Shay Mitchell launches skincare for children fuelling heated discussion
Pretty Little Liars actress Shay Mitchell has sparked an interesting debate online, after revealing she's launched a skincare brand for kids.
For those unfamiliar with the TV star, 38-year-old Mitchell sky-rocketed to stardom in 2010 after landing the role of Emily Fields in the teen drama-thriller, in which she starred alongside the likes of Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, and Sasha Pieterse.
In the years since, the Canadian star has also made several further on-screen appearances, including in You, Dollface, and The Cleaning Lady.
Aside from acting, Mitchell has garnered mass praise for her business acumen, having founded the travel-fashion firm BÉIS and the production company Amore & Vita Inc. in 2018, as well as the tequila brand Onda two years later.
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More recently, however, the mother-of-two has seemingly turned her attention towards cosmetics, with a brand named 'Rini' set to launch in the coming weeks.
Interestingly, though, it appears that the line of skincare is directed at children instead of adults, with a baby-faced youngster appearing in Mitchell's recent Instagram announcement.
The snap - which shows a child, roughly aged eight or nine, donning a pink sheet mask - is captioned: "Something gentle, something new — launching tomorrow."
Despite not yet showing any post of its own, the account @rini has been set up online, bearing a taupe and pink logo. The bio reads: "Consciously Crafted in Korea, Just for Kids!"
It also includes a link to the brand's official website, which launches in a matter of hours.
Unsurprisingly, however, the decision to bring out a brand with the potential of affecting a child's skin hasn't gone down too well with a number of onlookers, including one Reddit user who begged: "Let kids be kids!"
They went on to write: "I don't know. I'm here for having skin products that are safe for kids, but there's something so f****d up about a little girl in a face mask. Like my goodness it feels like we are pushing beauty standard to completely unrealistic levels."
Another questioned: "What’s more gentle on the skin is using nothing."
"I don’t think this is going to be great to be honest," a third agreed. "I think there’s a place for affordable non-irritating soaps and moisturisers for parents to use on their kids. But that market exists and it’s one of the reasons brands like Palmers and Vaseline are household staples.
"No child needs a face mask like this. And this suggests it could end up being a silly price. Insecurities already start younger nowadays, this is not it to me."
Others, however, jumped to Mitchell's defence, pleading with critics not to knock her latest business venture before they try it.
Having their say, one chimed in: "I gave my cousin a bunch of nice face masks recently and her four-year-old daughter got super excited because she wanted to do one and have a spa day with her mom.
"I guess we'll see what Shay's line is giving, but hopefully it's not nefarious in the way folks here are thinking."
Another continued: "If we’re talking about things like sunscreen, moisturizer, lip balm, I have no problem with that. I think it’s good to have gentle and safe products for kids.
"Even a line of play makeup that’s very gentle and comes off easily would be okay in my eyes because so many kids like experimenting with that kind of thing simply because they see their parents do it or their favorite characters or whatever.
"Putting colors on your face is fun for kids and I think that’s okay as long as it’s not associated with their level of beauty and it’s treated more like face paint or temporary tattoos."
Rhianna Benson