A Tween's Review of Willa Skincare

A new line of skincare just launched this summer called Willa Skincare. What makes this line unique is that it's created by a tween girl (Willa) in collaboration with her mom out of a desire for natural skincare that is priced and designed for tweens. SPF is a HUGE focus of the line given a family history with skin cancer, and the formulations are all natural. The pieces in the line are modern, not cute-sy, and affordable on a tween allowance budget - making it a standout in our minds.

Maya reviewed the line this summer - here are her thoughts:

I really like the Willa facial wash because it was both light and cleansing. I like the fact that it is in a foam because it felt gentler than a scrub or toner. However, I did think because of its gentleness it was necessary to be paired with a strong scrub to be an effective skin care system. I think this product works fantastically as an after workout/ mid-day facial rinse.

I liked both the color and taste of the Willa lip gloss. I thought the color was perfect for summertime- very upbeat and bright. Plus, it would look great at the beach! I thought that the consistency was a bit sticky to use in the summer time with all the humid weather, but it'll be great for Fall.

And don't miss Willa's Pinterest page - TONS of fun!
Willa Skincare is available at Target at prices ranging from $1.75 for the cucumber facial mask to $11.50 for the foaming facial wash.
Photo credit: Maya for MsTwixt

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Thin Mint Lip Balm!

We stumbled across these fun lip balms in Girl Scout Cookie flavors! Made by Lip Smacker, these look and smell yummy. In fun flavors like Thin Mint, Samoa (chocolate and caramel), Trefoil, and Tagalongs (peanut butter and chocolate).

Available at Claire's $3.50/each or $14.00 for a Party Pack of 8

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Meet Justin Bieber at the New York City Launch Event for Someday

By now you've probably seen the television ads for Justin Bieber's latest project, a fragrance for girls called "Someday". What you may not know is that all sales of the perfume benefit charity.  The product was created by the Give Back Brands Foundation, and ALL proceeds benefit the following organizations:  Give Back Brands Foundation and Communities in Schools LA West.

In addition, Mr. Bieber is auctioning off the opportunity to accompany him at the official Someday launch in New York City on June 23.  The proceeds from this auction will also benefit Communities in Schools and the Give Back Brands Foundation.

While a bit schlocky, here's what the star had to say about the fragrance: “Someday is the idea that we can change the world, make our dreams come true, and even be with the one person that means everything. Giving back has always been incredibly important to me, but let's be honest... I wanted to create a fragrance for my female fans that I can't get enough of... that I want to get next to and I can't stay away from. I know they'll love the scent, but also the opportunity to support some amazing charities. It's a gift that gives back.”

The auction for the June 23rd launch event is being run by CharityBuzz, and bidding is currently at $3500.00 (the auction ends on June 21st). The perfume itself is considerably less expensive at $45.00

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Sweet! Candy Scented Nail Polish

Perfect for tweens: Bubble Yum, Jolly Rancher, and Laffy Taffy nail polish. Bubble Yum is bubble gum scented and an opaque pink. Jolly Rancher is apple green scented and comes in a metallic green shade, and Laffy Taffy is a strawberry-scented opaque pink.

From FredFlare.com, $5/apiece.

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Happy National Candy Cane Day! A Candy Cane Manicure

Today is National Candy Cane Day! Our tweens are are inside during today's snow storm in Washington and celebrating by doing candy cane manicures. We found this cool post by a French blogger with instructions (if you liked this, check out our candy corn manicure post from Halloween).

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Tweens and Make-up: a Rising Trend?

The New York Times today ran an article about tweens wearing more make-up "Graduating From LipSmackers?"  It profiled a few mothers discussing their views on make-up and how they've changed over the years - in the past, middle school was considered far too young for eye make-up and lip gloss was only emerging. Fast forward to today, and there are major cosmetic companies targeting tween girls. Neutrogena and Dylan's Candy Bar were cited as examples (Neutrogena recently launched its Teen line of acne clearing make-up), but if you walk into any of Beauty 360 CVS concept stores (an off-shoot of the drugstore giant focused exclusively on upscale make-up and skincare lines) or Sephora, you'll see younger-oriented packaging and labeling of many lines.

While hardly as insidious as Joe Camel, it does make one wonder if girls are in fact being explicitly groomed at younger ages by cosmetic companies in order to gain lifetime loyal customers. Girls have been raiding their mother's vanity drawers for ages, and it's nothing new for girls to aspire to look pretty, but is it inappropriate for companies to tailor make-up lines to girls? Is it adding fuel to the image fire, or is it a good thing for girls to have alternatives to the overly made-up images of adult cosmetic labels? Could a company create a line of make-up for tweens that focused on fun, inner beauty and teaching that didn't run a afoul of the very legitimate charge of making girls grow up too fast? Alyssa Pometta, the 11-year old tween profiled in the the NYTimes article seems to say yes: when "asked if there was a particular celebrity or fashion icon she tried to emulate when putting on makeup, [she] said: 'I don’t take a picture of a celebrity and try to make myself look like them. I try to make myself look like me.'"

And that's a great thing.

So, readers, where do you come out on this topic of make-up and tweens? At what age is it okay to migrate from Lip Smackers to want lip gloss and beyond? Is eye make-up ever okay before the age of 16? What about spa days - do those encourage a premature use of product, or are they good hygiene?

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Starting a Natural Beauty Trend for Tween Girls

Eleven-year old First Tween Malia Obama can add beauty icon to her resume. Girls everywhere follow the First Tweens - what they wear, their musical tastes, where they vacation - and when Miss Malia updated her hairstyle this summer, girls noticed.

Some of the first photos came from their European trip showing her hair in the very natural style of twists. Throughout the summer we watched the Obama girls on their travels throughout the world. We not only saw them interacting with their family and world leaders, but we also observed how they dressed at both formal and casual ocassions.

As girls return to school this month, many young women brought in photos of Malia Obama from this summer asking for similar hair styles. Moms and hairstylist alike have applauded this trend noting that it does not require harsh chemicals or processes that damage their hair. Other African-American celebrities are also making the move to more natural hairstyles including Tyra Banks and Beyonce. Celebrating one's natural beauty is one tween beauty trend we can all get behind.

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