Willa Skincare for girls just old enough to care about such things

I learned two things painting faces at an Easter party: little boys really like to be painted as zombies, and wow, tweens and teens have seriously oily skin. So oily that you have to blot it before you can paint it. Yowza.

I’m so glad to see that the products I used to combat my own pizza face as a kid have been replaced with far more sophisticated options.

Willa skin care is a new line of tween and teen beauty products available online and exclusively in Target and JCREW Crewcuts. The look is fresh, the products were developed and tested by teens, and the prices are affordable. And, most importantly, they don’t contain stuff like parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.

I tried the travel kit pictured above, and I think they’re great gateway products to skin care for girls. The look is cute, the smell and feel is fresh and not overpowering, and the ingredients are of much higher quality than anything I’ve seen for acne and teen use in drugstores.

Granted, these are not 100% natural or organic products, and there are a few instances of ingredients that raise an eyebrow to those wary of ingredients like mineral oil in lip gloss. But the Start Fresh foaming face wash combats the greasies effectively, and the Face Friendly clear face moisturizer goes on smoothly for just the right amount of moisture.

I also really, really enjoyed the Fresh Face cucumber face mask, which was so luxurious and thick that I took a picture to post on my own blog.

If you’re seriously serious about staying natural, Willa might not be the route for your tween or teen–and you’re going to be paying more than the mass marketed stuff. (The foaming face wash is $11). But if you’re in Target and your daughter demands something cute and stylish and a little grownup, you could do a lot worse.

Just make sure you snag the face mask–for yourself. Even if we’re way beyond the acne years, we still need pampering, and that stuff is boss.~Delilah

Find Willa skin care products on their website or find a store near you.