Founder Sam Cutler Is Empowering T(w)eens with "Petite 'n Pretty" Makeup
Look no further for age-appropriate makeup!
The transition from childhood innocence to makeup can be a challenging progression for many parents. Typically, t(w)eens begin wearing makeup between the ages of 12-15 years old. However, many parents still commonly find themselves questioning not only the appropriate age to begin wearing makeup but, where they can find makeup that is age-appropriate.
To provide answers, Women.com spoke with the Founder of Petite ’n Pretty,, Samantha Cutler. Samantha will always remember the first time she wore makeup. She openly shares a story about the empowering emotions she felt when her mother brushed a light touch of blush across her cheeks.
Inspired to empower others, Petite ’n Pretty is a makeup and skincare line designed for pre-teens and tweens. Their age-appropriate products are cruelty-free, vegan, and dermatology and Pediatrician approved.
Petite ’n Pretty proudly acknowledges that they are creating age-appropriate products that inspire the imaginations of the next generations. They use safe formulas and petite-sized features to provide positive first beauty experiences to each t(w)een.
If your child has expressed interest in makeup, keep scrolling to get to know the Founder of Petite ’n Pretty, Samantha. Learn why Petite ’n Pretty is the best place to start to ensure a body-positive experience with makeup!
Being a beauty authority with a successful career in developing award-winning products for prestigious beauty brands, when did your passion for makeup begin?
My passion for cosmetics and beauty began at a very early age. As far back as I can remember, I was melting crayons and doing my dolls make-up. That then evolved into me rummaging through my mom’s makeup and playing around. As I got older, some of my fondest memories are going to the mall with my mom and visiting the makeup counters. I soon became that friend that was always doing my friends make-up for parties, dances, and more.
What was the inspiration behind Petite ‘n Pretty?
My inspiration for Petite ‘n Pretty was to develop a beauty brand that is age appropriate, fun, inclusive, and clean. As a mother and a product developer, I think it is so important to give the best to someone for their first experience in beauty. As a brand, we want to ensure that our user has an amazing experience, as it is something that will last a lifetime.
While you were launching Petite ‘n Pretty, what common issues were you trying to resolve that mothers have when they introduce makeup into their child’s life?
Mothers would always say to me, “My daughter is getting into makeup, what is a good brand to get her?” I honestly never had an answer, as nothing was age-appropriate, the quality of the products were questionable, or they simply were too advanced for them. I often like to say, when your child is learning how to ride a bike, you’re going to give them something with training wheels so they can feel comfortable and empowered… we are that of beauty.
How does your brand empower the future generation?
It has been amazing to watch our community of young creatives grow and engage with Petite ‘n Pretty as we just hit our 4 th birthday! We have an incredibly empowered group of young people who have been fans of the brand since day one, and we are always growing in awareness which brings new moms and users to the brand. We aim to inspire and empower the future generation through our belief that there are no mistakes in makeup. We are a safe community that encourages each other to try new techniques, looks, and most importantly, always have fun.
We work with teen makeup influencers to create and teach our community how to achieve different looks and how to use products. We have found that tweens and teens like to “learn” from people who are closer to their age as they don’t feel intimidated or embarrassed if they have questions or “mess-up.”
We love to have our Zoom-camps during the summer months which is the best place for our community to engage with our another. It is incredible to see our “Sparkle Squad” connect from all over the world – we have even had campers zoom in from Indonesia! We teach intro to makeup and by the end of our camps, our Sparkle Squad are doing full-on cut creases and feel very confident with their newly learned techniques.
We like to speak to our customers and users like they are our friend, and we are not an authority. We find that it works, and it is authentic to us!
When it comes to the creation process, how does Petite ‘n Pretty differ from competitors?
We take the product development process extremely serious. We have an extensive “no-no” list that we follow. The main key differences are our talc free and nut free formulas, which are not common in brands. Since our brand is intended for a younger consumer, there are many nut allergies so therefore, we formulate without them. Once we finalize our formulas, Ophthalmologists, Dermatologists, and Pediatricians test our products to ensure they are safe for our user.
We like to make sure that all our shades are “age appropriate” and not too pigmented. We also size our tools to make sure they are the perfect size for our user to have a great experience. In particular, our lip gloss applicator is about 25% smaller than the average lip gloss doe foot. Our mascara brush was custom tooled for smaller eyes, as your eye isn’t fully developed until you’re about 15 years old. Our mascara brush is about 2mm smaller than the leading mascara brushes on the market. All our brushes are smaller as well, which are the perfect fit for petite-sized features!
We receive many inbound requests from our users for specific products and collections. Many of our users don’t have social media or email, so we send blank postcards with each order! Getting mail back is the best and so fun to read!
Being cruelty-free, nut-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, and proven safe, what challenges did you face when creating age-appropriate products?
Often times, many base formulas will contain nuts which will require us to go through a whole new development, which adds a lot of time onto our timeline. In addition to a longer development time, our extensive testing [Pediatrician, etc} adds onto our timing for launch.
How would you define age-appropriate makeup?
I would define age-appropriate makeup as shades that are sheer-to-buildable and not too pigmented. I would also define age-appropriate makeup to have appropriate product and shades names. There are many brands that skew younger, but the product or shades names are not appropriate for a tween or teen.
Being a mother, have you come to learn any surprises along the way working with youth and makeup?
Yes, I have! I think a lot of our younger generation is very savvy when it comes to makeup, skin care and brands! With the rise of social media, especially YouTube, you are seeing much younger and more talented makeup artists.
For interested readers, what are some of your best sellers?
Our best sellers are our palettes, specifically our 9021-Glow and WhimsiCali Palette. Our Featherlight Light clear brow gel and mascara, Fully Feathered Mascara, My Stellar Micellar Make Up Wipes, and our Glow No Where blotting sheets! I have found that since there are not a lot of brands that cater to our audience, many moms will only buy Petite ‘n Pretty as they trust us!
Tell us more about the Petite ‘n Pretty Sparkle Stories!
Our Sparkle Stories are a fun way for us to keep our readers up to date on blog posts and what is happening in our community with new products, influencers, etc.
For teens, tweens, and kids who are beginning their first beauty experience, does Petite ‘n Pretty offer any type of virtual class(s)?
Yes, we offer Zoom camps and private zoom makeup classes which do very, very well for us!
Where do you see the future going for Petite ‘n Pretty?
There are many goals for the brand, but most importantly, we launch into Ulta Stores this Fall / Holiday Season which is very exciting as our user can now experience the brand in person. We eventually would love to take the brand internationally. As we have many international fans of the brand, right now we are currently not sold or distributed overseas, so this is a goal for us.
How can readers stay up to date with new releases and sales?
The best way to stay up to date on new releases and sales is to sign up for our email list and follow us on social media! We always have fun updates and news!
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