Anonymous
Post 12/26/2025 15:55     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Maybe tell her gently that she will spend the rest of her life imitating the youthful skin and face she has today for free. Teens should not need foundation, they should have nothing g to mask.
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 11:45     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Take your teen to Sephora or Ulta.


So basic


NP and yes, honey, you want teens just starting out to start with the “basics.” Basic is not the slam-dunk insult you think it is. You’re about eight years behind.
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 11:33     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:Elf or Nyx is where you want to start. MAC foundation is like $45!!!

Target is the sweet spot for this.


+1 for Elf and Nyx

For serums/skincare try The Ordinary—affordable and good quality. I also agree with with Korean skincare
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 10:16     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


Haven’t found this to be the case at all.


+1 I’ve never used drug store makeup in my life.




Then you seem very unqualified to speak about this, no?
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 09:26     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


Haven’t found this to be the case at all.


+1 I’ve never used drug store makeup in my life.


I have, and I also use expensive makeup. Drug store makeup is perfectly find for most purposes. Teens don’t need “the best” of everything. This is setting them up for poor financial habits when they start their young adult life. Parents are raising kids that think they deserve all these high end products. Much smarter to start with less expensive products- they may like them just fine. As they get older and make their own money they can start deciding what products, if any, they want to splurge on.
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 09:03     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:I'd get her a makeup lesson at Sephora, letting them know what she wants to focus on, and take it from there. I haven't done one in many years, but I think you pay like $50 or something but you can use it toward products. Which works well here, because the products is what she wants anyway.


+1

OP indicates her daughter has some ideas of what she likes, but perhaps she is not ready to put it all together herself and OP isn’t in a position to teach her. A tutorial in the store could give DD the confidence she needs, and it’s fun! You don’t have to buy all the stuff at Sephora, though you might do so as an initial splurge for the holidays. You can substitute with some drugstore brands as she gets more comfortable and needs to replace the initial purchases. My mom took me for a Lancôme makeover when I was a teenager (long ago!) and it was the best gift ever. Taught me basics and introduced me to various products and how to use them. Today’s equivalent is probably a tutorial at Sephora, which may be more desirable to teens than the old school department store makeup counter (which is still available if you and she want to go to MAC). Have a good time delighting your daughter!
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2025 00:22     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


Haven’t found this to be the case at all.


+1 I’ve never used drug store makeup in my life.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 19:36     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


This.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 19:32     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


Agree. Don’t let her go down the Sephora obsession route and spend all her money there. You can get perfectly fine makeup at the drugstore. Ultra carries drug store brands but a better selection a try there.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 18:30     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.


Haven’t found this to be the case at all.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 13:21     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Let her do her own research on Instagram and Tik Tok to decide what she wants to try, within a reasonable budget. Have her start with basics (foundation or tinted moisturizer, concealer, skincare, eye, lip) before she moves on to highlighters, contouring, sealing sprays, etc. Definitely take her to Sephora to get her colors matched. And emphasize healthy eating/sleeping habits for better skin and health.’
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 13:17     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Oh gosh, don't buy MAC for a teenager. It's more of a 30+ brand.



My first lipstick at 16 was MAC
Why bc they offered extended shades for humans who aren’t White.


+1
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 13:12     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Spend the money at a dermatologist.

Clear skin looks great with light inexpensive make up
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2025 13:08     Subject: Re:Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Take her to the drug store for the basics- concealer, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss/lipstick/lip stain/chapstick. My daughters like the concealer, eyeshadow, foundation, and lip oils/ stains from Elf, the Wet and Wild eyeliner pencil, and the L’Oréal mascara. Drug store brands are cheap but high quality. They are perfect for beginners. If she wants to go to Sephora, gift her a $25 gift card. She will only be able to get 1 or 2 things. It is important to show our kids that they can get just as good makeup at the drug store. Sephora can quickly become an addiction, I know girls that spend $100 a month on Sephora products.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2025 20:11     Subject: Teen wants makeup. Please help!
Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for the suggestions!

To the PP who asked, her skin is clear but she has dark marks and feels conscious about it. She said she likes the light makeup look which gives a natural look and gives a sheen. I guess that's where the tint comes in?

What products does she need to get for that natural look that also hides these marks. She is dark skinned.

She watched a lot of tik toks and is trying out all kinds of home made stuff and can I say the bathroom is a mess - fresh aloe vera paste, ground rice with water, papaya paste and the like.

I guess she is really conscious of those marks (not birth marks, acne scars - acne gone but scars remain) and just wants them gone or hidden.

Hydroquinone, but not without risks. I'd take her to a dermatologist immediately if you haven't already. I started at 10 myself. I am white as a lily but my dark skinned friends with whom I discuss skincare love Yolanda Holmes as a dermatologist who is particularly good with darker skin tones (premature, but things like lasers and peels can be trickier here). I had acne and the marks are the worst and hard to get rid of. If she is already seeing a dermatologist one of the key factors of treating acne more aggressively is if it is leaving marks. A constant 10 pimples that fade might be traumatic in the moment, but a constant 4 that leave divots and scarring is different and treatment should accommodate accordingly. So she might need to change rx or she might need some treatments.