While wearing your school uniform is considered the ultimate in cool, it's little wonder that the next phase is a young face full of slap. Younger and younger girls in Japan are reaching for the rouge and in response cosmetic companies are deliberately targeting teeny-boppers.
Kanebo Cosmette claims it was the first company to provide "real" cosmetics for children. And its Yeah! range, launched in March 1999, was an instant success, bringing in just below 1 billion yen in its first year.
Yeah! offers 10- to 14-year-old girls their own brand of powder, blusher, mascara, lipstick and nail varnish. Prices range from 350 yen to 1,300 yen. The nail colors and 800 yen blusher were the big hits of the last range, and a new line debuted last month. This includes skin-care products such as facial cleansers and moisturizers, as well as updated colors in the existing line. No perfumes are used in the makeup, and Kanebo says it is easily washed off with soap.