7 Best Pretend Makeup Sets for Toddlers [Mess Free Play] in 2023

Looking for the best pretend makeup sets for toddlers and preschoolers? Look no further! Discover the mess free play makeup kits for ages 2 through 6 years old. Plus tips on choosing real play make up (and brand suggestions) for when your child is ready to upgrade from the no mess options.

Best Tabletop Vanity: Little Dreamer Rainbow by Teamson

Teamson Kids has created an adorable pinky and purple vanity for toddlers to enjoy. Complete with a fake perfume, nail polish, comb, eyelid palette, powder and brush, and two lipsticks. Additionally, this vanity comes with great storage.

It's not too small or two big, and really packs such a great amount of variety. My daughter LOVES “doing” her makeup as well as mine, her dad's and baby brother's. Even with a baby around, I'm not concerned about any “choke hazards” as the pieces are generally a good size and he loves to “do” our makeup too.

Most Realistic: LOVE YOUR LOOK – Makeup Kit Play Set by Melissa and Doug

Melissa and Doug's 16 piece pretend play makeup set is perfect for budding makeup artists! It features one of the most complete (and colorful) pretend makeup sets with an empty foundation pump bottle, compacts for pretend blush, bronzer, and glitter, pretend lipstick and lipgloss, as well as a beautiful eye shadow palette and makeup routine cards.

Plus toddlers will get pretend makeup wipes, which I thought was such a great touch as our kids often see up put on makeup but tend to be asleep when we remove it, which is such an important thing to teach them!

The set includes a great carrying case the lifts into two tiers and has a built in mirror.

Best Color Palette: Plan Toys Make Up Set

Plan Toys is well known for beautiful, quality sustainably made wooden toys and their make up set does not disappoint. It features a canvas waist bag and five piece cosmetic set (lip stick, perfume, a compact, color palette, yarn make up brush, mirror, and eye pencil).

It's also one of the most compact picks on this list, making it good for travel or moving. The waist bag feature is a nice additional feature if your child likes to play dress up as a make up artist or for the simple fine motor activity.

Best For Hair Styling: Wooden Beauty Salon Toy

This wooden beauty kit from One Small Peacock is the most complete pretend makeup kit for budding hair stylists.

Beyond that, the color palette is on point and it comes with the usual make up kit accessories like nail polish, a compact powder, eye shadow, mirror, perfume, and lipstick. Plus it has an adorable carrying bag. All in all we LOVE this one!

Best Frozen Makeup Set: Heaning

I tried so hard to find a Frozen pretend makeup set for toddlers, but pretty much all of them include “real” washable makeup with ingredients I simply don't feel comfortable recommending to kids.

Inside, toddlers can enjoy the 24 piece makeup set. Including: plastic lipsticks, lip glosses, fake powder, fake nail polishes, fake eye shadows, blush, folding comb, nail file, spone, toe separator, makeup brushes, a brush and more. Additionally, they'll love the bracelet and princess crown. All of this comes in a great little makeup bag for easy storage and travel.

Best Princess Themed Makeup Set: Disney Princess Tabletop Vanity

If you have a Disney obsessed little princess on your hands then this makeup vanity is the perfect pick!

The tabletop mirror lights up with built in LED lights and there are three storage sections.

Best Travel Vanity Kit: Bigjigs Toys

If you're looking for a girls makeup kit with a little bit of everything, and not too many pieces you can easily travel, then this vanity kit is the perfect option!

It's rated safe for 3 years old and up, and meets all ASTM and CPSIA safety standards. The pretend makeup set is primarily wooden, with some acrylic.

FAQs about toddler makeup sets

Are play makeup sets educational?

Yes! Play makeup sets are a great way to work fine motor skills, early math concepts on sequencing and patterns, as well as personal hygiene and can build self esteem and creativity

As someone who really only wears makeup when recording Youtube videos, I was kind of put off when my daughter became obsessed with makeup. It came out of left field as she never sees me do it that much and never sees it on TV really. But it's such a match for her soul and brings her so much joy and confidence the developmental benefits are undeniable; even with it being just pretend.

Are play makeup sets safe?

There are two types of play makeup sets: truly pretend featuring no mess fake makeup, and those featuring “play” makeup that kids rub on their faces and leaves colors behind. The former is generally considered safe, while the latter often includes toxic chemicals and dyes. Even the non toxic products marketed by the cosmetics industry is a murky area.

Play makeup sets featuring fake makeup are generally considered safe for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll want to keep an eye out for choking hazards, and make sure they don't poke their eye out with pretend eye makeup.

Is kids play makeup safe?

Generally speaking, no. Washable makeup toys princessmarketed towards kids should typically be avoided. Often times these are cheaply made and include colors, dyes, parabens, petroleum-derived products, and other chemicals that can cause reactions, increase heavy metal exposure, or simply just aren't good for us.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Breast Cancer Fund tested a variety of kids’ cosmetics and Halloween face paints in 2016, and concluded products from name brands like Disney, Hershey's, Lisa Frank and more contained a wide variety of toxins.

They are marketed towards kids simply because the “makeup” is washable; not because it's necessarily safe.

When it comes to kids skin, I'd rather be overly cautious than overly trusting.

If you're concerned, keep reading for more tips and suggestions.

Which makeup is best for kids?

If you're ready to upgrade your child from pretend toy makeup to play makeup we like No Nasties Kids which is an all natural kids makeup brand. Their makeup kits don't use FD&C colours, synthetic dyes, talc, mineral oil, bismuth oxychloride, ferric ferrocyanide or paraben preservatives in any of their products. I love that their balms use monounsaturated oils primarily, making them a safer choice in the sun (something that a lot of natural makeup brands don't focus on). While they do use non-toxic materials, they include tin and iron oxide and titanium dioxide, which I don't love, but is pretty much found in the majority of real cosmetics.

A close second is Klee Naturals kids makeup kit. They also avoid FD&C colors and dyes, talc, parabens, phthalates and harsh chemicals. They primarily use unsaturated coconut oil in their products, but also do use sunflower oil which I don't love. So I'd stick with No Nasties Kids for lip products or balns. They do offer water-based nail polishes which is nice too.

Is Elf Makeup safe for toddlers?

In 2022 elf cosmetics announced its commitment to becoming 100% clean in it's beauty products.

With that said, it's important to know what year the product is from, and still review the ingredient list before using on a toddler.

Can you put makeup on a 2 year old?

Yes, you can put makeup on a 2 year old, but please be mindful of the ingredients in the makeup as toddler's skin can be quite sensitive and most mainstream cosmetic brands use harmful chemicals.

When in doubt, always cross reference EWG's beauty reviews and do a test on a less sensitive/visible part of their skin first to see if there's any reaction.

Final thoughts

Whether you have a budding makeup artist on your hands or simply young kids looking to engage in some creative play, pretend makeup toys can make the perfect gift. When selecting fake cosmetic toys you don't have to stress about harmful ingredients or mess, while still giving children ample opportunities for cognitive development and fun.