The Age When British Girls Start Wearing Makeup Will Surprise You

A new study reveals the (very young) age when girls first start using mascara, blusher and lippy. Is something wrong with this picture?

We fully admit to leaving the house fresh-faced and then secretly swiping on blusher and lippy in the toilet before school. But we were at least teenagers by then.

It seems girls these days are wearing makeup at a much younger age.

A new study conducted by Escentual.com found that more girls than ever are starting to wear makeup at age 11, which is three years younger than it was ten years ago. And they're not talking about just playing dress-up with their mum's mascara. They're talking about 11-year-olds actually wearing makeup.

According to the survery, 38 percent of women think young girls are using cosmetics because they want to feel more grown up. And 89 percent of women would prefer young girls to wait until they're 14 to use foundation, 13-and-a-half to use eye makeup and 12-and-a-half to use lipgloss.

'Women are mostly concerned that these pre-teen girls might develop an unhealthy obsession with their appearance,' said Emma Leslie from Escentual. 'Over 62.6 percent thought this was the biggest risk from younger girls starting to use makeup.'

So how young is too young? The issue is certainly controversial - and it's one that always gets people talking. Take, for example, 13-year-old model Thylane Loubry Blondeau, who appears on the April cover of French magazine Jalouse.

Sure, she looks much more age-appropriate than she did when Paris Vogue featured her two years ago. (She was just 11 years old in the picture on the right!) But critics are still saying 13 is just too young to be on the cover of a fashion magazine.

What do you think? Is it harmless to let young girls wear makeup? Or should kids focus on being kids - and leave the glamorous stuff for later?

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