A TEENAGE girl who dreams of a show business career has undergone radical beauty treatment and had make-up tattooed on her face.

Sophie Watson has followed in the footsteps of popstar and model idols such as Jordan by having semi-permanent make-up applied.

The 14-year-old’s tattooed eyeliner, eyebrows, lip liner and fake beauty spot will last for up to five years.

Sophie’s mother, Joy, from Spennymoor, County Durham, has defended her decision to allow her only child to undergo the seven-hour, £1,200 procedure in glossy magazine, Closer.

The 39-year-old beauty therapist said the tattoos, which are legal, but require parental consent for under 18s, were “the obvious next step” for her daughter, who has dreamt of stardom since she was five.

She said: “I wasn’t overly worried and, once she’s got an idea in her head, there’s no stopping her.”

Sophie holds 22 beauty pageant titles, is on the books of a model agency and is chasing a singing and acting career.

In May, she secretly spent her pocket money on two tattoos, despite it being illegal to permanently tattoo a child.

Of her latest treatment, Sophie said: “The whole thing took nearly seven hours and the eyeliner was the worst part. I started crying because the thought of a needle being that close to my eye freaked me out.”

She said she instantly loved her new face, partly because it is helping to hide her natural colouring.

She dyes her red hair dark brown and her eyebrows are coloured to match.

But she is already planning even more drastic measures – to have laser treatment to hide her freckles – though her mother disagrees.

Children’s charity, the NSPCC, declined to comment on Sophie’s story but said it has concerns about several related issues. A spokesman said: “The danger is that a growing climate of sexualisation encourages a view of girls as sex objects.

“All children should be valued for their abilities and talent.

They should be free to grow up as children.

“Sadly, we have reached a point where many children get distressed because they think they don’t look good.

For some vulnerable children, this can even lead to mental health problems.”

■ The full feature appears in this week’s Closer magazine, on sale now.