Words by: Mia Jones
Graphic by: Casey Murt
Graphic by: Casey Murt
Don’t be too quick to shame and mock these girls; the brand's marketing tactics are kind of genius, honestly. Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro, Laneige, and Glow Recipe all use an array of colors and playful, funky packaging, which has allowed them to expand their market to pre-teen girls. So it’s no secret why they are drawn to these products and eager to use them (I would be a sucker for these strategies too if I were their age).
Not to mention the fact that consumerism and beauty/wellness trends are pushed all over the media. The second that these children get TikTok and Instagram, they are exposed to all the beauty fads and new items on the market. Girls grow up with trinkets and toys that include mini makeup products and applicators, pushing the beauty expectations right off the bat. There is a knocking pressure to grow into womanhood so early on nowadays, while these young ones might not be aware of how fast they are accumulating this stuff.
Fast forward a generation or so later, there is a plethora of us young adult women who have recently attempted to reach back to our ‘inner child’ and feelings of girlhood, be it through implementing bows into just about any piece of clothing or accessory ever, wearing hair clips, frills, or dainty shorts and tops.
So, many of us should not be quick to talk about ‘Sephora girls’, because we know damn well we grew up sifting through mom’s wardrobe and makeup vanity, coloring our hair with chalk and using sticky kids makeup palettes. However, the rate at which this happens now for the younger generations, as well as the WAY it happens, is pretty different. Technology growth is a huge factor in this today. More and more kids get phones at younger ages, and even without that, there is a stronger media presence and more access for those who are Gen Alpha.
Of course, we want little girls to play and explore and learn more about themselves. That is to say, in a way that’s healthy and still fun for them. While there is no harm in playing around with some makeup, the real issue is overconsumption of products that could be damaging to their skin, or use of things that they simply don’t need to use yet (like retinol). Even more, the pressure to fall into consumerism as a blossoming woman with the help of all these products.
…And who’s to say that these youngsters won’t see all the TikTok impersonations of them and take them to heart, the way we talk about them and poke fun at them through jokes on social media isn’t necessarily beneficial for them, or something that will deter them from using these products either.
There is a tendency to put strict boxes onto growing girls and adult women, in order to distinguish what’s appropriate for whom and what’s “grown up enough.” At the end of the day, there is a lot of fluidity between becoming an adult woman and still being a little girl, and these things can almost come together as one. We will always have a piece of our little selves with us as we grow up, and so we should remember to all treat these young girls browsing Sephora with respect.