On Boxing Day, Kim Kardashian West posted a series of gorgeous photos of her little family at the annual Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Eve party. The photos pictured a beaming Kanye, a giggling Saint, a gorgeous Kim holding little Chi and a sassy North. However, one thing that everyone picked up on (other than Kanye actually smiling for once) was the fact that North is wearing red lipstick.
Picture from Instagram @kimkardashian
Let’s just take a step back for a moment. You need to think about who this little girl is, and who her family are. Her mum is a global makeup mogul and so is her aunt. Because of the business that that family is in, North will be used to seeing makeup artists and massive amounts of makeup around the house. Because of her family, her relationship with makeup will be so different to ‘the average kid’.
If you watch any of Kim’s videos, snapchats or Instagram stories, you’ll know that North loves makeup and often finds her way into Kim’s collection. But also… she is a little girl. Most girls/women will have stories about going into their mum’s makeup collection and causing havoc. Why? Because they want to look like their mum! Or they see it as a sign of being a ‘grown up’ and want to play around with it. It happens so often in popular culture (films, tv) that it really shouldn’t surprise anyone to see North wearing lipstick. The only difference is that North is ‘famous’ and therefore people think they are somehow entitled to an opinion.
They’re not.
It takes a really big person to criticise the appearance of a 5 year old. North has basically been makeup shamed at the age of 5. She looked beautiful and probably felt it too. This was one of the biggest nights of the year for their family and was probably allowed to wear it as a treat. Makeup washes off. It’s not a sign of ‘growing up too fast’ – it’s having fun! The same people that will makeup shame a little girl are the same people that will bash normal makeup wearers just because they don’t wear it. There is nothing wrong with letting a child wear lipstick on a special occasion, equally there would be nothing wrong if North decided red lipstick was all she wanted to wear for the next 6 months. You are not her parent and therefore your opinion is neither asked for nor wanted. There is absolutely no reason to get so personally offended over a celebrity’s child wearing makeup. Please join us back in the real world. Would you make these comments to a random kid on the street having a great time in lipstick? I’d hope not, mostly because you’re without the anonymity that the internet kindly gives you.
The fact of the matter is children want to play. They like to dress up and change their appearance… just like adults. Dressing up for kids might be dressing as their favourite princess or as a cowboy OR it might be smearing blue eyeshadow across their face and drawing on themselves with black eyeliner. The reaction to this would have been totally different had North walked out in a cowboy hat – like makeup, you can just take it off at the end of the day. People need to bear in mind that while Kim may have chosen this life for herself, her children didn’t. They don’t deserve any of these negative comments that some believe are so imperative to leave.
To be quite honest, while a number of commenters might think allowing North to wear lipstick reflects badly on Kim, I actually think the opposite. She is letting her little girl express herself how she wants and it is something that they can bond over. North looked AMAZING and most commenters said exactly that.
Keep wearing lipstick North.Β
Xo
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