The YouTuber, who has two daughters, has shared her top tips for navigating the challenges of knowing what is age-appropriate for teens when it comes to their makeup bag and skincare routine.
With summer holidays out of the way and youngsters heading back to school, it means Christmas will soon be upon us. With each passing year, wish lists seem to be getting more and more mature, with many teens and tweens asking Santa for high end skincare, makeup and beauty treats from the likes of Sephora , Cult Beauty and Space NK .
However, there’s been much discussion in recent months about whether or not some products are appropriate for young skin. And when their friends all have the latest must-have beauty product, keeping up with the Jones’ can not only be difficult in terms of what’s suitable, but it can prove pretty costly too.
One mum who knows all too well about what teens are adding to their festive wishlists this year, is beauty content creator Louise Pentland. The YouTuber, who has two daughters, Pearl, aged 6, and 13-year-old Darcy, has shared how it can sometimes be tricky to know what is age-appropriate for teens when it comes to their makeup bag and skincare routine.
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Now, the content creator has shared her top tips for navigating those challenges, and her top picks of the beauty brands Darcy loves, with the teen following in her mum’s beauty-loving footsteps.
Speaking on the struggles of working out which products are suitable for teens and tweens, the 39-year-old admitted: “Initially I didn’t realise that some products could be bad for Darcy. I thought she just didn’t ‘need’ it, but I figured if she likes putting it on then I would let her. Then I started seeing all of these videos online about how certain ingredients can damage young skin and once I looked into that, we had an overhaul and Darcy was really good about it, because she wants to take care of her skin.”
Louise said she’s ‘no skincare expert’, but is ‘an average person who just likes skincare and makeup’, and so breaking down ingredients lists proved difficult at first. She added: “I find it really hard to know what’s okay and what’s not because I don’t really know what all of the ingredients are for or do. My top tip is that I don’t buy her things online unless I’m certain it’s okay. But when I’m in shops, like Space NK or Sephora , I just ask a sales assistant and I’ve found that they’re super honest and helpful about the best products from the brands teens are interested in.”
Among the skincare brands both Louise and Darcy love, is dermatologist-approved, clinically proven range from Byoma , which regularly appears in articles rounding up the best skincare for teens. The mother-daughter duo have regularly shared their love for the brand, with Louise hailing some of their bestsellers as her ‘summer skincare essentials’.
She said: “My teenage daughter Darcy introduced me to Byoma last year and after seeing how much she loved the products I tried them myself and we are both obsessed.” Some of Louise’s favourites include the ‘ultra soothing’ Milky Moisture Cleanser, which is ‘so gentle, even Darcy can use it’ joking that she ‘never thought Darcy would be recommending products to me’.
Byoma’s individual products are priced between £9.99 and £17.99, so you can tailor your skincare routine to suit your budget. And if you’re thinking about Christmas, we love this set that’s available from Amazon which gets you a Mini Cleanser, Mini Light Cream and Mini Hydrating Serum all for less than £15, making for a great introduction to the brand.
Darcy is also a fan of the deliciously-scented Sol de Janeiro products , which are a firm favourite with The Mirror beauty team, too. Louise added: “She has the Bum Bum cream because she likes the smell, but really she’s more into the mists and the fragrance.”
Body spray is always a great gift for teens, and we’ve come a long way since the days of So… Kiss Me? Shoppers can pick up the 90ml mists for £24 at Boots , or opt for a gift set full of SDJ icons. For example, the £40 ASOS X Sol de Janeiro Summer Staples Beauty Box gets you two mini sprays and three mini body butters worth £52, which can be given as a whole gift, or divided into stocking fillers for different people.
Alternatively, for £30, there’s the Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Jet Set which stars a body cream (50ml), shower gel (90ml) and body mist (30ml) all in a clear, zip up wash bag. But we’re also not-so-secretly hoping that the £40 discovery set of fragrances may come back into stock before Christmas. You can read our review of that here .
Lip products are another fantastic stocking stuffer, and can be tailored to your budget, too. While Darcy is a big fan of the Glossier balm dotcoms , which cost £16 and come in a range of different scents, she’s also partial to a stick of classic Carmex . Louise said: “ I’ve tried every lip balm there is because I get sucked into the influencer hype, but I just always go back to Carmex . The whole family really likes it and in our house it’s an essential just like shampoo or soap. It’s affordable, it works, it’s easy.”
Amazon has dozens of bundles that are perfect for popping in with other gifts as a little treat, with a whole host of flavours to choose from, including cherry, mango, vanilla and watermelon.
Earlier this year, Louise surprised Darcy with a Dior lip gloss as a gift for finishing her school exams – and while you can purchase the £33 lip products at a number of retailers, the bargain-loving mum shared a genius hack to get extra special touches when buying directly from Dior.
She said: “Darcy saw a Dior lip gloss in my collection and as I didn’t really use it, I gave it to her and she was really enjoying it. I decided to get her her own and if you go onto their actual website and buy direct from Dior you can get some little perks. I was able to get free engraving on the bottle , so I had her name engraved on the side. It came in beautiful packaging and it was really elevated with a little bag with shredded Dior paper, a complimentary gift note and little mini fragrances. For a special occasion that’s really nice and people have said they’d like to order them as bridesmaid gifts and for baby showers.”
Shoppers do need to be a Dior member to receive the free engraving service, however, it’s free to join and just requires you to sign up with your email address – alternatively, you can pay £10 to have it engraved. The Dior lip glosses cost £33, come in 43 shades , and qualify for two free samples, which range from perfume and aftershave, to makeup and skincare.
Drunk Elephant is another brand coveted by teens and tweens – but not everything is suitable for their skin with some formulas being more potent than others. However, Louise noticed they now have their own haircare range , which is suitable for teens. She added: “I saw that Drunk Elephant are now doing a shampoo and conditioner and I’d like to look at getting it for Darcy. I think she’ll then be able to feel like she’s part of something in a more appropriate way.” You can shop Drunk Elephant’s hair care range here at Sephora.
Of course, advent calendars are the other must-have on every beauty fans wish list this year, too – you can find our round up of the best picks available to shop now here.