The Cutest Halloween Makeup Tutorial. Ever.

To me, the most fun part of Halloween has always been dressing up. When I was tiny, it meant putting on something princessy that my mom either made from scratch, or put together using that year's ballet costume and more determination than any human should ever have to. I'm sure that determination was helped along by the little tyrant standing next to her, demanding her to, "Sew good, Mama. Sew good." But I digress. Anyway, Halloween meant sparkly dresses and--the cherry on top, to a five year-old--digging through Mama's makeup. Afterall, you can't expect a princess to be seen without her blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick. I mean, come on.

When I was little, there was nothing more fun in the world than playing with Mama's makeup. Every now and then, she'd replace something or decide a shade didn't work for her, and it could go in my dress-up drawer. For as much joy as that brought me, you'd have thought she'd given me a million dollars. Of course, this was just for me to play with. I was never allowed to leave the house wearing makeup (not until I was much, much older, anyway), but I could play with it as much as I wanted.

I remember babysitting my two year-old cousin one day, just a few years ago, and her looking up at me, holding out her hand, and simply saying, "Fingernails pink." Next thing I knew, I was knelt down beside her, making her fingernails pink. I think silver glitter may have been involved, too, but I did draw the line at letting her make my fingernails pink. That sort of seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

Little girls and dress-up go hand in hand. I mean, look at the success of places like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, or all those spa tea party places that keep popping up (or is that just a local thing? I swear, there's got to be one on every corner around here). As long as it's just good, old-fashioned, innocent fun, I think there's nothing more adorable. Now, it can get out of hand, but I'm in too good of a mood right now to spoil it by going off on a rant about skanky baby clothes, that French child model, Toddlers and Tiaras, or the way-too-goshdarned-early sexualization of girls today. I'd prefer to keep to the positive, and introduce you to Madison.

Madison is five years-old, and she loves makeup. Even more, she loves "complete looks", with hair styles, costumes, props, and anything else she can think of. She's also more than happy to show off how she creates her looks through remarkably articulate YouTube tutorials, which, at last count, have more than 11,000 subscribers (of which I am now one). Madison's not super picky about her brands, either, other than her sponsor-supplied brushes. She seems to prefer MAC, but utilizes everything from CoverGirl and E.L.F. on up. (Honestly, I get the feeling it's whatever Mom happened to have lying around.) When she really likes something, she'll even tell you to buy it or she'll be sad, but she says it with a grin.

This is a child who is having fun. Dear God, there aren't enough of those around these days. She's not expertly applying makeup to accentuate her features or play up her sex appeal; she's playing around with colors and putting on what she wants, simply because she wants to. She's not bad, either. Her technique's not great (little baby hands weren't built for brushes), but she understands swatching, colors, what brushes are used for, and can toss off well thought out opinions, reviews, and advice, such as, "I really love this eyeshadow for a highlighter." You don't see a lot of foundation, because Mommy won't let her wear it. I've been through several of her (at writing) 43 videos, and have yet to see mascara. This is just a sweet baby playing dress-up on camera, and it's heartwarming. Her exuberance is infectious. When she bursts into fits of giggles at the "pet spider" prop shimmying up and down his web, I chuckled along with her. You cannot watch this precious, precocious child and stay in a bad mood. I'm also highly impressed with her parents. They're fostering creativity, allowing her to enjoy her childhood as a child, and, if you compare early entries with her latest, her vocabulary and public speaking skills have improved exponentially.

Madison's latest tutorials are all Halloween-centric, with instructions for a sunflower, ladybug, kitty, clown, and (my favorite) a vampire princess. This is Halloween, folks. This is the joy of childhood innocence and imagination. Meet Madison. You'll be glad you did.