My Focus on Family Life and Parenting

First Blush

With teens wearing makeup earlier—90 percent of 12-year-olds used cosmetics in 2000, says one study—many parents wonder when it’s too early.  It’s up to a girl and her mother.  “You might let her go along with the crowd—as long as it’s not too provocative,” says David Elkind, Ph.D., author of The Hurried Child (Perseus Publishing, 2001). “But if she’s maturing faster than her friends, makeup may make her stand out more,”  Either way, says makeup artist Bobbi Brown, author of Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty (Cliff Street Books, 2000), tips form Mom—like using concealer, not all-over foundation, to hide blemishes—can’t hurt. –Meredith Perez