“Be sure to bring some blush,” Katie’s ballet teacher said, “and lipstick.”

“You’ll want some eye shadow, too, just to accentuate her features…the stage lights will wash the girls out during the recital.”

And I’ve battled with the idea since.

How do I put makeup on my four year old? How do I apply blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick without explaining why?

But, how do I not, when her peers will undoubtedly be polished and made up?

We struggle to protect her from our society’s pressure to be physically beautiful.

To be better.

To be more.

To be perfect.

She’s four.

And she’s already so incredibly lovely.

I’ve packed and unpacked makeup no fewer than three times.

Her recital is tonight and I still don’t know what I’ll do. How do I explain to her why she needs makeup?

How do I show her that true beauty lies within when I’m applying makeup to her face?

Her father and I work so hard to stress just how beautiful she is on the inside…how she is already just perfect.

How much will applying makeup to her sweet face contradict what we’ve worked so long to teach her?

I just don’t know how I can do it.