Kylie Jenner puts black lipstick on 3-year-old niece North, sparks debate about whether kids should wear make-up

Kylie Jenner has been criticised by some for putting black lipstick on her three year old niece [Photo: Instagram/kylizzlesnapchats]

Playing with make-up is practically a rite of passage for many little girls (and some little boys too!). But how young is too young to be slicking on the lipstick?

Well, Kylie Jenner has been slammed by some social media users for putting black lip gloss on her three-year-old niece, North West.

The 19-year-old reality star, who has her own beauty range filmed herself applying thick, black lipstick on sister, Kim Kardashian’s daughter, then letting her pose for the camera on Snapchat.

The clips show Kylie bending down to her niece and asking: “You wanted black yeah? Oh your little lips. Your lips are kind of wet.”

In another clip ‘The Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star films North showing off the jet black lipstick with a pout before asking her if she liked it, to which North responded with an enthusiastic “Yeah!”

Little North enjoyed playing with aunty Kylie’s lip kits [Photos: Instagram/kylizzlesnapchats]

Kylie also shared a picture of North with another little girl holding boxes of her lipkit and the caption “What happens at auntie Kylie’s stays at auntie Kylie’s.”

But though little North seemed thrilled with her new look, the Internet wasn’t as sure with many taking to social media to blast the star’s decision to put black lipstick on such a young child.

“Ridiculous this baby is trying to look like her mum and aunts..Sad..Let her be a damn child!” wrote one woman.

"Wtf why is a 3 yr old pouting suggestively wearing make-up?” added another angrily.

“I don’t like. Kids should be kids,” penned another critic.

North was heading off to a party [Photos: Instagram/kylizzlesnapchats]

But others stepped in to defend Kylie, claiming that wanting to play with makeup is part and parcel of being a little girl.

“Aw North West looks super cute on @KylieJenner snapchat, she proper slays kylie’s black matte lipstick,” one woman commented.

Kylie was dressing her niece up to celebrate her boyfriend Tyga’s son, King Cairo, turning four as the family were later pictured at a Ferrari-themed birthday bash.

It’s not the first time a celebrity has been criticised for allowing a child to wear make up. Last year Katie Price was blasted for letting her then 8-year-old daughter pose backstage at a pantomime with her face heavily made up.

“What the hell is wrong with this girl’s mum, this is over sexualising a little girl,” one person commented.

While another added: “It’s awful making a beautiful child look like an adult.”

But not everyone agreed that the step was a bad parenting move and some parents felt it was all a bit of harmless fun. “So I take it nobody got dressed up, wore mums make up and heels ended up looking like a clown?

“The kid is backstage with stage makeup on and dressing up. Just sometimes please see things for what they are, a child having fun.”

Following the controversy, Princess herself stepped to defend her mum claiming it was entirely her decision to wear the make-up.

But whether innocent dress-up fun or a complete parenting no no, there’s little doubt the debate about the age children should be allowed to play with make-up has been gathering pace of late.

In a survey carried out by online retailer Escentual.com, it was revealed that girls are starting to wear make-up younger than ever before. According to the research, the national average age for girls starting to use make-up is now 11 years of age. That’s three years younger than it was a decade ago.

While Escentual put the results down to peer pressure from school friends or older siblings, the 1,000 women surveyed didn’t lay the blame entirely at their door, because while 34.3% of the women put it down to classroom politics, and 37.8% think it’s more to do with young girls wanting to feel more ‘grown up’, the rest think reality TV shows, like the one Kylie Jenner stars in, are part of the cause.

What do you think? Is wearing make-up harmless fun or should it be forbidden until they’re older? Let us know @YahooStyleUK

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