup. Pick makeup containers that little hands can open and close easily that have sliding drawers or simple snaps for easier pretend makeup and dress up play.