Makeup for children isn’t harmful – but the assumptions adults make about it can be | Sali Hughes

A ‘back to school’ makeup workshop was ill-advised, but cosmetics can be a source of joy and creativity for children

John Lewis and Mac Cosmetics have come under fire for advertising a “back to school” makeup masterclass on Facebook, in which school-age pupils were promised tips on achieving good-looking skin, and eyebrows “on fleek”, at the Mac counter in John Lewis’s Bluewater branch. Both the brand, which asserts that staff were acting independently, and the store, which says it knew nothing of the event, apologised and quickly cancelled the workshop after parents complained.

Few would disagree with the decision. An eyebrow pencil or foundation is incongruous and inappropriate in this context, and should not be billed as essential back-to-school kit, like some new lunchbox or protractor. Makeup is against uniform code in most schools and even where it’s not it’s very dubious to suggest that pupils should aspire to look a certain way on their return to an environment that should be about learning, and away from the real and escalating pressures to look good.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2yIoZ2C