For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 07, 2020

as red as a tomato or as a Fresno chili pepper?

Elizabeth is only 10. Does the controversy over makeup really start that young? I thought that battle didn’t come until around age 13 (then again, we only had boys in my family, so it was never an issue for us!).

If I had a daughter, I’d say 10 is too young for make up but I’ve seen girls younger than 10 with make up. I agree with Elly – prepubescent girls’ natural look negates the need for makeup. Smooth and clear skin. No need to pluck eyebrows or shave unwanted hair. These days, they trim their eyebrows using templates to perfection, balloon up their lips using lip liners, use kohl eyeliner – so much that when they remove their makeup, they are unrecognizable. Liz, you will spend most of your life as an adult so enjoy your brief childhood. That is what I told my children when they were preteens wailing about wanting to be teenagers then as teenagers wailing about wanting to be adults. I said, “Once you’ve reached 18, you’re legally an adult. From there out, you will spend around 60 years as an adult. You have years and years. Why hurry?” I know it is mostly the independence they are longing for – they just don’t realize it comes with a price.

I started wearing it in high school, mostly stopped when I quit working in 2003, quit altogether when the masks went on! No point.

Is there, as Elly implies, a specific age where the “beautiful natural coloring” goes away and makes cosmetics a necessity?

Isn’t it nice to have a big brother.

Hey, you’ve had your red moments too, Michael; and you’re going to have more too!

I normally don’t agree with Elly, but this time I do. Ten is too young for makeup, but she can at least start wearing lip gloss. Lip gloss is nothing more than preteen chapstick (some varieties come with glitter). IMO, she should wait until she’s sixteen. She’ll be in high school and will most likely have a part time job where she’ll have her own money and can afford her own makeup.

All children go through that stage desiring to be pretty. When I modelled and came home from work my Dad would say the same thing “go wash that c**p off” Now I’m 52 don’t wear makeup. My grandmother didn’t have a wrinkle on her face at 99 years old and she said it was bc she never wore it.

My wife ( I call her my Wee Bonnie Wife ) has never wore any makeup ever , she is now close to 59 years old and looks to be about 40 ,very few wrinkles or age spots!

How old was Millie Bobby Brown when she started dressing like she was 37?

I’ve never understood why women wear makeup.

I can relate to Elizabeth for “getting caught” wearing falsies and some lipstick to school. Did I get it from both my mother and father for this. I was only twelve! A good thing I never made it out the door! What a clown I’d have made of myself! Thanks mom & Dad!

I remember wearing bright blue eyeshadow and white lipstick at 12 or 13. Since I wore thick coke-bottle glasses, I wanted my eyes to stand out behind those lenses. I kept up that makeup until 16 when I got contacts. Suddenly that eye makeup routine made me look like a clown so I got rid of the blue eyeshadow and just did mascara and light colored lipstick. That was a routine I kept until about 40 or so (when I added more). LOL.

Lynn’s Comments:

When I was young, I had a friend whose mom, an Avon rep., would give us her old samples. We’d stay in the bathroom for hours, painting each other up with makeup. When my mom caught us, she said that makeup was fine as long as she couldn’t tell I was wearing it. This led to some very artistic application and fun knowing I was getting away with it.

When our older daughter turned 13, we asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She only asked for 2 things: 1) to go see the latest James Bond movie with her dad (her sister & I aren’t fans); and 2) her first tube of mascara. She stayed with just mascara for a while; it wasn’t until she was about 14 before she added more makeup. She’s 17 now. She doesn’t wear makeup every day, but when she does, she looks spectacular. Her younger sister, now 15, has only worn makeup once…for her middle school semi-formal…and it was her sister who made her up.

‘Michael’ ‘as always’ is helpful as a ‘big brother’ in helping ‘younger sister through these ’rough spots’ in a young girl’s life ! ! ! !

Seems to me like make-up is like a lot of adult things. You’re not allowed to do it until your an adult and when you want it or need it, you don’t know how to do it.

There is a time that young girls try this stuff and wash it off-but some stays-I say let her be-It will wear off. She can see how things would be-(awful).

No female “needs” to wear makeup. They all look fine without it, and would stay looking fine if they never wore it

Michael, as always, is a douchebag.

Ah, there is nothing like a sanctimonious ex-hippie……

I wore makeup when I was 10 because I did NOT have smoorh, clear skin. I had terrible acne that I was trying to cover up. I was on prescription acne medication when I was 11, it was so bad.

She should have waited until she got to school to put on make-up. I still remember the scene in the girls’ rest room every morning when I was in Jr. Hi. Shelly and Jill were putting on eye shadow; Jeanne, Gail, and Mary were putting on lipstick; Kathy was rolling up the waistband on her skirt; I was putting on earrings. And then there was the rush at the end of the day, undoing everything before we ran to the school bus.

Just wait until it’s your turn to turn red, Michael!

Elizabeth is in the sixth grade this year, so that would make her 11 and she turned 12 in June. That’s about the age that I remember from my girls’ school days, when some of them started to wear makeup.

They even bought make up for each other when they came for birthday parties. I remember my older daughter getting such kits from her friends. One rule we had in our home was that makup was for special occasions, such as another birthday party or school dance.

If they were going swimming, make up was not allowed, but even the pool at the rec center had that rule…

They could wear nail polish any time.

But when whey found out how much trouble all those procedures took in time and effort, the novelty wore off pretty quickly…

WOW!! Its been a while. I decided to check in while reading The Comic Art of Lynn Johnston. And yeeeee! Elly had April!!!!!

I can count the number of times I have worn makeup on the fingers of both hands. I was professionally made up for my son’s wedding at a cosmetics counter and then bought the products she used. They all stayed in a drawer until they went rancid years later.

If Elizabeth is red, then she is all set to teach at the Indian reservation!

Elizabeth to Michael – looks like I’m not the only one wearing lipstick Michael. Did you sneak off to Martha’s again? :-)

Believe it or not, “blooming” young girls used to pinch their cheeks hard enough to break capillaries to get that “healthy glow”.

Who would watch the FOX news girls without their spray on makeup?

Ever hear the Country Music song….“I like my women a little on the trashy side”? My oldest DS, only dated women with plenty of over done makeup on. I asked him didn’t he think they wore too much, colorful makeup? He said, no, he liked them like that.

7 YEARS LATER…

Dear Mom,

Just wanted to let you know I am doing fine. I met a guy who said he is going to put me in his next movie. Isn’t that exciting? He said it is a “stag film”, so I guess that must be the name of the company, probably based out of Red Deer. I will call Monday.

Love, Elizabeth

Our daughter is 12. Throughout this whole COVID lockdown, we’ve been letting her experiment with makeup… she’s all about the artistic stuff.