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Aussie mum on why she created a makeup range for kids
As every mum will know all too well, keeping kids out of your makeup bag can be downright impossible.
But one mum from Brisbane has come up with a genius way of avoiding it – by creating her very own range of mineral makeup for children as young as five-years-old.
The brand, called Kooki U, includes kids’ eyeshadows, lipsticks, mascara and bath bombs and debuted six weeks ago at the Melbourne Fashion Festival Run Kids Runway.
Founder and mum-of-two Kelly Ferguson has spent the past two years crafting the range, which also features eyeliners, lip liners, specialised dance and performance products, body shimmers and nail polish.
“I put it together because I just wanted to be confident about what my daughters were using on their face,” Kelly told Be.
“My kids have been using makeup since the age of five and three when they were involved in dance concerts, so I’ve already been particularly concerned about what they’re using and putting on their faces.
“Often, they were using my makeup because that was really the only makeup I could find that was what they needed, and they sort of cultivated their own interest in makeup from that point on.
“They were using my makeup constantly so I needed to find a solution.”
Kelly’s two daughters, 12-year-old Isabella and 10-year-old Pascale, are also dancers and involved in performance, which means they started wearing makeup from the age of three and five.
“I basically created it so I could give kids and tweens in that performance industry a quality alternative to buying toy store or cheap makeup,” Kelly said.
Kelly is extremely passionate about quality control and after a wave of news stories recently about kids having allergic reactions to makeup, the mum, who has worked in marketing and graphic design, wanted to make sure she used all local Australian ingredients in her makeup products.
“I think the risk that people take when they buy product from places like toy stores is that you can’t be confident about the quality of what’s in those products,” Kelly said.
“It’s an accessible product so I can understand parents if they’re out shopping with their kids buy it but you can’t be confident about what’s in it.
“You’ve got to be really careful about what you choose to purchase for your children.”
Playdates at Kelly’s house have now turned into makeup parties, with her daughters constantly doing their nails and playing around with the products.
Kelly says that while the range is primarily for performers, there’s also a neutral palette for those kids who just want to play with everyday makeup.
However, Kelly claims she doesn’t agree with kids wearing makeup every day and believes it should just be something they have fun with.
“I think kids will be kids and really the range has been created for kids who are already having fun and experimenting with makeup to have something that is age appropriate and something that’s Australian-made,” Kelly said.
“My kids don’t wear makeup every day, it’s special occasion use, it’s fun and I don’t think children should be wearing makeup every day either.
“It’s for play and there’s a practical need for it in the performance industry because kids are required to wear makeup.”
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