Photo: The Sun

Hard to believe that we were shocked by makeup for eight-year-olds and titillating Vogue Enfants spreads. In a story that we sincerely hope is a load of BS (it was featured in UK tab The Sun), a mother in the UK proudly admits to giving her eight-year-old daughter, Britney, Botox injections to increase her chances of becoming a star. Britney is apparently active on the child pageant scene.

Kerry (no last name mentioned) is a “beautician” in the UK who buys Botox and other fillers from friends and the internet, then injects her daughter’s face with them every three months. Oh, but she tests them all on herself first, so it’s perfectly safe.

Mom told The Sun: “I know one day she will be a model, actress, or singer, and having these treatments now will ensure she stays looking younger and baby-faced for longer.” If you haven’t yet passed out from shock, she then said this: “She is a lucky little girl and is going to be famous because of the benefits I am giving her so early.”

In addition to the injections, “she also has her virgin wax monthly, which gets rid of her fluffy leg hair and makes sure she won’t develop pubic hair in the future.” Virgin wax!? It’s conceivable that an eight-year-old could have the beginnings of pubic hair, but there’s probably very little to wax down there.

There are then a series of more disturbing quotes from Britney in which she says she wants a nose and boob job. To top it all off, the mother wants to tattoo Britney’s eyebrows into an arch and add permanent lip liner.

My sense of outrage is tempered with the hope that this is a fake and sensationalist story. However, in this age of Toddlers and Tiaras, part of me believes that some nutjob mother could do this. When I was eight, my dreams of stardom were limited to what I could get my Ballerina Barbie to do on her plastic stand and sneaking lipstick from my mother (who only wore the occasional nude shade, so that was super disappointing). But it’s a whole different story now.