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John Lewis Pulls ‘Back To School’ Makeup Classes For 12-Year-Olds After Backlash From ‘Horrified’ Parents

Joanna Freedman

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John Lewis Pulls ‘Back To School’ Makeup Classes For 12-Year-Olds After Backlash From ‘Horrified’ Parents

Featured Image Credit: Credit: Unsplash

John Lewis has cancelled 'back to school' makeup classes for pre-teens after facing mass backlash online.

The department store was forced to apologise after parents declared they were "horrified" at the offering from the MAC counter in their Bluewater Kent store.

The 'mini masterclass', which was first advertised on Facebook, was promoted with an image of two young girls sporting full faces of makeup. It has now been deleted from their social media.

Credit: Facebook/ Bluewater
Credit: Facebook/ Bluewater
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And naturally, parents were less than impressed when they came across it online, with one mother declaring she was "horrified," while another asking the company: "Is this for real?!"

"@jlandpartners @MACcosmetics just want to know why you think it is morally OK to run a back to school makeup event for 12 yearolds? Very disappointed.

"Also, most schools have a no makeup policy so you are encouraging them to flaunt school rules???," one angry Twitter user wrote.

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Credit: PA
Credit: PA

While a teacher agreed: "Though an isolated incident at one @jlandpartners @MACcosmetics counter, this messaging is insidious and harmful.

"As a teacher, I see the consequences of this societal attitude in the young females I teach, and it is damaging."

A third fumed: "I'm a primary school teacher, and a mum of two girls, and I'm already seeing the heartbreaking reality of the pressure girls feel at younger and younger ages over their appearance.

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"Why would you feed in to this? They don't need tips on make-up from the age of 12."

Credit: PA
Credit: PA

They added: "And certainly not marketed as a back to school thing.Whoever came up with this idea seriously needs to assess their moral compass."

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In a statement following the backlash, John Lewis said: "This was an isolated event organised at a local MAC counter.

"As a brand MAC does not market to anyone under 16 so this event should not have been arranged. It has been cancelled and we are very sorry for any upset caused.

"We're looking into how it happened to make sure that this type of event doesn't take place again."

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Pretty 52 have contacted the department store, MAC and Bluewater for further comment.

Topics: Hair and Beauty, Life News

Joanna Freedman
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