Moms Should Buy the New Elsa Makeup Palette...for Themselves

Last week Disney announced the latest in Frozen beauty: a collection of cosmetics called “Snow and Ice” that features Elsa’s dramatically lined big blue eyes and pink lips, front and center.

As one of many moms who dressed up as Elsa this past Halloween for her kids, I gotta say: That chilly gal has a killer digital makeup artist. As a fellow blue-eyed, fair-skinned blonde, I looked up a tutorial on Pinterest on how to copy her look to compliment my costume and was not disappointed. Multiple friends who saw me on the streets that night wrangling my sugared-up kids at first laughed at my getup, then told me, “I LOVE the makeup!”

So I decided to see what the hullabaloo was all about.

© Kim Bongiorno

Off I went to Walgreens, where I found my target on display in the regular women’s cosmetics section. I picked up the e.l.f. Snow and Ice Beauty Book, Glow Eyeshadow set, Icicle Face Palette, Icing Eyeshadow & Eyeliner, and Super Glossy Lip Shine in Kiss Pink. Oh—and a headband with sparkles on it because it has sparkles on it for my head. Minus the headband, that was about $34 for a total of 18 shades of eyeshadow, 2 eyeliners, 1 bronzer, 1 blush, 2 highlighters, 2 lip glosses, and an eyeshadow brush. Not too shabby!

I looked around me to see if there was anything about the location of the items in the store that was aimed at kids. Nope. Just the usual. No dolls, dress-up items, books, or sort of crappy plastic knick-knacks that kids gravitate to. I couldn’t even see the kids’ aisle from where I was. I was a 39-year-old woman standing exactly where she should be when shopping for beauty supplies.

When I dropped my goods on the counter to make my purchase, the cashier (who I’d guess was in her late twenties) practically squealed over my haul. “They used to have a Princess Jasmine collection and I bought it ALL. The colors are so beautiful and it’s cheap for what you get! You are gonna LOVE this.” I had no idea this was a thing—Disney-themed makeup for adults—but she confirmed it right then and there. She had no assumptions I was buying these items for anyone but myself and openly admitted to keeping an eye out for new collections for herself. She seemed like a pretty average woman, too. No Tinkerbell neck tattoos or Pixar-themed cosplay outfit in sight.

Once home, I started with the Beauty Book that (according to some) could possibly corrupt all of our daughters. There are step-by-step instructions on how to create an “Elsa the Princess” or “Elsa the Snow Queen” look. I went with the Princess one, doing exactly as they said. Honestly, the shadows are very sheer and easy to apply without making a mistake. Normally I don’t wear eyeliner, but I followed the instructions to lightly put some around my whole eye along the lash line. Up to that point, I would have been fine with my own little girl using this palette for play. Then I added my own mascara, and voila! Princess Elsa-Kim!

© Kim Bongiorno

A few dabs of makeup remover, and I moved on to the other items I’d bought, going for a glowy daytime look for moms and princesses alike.

It was about halfway through swiping on the subtly sparkly gel shadow that I realized there was NO WAY I’d be dumping this stash into my kid’s dress-up kit in the playroom. It doesn’t have the usual overly glittery, bubble gum-scented tomfoolery that kids’ play makeup has; This stuff was made for grown-ups. It might be priced for playtime and have a cartoony gal staring at me from the lid, but the quality deserves more respect than the bottom of a toy box can give.

A quick search on YouTube shows lots of tutorials on how woman can apply this collection, solidifying my belief that this is one time that we get to have the cool stuff. Sorry, kids!

Now I need to find a good hiding spot so my daughter never finds out exactly how fun my makeup drawer just became. Sure, sharing it with her would be the right thing to do, but I just don’t think I can…let it go.

© Kim Bongiorno

(Sorry. I had to.)