Another vote for “if it’s not interfering with her life, it’s normal.” She’ll probably (though not definitely) get faster at it in the next few years.
Since we’re fully into IMHO now, let me say that you and your wife seem to be doing a great job raising a smart girl. I will second the suggestion to treat her to a session with a professional make up artist - NOT someone who works at a makeup counter at the mall. They are great at gently explaining the notion of “less is more”, and that when your skin is lovely and young and dewy you don’t want to slather it in products, and that you can just use makeup to enhance what you’ve got, not just hide what you don’t like.
Thanks Beartato, I’m going to bring that up…
I’d say her behavior is normal for an American girl of that age. It is possible that she is overly-obsessive about her looks but just give her a blythe “You look nice today.” Let her know that she is valued beyond her looks too. She’s displaying typical angst about her looks. Many of her classmates are doing the same thing.
Great idea Beartato. Make sure it is a makeup artist who is not going to get a commission on selling the products she uses.
IF you can pull it off, noticing when she makes changes can be helpful because it lets her know that you are noticing her. So, for instance, if she changes her eye makeup (new shadow, eyeliner, whatever) say something like “Hey, is that a new look?” Although usually the women in the family are better at picking up on those things and saying the “right” thing (sometimes you want to approve, and sometimes just acknowledge without approving).
A visit to a professional make up artist is a great idea, but you might want to make it a bit of a reward, sort of a “keep your grades up and you can have XXX” sort of thing. Or a birthday present or some other occasion. She needs to have the sense that these things are luxuries of a sort and have a cost, they aren’t givens.
Then again, this time next year she might be totally anti-make-up and dressing in grubby jeans and flannel. Teens can be like that. Just let her know you love her regardless. She’s in that period where she’s experimenting and trying to find what fits for her.
Remember too that teens need to do a lot of thinking. Fucking around with makeup and hair can be like playing solitaire: something for the front half of your brain to do while the back half ruminates.
Heh – I went to high school during the grunge period – I fussed with my hair and make-up for an hour, AND wore flannel and grubby jeans. HA!
You should have seen the hair and make-up mistakes I made when I was thirteen. Quite frankly, I’d let her make her own. I still cringe at them, but it’s fun to recount them later. Think mall claws with so much hair spray that I could even brush my bangs without little flakes of hairspray drifting over my vision. Fortunately that look went out of style about two years later.
Hey OP. I bet she is spending less time taking care of her hair and nails than you did jerking off at that age.
Naw, at that age, it doesn’t take nearly that long.
Another vote for “this is normal for teen girls”. She needs to find out what looks good on her, and what looks horrid. She might very well go with a look that’s horrid on her, if she thinks that it’s something that the cool kids do. I tried to wear all black clothing when I was in my teens and twenties…until I realized that black makes me look like the guest of honor at a funeral, it does NOT make me look sophisticated.
Don’t be surprised if she has friends over and they start applying makeup to each other. This is how girls learn to use the stuff, and it’s a bonding experience. It’s an especially common activity during sleepovers. And a visit to a spa can be a treat. I took my daughter to a nail salon when she was in her mid 20s, and she fell in love with manicures and pedicures.
Let her experiment with her look all she wants, in the privacy of your home. She’s trying to figure out how she wants to present herself to the world, and who she is inside as well.
The summer between sixth and seventh grade it hit me. 1983. I remember my routine every morning: Get up at five and brush my kinky curls until I had a full-on natural red afro. Then I’d put it all in hot rollers, smoothing it down with a flattening iron. Ten minutes later I’d start pulling out each roller and going over it about ten times with the iron, THEN I’d use a crimping iron over every piece. After it was all done I’d spray on that Aqua Net until I achieved the acceptable tallness for my bangs. Occasionally I’d have pink or blue dyed streaks but it never held for long back then.
While my hair was in rollers I’d apply my thick Maybelline foundation, several coats of mascara, electric blue liner and pearly blue eye shadow. Iridescent purple on the lips and I was ready to go.
It was only two hours, ma!
Looks like you survived OK. 
Heck, I knew teenage guys who spent that much time on their hair. Granted, they come out looking like it’s made of plastic, but that was apparently in fashion a the time.
Yeah, I went to high school with a guy who always had perfectly-coiffed hair, and he would frequently touch it up using a comb and some kind of styling product. We’d threaten to knock a lock of hair out of place and he’d recoil in horror.
:eek: normal people do that? wouldn’t that interfere with getting a good night’s sleep?
I didn’t wear make up too often. I played a lot of sports, and I didn’t like the way it felt on my face when I would sweat. And I put hairspray in my hair once before a soccer game. ONCE.
However, there was a floor length mirror in the dinning room where I did my homework. My parents still mock the shit out of me, as I would spend countless hours staring at myself in the mirror. Making faces, or whatever the hell… 
I think simply looking at your own face in a mirror is a teenage thing. It takes time.
Normal.
I did a trade off with TheKid - if she didn’t do the raccoon eyeliner / bad make up thing, she could do whatever to her hair. She has had chunks of purple, blue, pink, teal, rainbows, ‘sunset’ in her (bleached white) hair - done by me. It washes out, doesn’t stain the linen, and allows her to express herself. She was 13 when she discovered a straightening iron. There went an hour every morning.
Now, at 17, she usually just tosses her blonde only hair in a bun or a ponytail and out the door she goes. Your daughter will get over it, eventually.
My mother sold Avon when I was 11-13. She had all the samples that a young girl could ever dream of! She encouraged me to try different things to see what looked best on me. That way I also learned to apply things with a steadier hand too. I still miss a facial mask from the 1950s called Strawberry Cooler!
This age is a learning period.
Very normal.
In grades 7 to 9 it would take me about an hour of hair & makeup to get ready for school - heck - even know at 40 years of age, it takes about 30 mins of lotion, hair & makeup to be ready to go to work.
I remember getting a palate of 48 eye shadows, 8 blush colors, and dozens of lip glosses & lip sticks when I was about that age. Sleepovers with girlfriends where we spent all night trying colors and styling hair just to have to take all the makeup off & go to sleep. A neighbour girl’s mom worked for Mary Kay & sleeping over at her place was FUN! My mom brought me to get a semi-professional makeovers at the Clinque and Lancome and other counters at the department store from time to time as well, and that was very educational when it came to learning about what looked good on me.
I still play with makeup & try new things & I still go for makeovers about once every 3 or 4 years because skin changes and your style changes as you age, and your makeup should suit that style.