‘Young girls today can do it all’: Frances Whiting on today’s glamorous teens

Frances Whiting’s morning routine used to involve Flex shampoo, an apricot scrub and maybe some of her mum’s Oil of Ulan. For girls today, that routine looks a lot different.

Teenagers today have their glamorous skincare and makeup routines all sorted.

When I was a teenager, getting ready to go out involved the following … Have a shower, wash and conditioner hair with Flex shampoo – #NeverForget – and then wash my face with Apricot Scrub.

This was not like the subtle scrubs of today, by the way, with those tiny microbeads or whatever they call them, no this was akin to washing your face with a Steelo soap pad, but it did the trick.

Then I would slap on some Oil of Ulan moisturiser I had stolen from my mother, and that was my entire skin care routine.

For make up, I would apply lashings of blue eyeshadow, pop on some Lipsmacker lip gloss, spray on some Impulse, and that was it.

Oh, or course, my hair. Actually, you can recreate this look at home if you like. Rub some gel or mousse into your hand, use the palm of your hand to rub the front section of your hair in a circular motion, until you get the desired effect, which is to look like you have a shelf coming out of your head. Yes, I was very attractive, thank you.

Lashes, brows, contouring – teens today can do it all.

And while every generation believes times were simpler in their day, I think I can say with conviction that when it comes to beauty and beauty products, times really were simpler in my day.

Also my day didn’t really come until about 16 but today, when I was in one of those huge cosmetics stores I watched as a couple of girls who could not have been older than 12 speak confidently about contouring. Now, as someone who is still not entirely sure what contouring is, I was both impressed and a little concerned.

Because skincare and makeup for young people these days is a far more complex affair than when I was a girl cluelessly spraying Sun-In on my hair and pretending I’d been to the beach.

These young women know far more about cosmetics than I did, they know from social media which are the hottest products – something called Laneige if you’re interested, also Hollywood Flawless foundation and Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm (and yes, Mecca Cosmetica, I would like you to send me all these products forthwith) but not only that, they know how to apply them. Properly. Even the eyeshadow. With the highlighting. And the eyeliner flick.

I have never been good at the eyeliner flick, or any sort of eyeshadow application. The only time I ever wore it to work, the journalist I used to sit across from asked me if I had a black eye.

Young girls today know exactly where to place the blush and how to use contour sticks.

But young girls today can do it all, they know exactly where to apply the blush to make their cheeks more defined, how to shadow their faces using contour sticks to highlight or disguise features, they can do the perfect lip line.

And while there is a part of me that worries that young girls are worrying about how they look, the other part of me remembers that it was ever thus – and it was fun. It was fun going to the shops and experimenting with different looks, it was fun giggling uncontrollably with your friends getting ready (although that could also have been the hairspray fumes) and it was fun being young.

And despite all our worries, I think it still is. Now, does anyone know where I can get my hands on some Woodleigh Field Green Apple Shampoo?

Fran Loves: Bauhinias, they never get as much love as our jacarandas or poinsettias, but these beautiful trees are in flower all over Queensland at the moment, and they are gorgeous, showy, delights.