Sephora is FED UP with Gen Alpha. They finally clap back.

You've been coming to Sephora for years: birthdays, holidays, hey, maybe even a splurge here and there. I mean, you're just a human being. But today, as you walk through the aisles of the store, something is different. The employees who meet his gaze look exhausted. Display stands that once shined impeccably now display test products that are stained, broken and, for the average hygiene-conscious citizen, completely unusable. Some application stations are even blocked with tape. Lately, on the Internet you have been seeing warnings of what was happening. All the while telling yourself I was being overreacting. It couldn't be happening everywhere.

Not your Sephora. That's when you start paying attention to your fellow shoppers, most of whom seem to have confused the beauty retailer with Build-A-Bear at the next level. The rumors are true: what used to be your safe space for self-care and retail therapy has become Generation Alpha's playground. But do not worry. Sephora just announced that

they

are done playing the game. I'm at Sephora right now and I'm going to count how many 10 year olds I see. One two. Three. He is currently passing by a ten-year-old girl who is getting her eyebrows done. Seven. Eight. Now there's a group of ten year olds here and

they

're playing with lipstick. 10. 11. 12.

Just when you think the cosmetics industry has targeted its youngest possible clientele with a preventative, or rather “baby botox”. . . In the United States, Botox used for people ages 19 and younger grew by 75% between 2019 and 2022 and by 71% for adults ages 20 to 29. And his war against the babyface was launched. . . Those who want a more chiseled look undergo buccal fat removal, the cheek-defining procedure takes over social media and even celebrities like Chrissy Teigen reveal their results. A new, younger demographic has emerged. Meet the aptly named "Sephora kids," a group of tweens who have seemingly jumped straight from the bars to the aisles of the beauty franchise. (Mom) What did you just say? (Child) It's my house. (Mom) Your house?

And while these young people can be found wandering through various sections of various retailers, from Ulta to CVS, their favorite spot is undoubtedly the counter of Drunk Elephant, a brand that Glamor recently described as the latest "teen obsession." (Mom) What is your favorite skincare brand? (Boy) Skin care? (Mom) Yes. (Child) Drunk elephant. (Mom) Drunk elephant. But even if these little guys have gone unnoticed, it's hard to ignore their consequences. Look, the kids at Sephora aren't just window shopping, they're also doing testing. And unfortunately for buyers, the typical sampling and drying won't be enough for these tweens who want more. . . textural experience.

Specifically, they've become known for using the handy squeeze applicator on certain Drunk Elephant products to create concoctions called "skincare smoothies," a non-edible mix of skincare and makeup. And while some children clean up their experiments once they are finished. . . As the state of Drunk Elephant's reviewers would suggest, many don't. But of course, it's not just the Drunken Elephant that has been tainted in the wake of the Sephora kids. Recently, products from various retailers and brands have become stained, leaky, broken and cracked due to mishandling and use, a disaster that social media blames on these tweens. However, Sephora kids not only play with this expensive skincare and makeup, they are also purchased by them, or rather, by their parents.

This is the only one, my favorite set. I only have it in the mini, so I'll buy the large one. And although your guardians may not approve of all purchases. . . (Reporter) What do your parents think when you said, “I want skin care for Christmas”? (Girl) They pause for a second and say, “Um, do you need it?” (Mom) What will you get Ruby? You don't have enough on your card for that. (Child) Stop! (Child) Please, I pinky promise that I will give it

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to you. This will mean a lot to me. (Mom) No girl, you're not going to get anything.

It seems that perseverance, in this case, could be the key. After all, there's a reason companies are rebranding their cosmetics with children's books and TV shows. . . and it has less to do with nostalgia and more to do with the desire to cash in on this burgeoning demographic that is already predicted to create a massive influx of sales. You see, Statista data suggests that both the children's and baby skincare markets are projected to grow 7.71% annually to reach $380 million worldwide in four years. (Reporter) Raise your hand if you have skin care on your Christmas wish list. All. (Girls) *Laughs* And given the extensive cosmetic collections these tweens are amassing that rival those of adults, it's not hard to see that Barbie Dream Houses are out and Sephora is in.

These are my eyeshadow palettes, these three. So, my concealer. Some glitter, foundation, two mascaras, a highlighter and then my beauty blenders. That's all my makeup. This is my skincare, ready? These are my eye pads. I will soon buy a mini fridge so they can go in there. But why are children attracted to cosmetics? Well, while some have theorized that their interest in brands like Drunk Elephant has more to do with their colorful packaging than anything else, as the findings of one TikToker's social experiment with his six-year-old daughter suggest, that doesn't seem to be true. . the case.

As a marketing gal, I was really curious if these kids are flocking to these specific drone products because of their looks or if it's because of cultural influences and the social validation they get from using them. that doesn't seem to be the case. Yes, as usual, to receive the note you need to stay tuned or, more importantly, scroll through the For You page. Apparently, it all started when North West, Kim Kardashian's nine-year-old daughter, posted her skincare routine on TikTok in 2022, a post that went viral and inspired a surge of "skinfluencers" among teens. And so a vulnerable subset of users, uncomfortably caught between the autonomy of childhood and adolescence, became hooked on these “get ready with me” videos. . . and the expensive products they presented. (garzacrew) Get ready with me just using Drunk Elephant.

Now let's rub a dub dub. Oh my God! It's as refreshing as this drunk elephant. I have to give you a 10 out of 10. (Youngest daughter) Dad, I need one more dollar for this. (Eldest daughter) All I see are girls doing their facial routines on TikTok. (Younger daughter) Please— (Eldest daughter) And I've been watching this and I want it so much. As Denish Shah, associate professor of marketing at Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business, put it in an interview with the BBC: So, it's not the brand that's doing the heavy lifting on the trend, but It's the lethal mix of insecurity and online exposure that is "really driving the trend." sales in this younger demographic.” A new report from the Dove self-esteem project found that nine in 10 children are exposed to toxic beauty content on social media apps.

However, the invasion of teenagers has not come without complaints. Makeup customers are fed up and are flocking to social media complaining about tweens flooding beauty stores and buying expensive skin care products. Yes, if you've been on TikTok, you've probably seen the reaction when users flood the platform with tales recounting their unpleasant encounters with Sephora kids. I'm sure you've heard of the little 10 year old girls at Sephora by now. I wanted to share my story. Story time about how I almost pulled my hand at Sephora. Brace yourself with me as I tell you more about these crazy 10 year olds from Sephora.

There is one thing I don't understand and that is the 12 year old girls at Sephora who traumatized me today. They marked me. For life. I am a victim, a victim, of 12 and 13 year old boys inside Sephora. And the tropes of these stories that forge a deeply unflattering stereotype of the average preteen shopper are hard to ignore, because of the callous disregard they show toward other customers. . . And these children are ruthless, as if they were looking askance at me, as if they were cutting my front. They are, they are ruthless. It was like 20 minutes of pure torture, pure abuse for me.

And so I was minding my own business in line and then there was a woman, maybe 35, 40 years old, looking at the counter in front of these girls and I could hear the girls whispering and talking about how ugly she was. , how ugly her hair was and how bad her skin was. Her lack of respect for the employees. . . This girl came up to me, obviously asking if we had the Drunk Elephant tanning drops. This was the time when they were so incredibly viral that they were literally not available anywhere, so I told him no, we didn't have them, but I have some really good "dupes" or alternatives that I could show you if you.

I would like to. The moment I said this girl had a look of pure disgust on her face. This girl looks me dead in the eye and says, "Are you kidding me?" And the misuse of her merchandise. I thought they were lying! The Lord can answer for me. I thought they were lying! They start knocking things off the Glow Recipes shelf, this time it wasn't Drunk Elephant, but they started knocking things off the Glow Recipes shelf! And laughing! Unsurprisingly, these Sephora-generated horror stories make some customers no longer feel welcome at the retailer. . . (Voice 1) Am I too old to be here? (Voice 2) What? (Voice 1) Am I too old to be here? (Voice 2) No, of course not. (Voice 1) Does it seem strange to you that I'm here?

Others ask for justice into their own hands. . . You can be bad with children. Um, it's not illegal, you can't get in trouble for it. Um, if they're being a c... be a c...

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. And while it wasn't all preteens, some were making the situation worse than it already was. In one case, at least two of this particular Sephora's three young customers were seen using makeup to alter their skin color, which many attributed to blackface. While some have questioned whether it was a clay mask, it is worth noting that she is standing in front of the foundation's exhibit.

And as one user pointed out, they fled when they realized they had been caught on camera. That shameful. This is so embarrassing. Like. A mother or guardian who was with the group didn't seem to care either. (Mother) *inaudible* (Confronter) No, I walked here and you're about to take a picture of *inaudible* (Camera) Like, this lady has no shame. (Confrontational) Do you want to document this? Forward. *inaudible* Not to mention how incredibly offensive this is. With all this chaos, a good number of people were looking for reforms. In fact, Sephora's website is filled with complaints and calls for the company to take action.

But for some, their dislike of Sephora kids isn't due to any in-store behavior, but rather what these kids' interest in adult skin care and makeup seems to say about the world we live in. . As these buyers seem to get younger and younger. . . *Gasp* Oh my god. Internet users find themselves returning to the same sentiment that adults have used to describe young people for generations: kids are growing up too fast. These critics point out that in the old days, when the closest thing to social media was Club Penguin, kids weren't ambushed by content designed to make them feel inadequate.

Pink eyeshadow, pink lipstick, blush. Get this shit off me! Get ready with me while I- *Audio overlay* Tell me how I went to Sephora yesterday and there were a bunch of 10 or 12 year old kids. Rather, childhood consisted of playing hopscotch, roasting marshmallows, and other activities that now seem prehistoric compared to the increasingly virtual adolescence of Generation Alpha. This is the first generation that has grown completely in the digital field and that is also key to influencing the choices of its consumers. As for the makeup, well, while some have pointed out that they also used it as kids, the products weren't exactly Sephora quality.

Instead, it was cheap, colorful, and full of impossible-to-remove glitter, all seemingly in keeping with the spirit of childhood. Makeup for 10 year olds in the early 2000s was literally a plain lip gloss with some shimmer. Lip gloss and glitter. Skincare was also simple and inexpensive, often just consisting of water and a towel or, if you were feeling fancy, an affordable cleanser or makeup remover wipe. But now that tweens are buying products that high schoolers get part-time jobs topay, there has been growing concern that today's children are overlooking the growing pains and character-building experimentation experienced by previous generations. (Girl) And then because of that haircut I'm going to... (lucassssbb44) This girl is preparing for a Bat Mitzvah, so does that mean she's 12, 13 years old?

When she was 12 and 13 she didn't take Drunk Elephant moisturizers. Literally, I was probably using the Clean and Clear cleanser, like Orange Burst, like once a month, maybe if it was just in the shower and then I took the blue astringent like, a cotton ball and just slathered it on and, My skin was so naked I don't even think I knew what the moisturizer was. (elliotloudd) Do you know what she was doing at 10? She was filming me with my mom's flip phone pretending she had a YouTube channel. That's what they should be doing right now. (katelivingoutloud) she was wearing a pink scarf around my thigh like some kind of weird garter belt over her jeans because I thought she looked cool.

But I feel like kids would get so upset about that kind of stuff now, you just can't try new things and part of being a teenager and finding out who you are is trying on a lot of different hats, doing a lot of different things. things. It feels like everyone is watching you now. However, these criticisms of Generation Alpha's new purchasing habits mainly boiled down to four main points of concern, the first being overconsumption. Yes, it looks like tweens are preparing for a very near and ultimately glamorous apocalypse. . . Or at least that's what the beauty sections of several retailers suggest, as shelves once packed with products now fill girls' collections.

I have tons of cleansers, toners, moisturizers, and a million face masks. I have a lot of things. Naturally, this frustrates longtime Sephora customers, especially considering how long these products are supposed to last. So I want you to remember when your 10-year-old, 12-year-old daughter, or whatever is younger, comes up to you and says, "I need a new one." I want you to look at it. Open it, take a good look. . . and then ask yourself: do you need a new one? And answer. . . it's not. However, moderation doesn't seem to be so easy for these teens, as one user commented: While another wrote: And even though these purchases often come at a high price. . .

So I finished scanning all of their products and the total came to almost $900. These tweens don't always like having their waste mentioned. I just say, "Hey, I see you have three Glossier lip products and they all taste the same, did you want all three?" And the mom looks at me like, "Thank you," and then she looks at the little girl and she says, "Yes, I know there are three." I said, “You're right. You're right. There are three, sorry.” Stupid, stupid thing for me to say. But of course, it all comes down to mom and dad's money, right?

And with that we come to the second point of concern: Look, these cosmetics-obsessed kids didn't spontaneously spawn out of nowhere. And that means that behind every Sephora child there is a Sephora adult, who according to certain social media users, consciously or not, is endorsing her child's behavior. (Employee) We ran out of all those. We have the golden drops right there. (Boy) No, but I want the tanning drops. (Employee) We don't... (Mother) The bronze ones. (Employee) We don't have any more in stock, sorry— (Mom) Ugh, what?! (Child) Mom! Yes, while parents could hold influencers responsible for inspiring Gen's Alpha's taste for all things beauty. . .

I think social media has a lot to do with it, so I think about Instagram, TikTok, sharing things on social media, watching YouTubers, celebrity kids. The creators are hitting these adults with a big "atcha on the back." After all, from their perspective, raising Generation Alpha doesn't exactly fall under the jurisdiction of an influencer. . . As someone who has a following on TikTok, it scares me because I don't want to promote this to little kids, but it's also not my fault that these parents let their eight-year-olds have TikTok. Which means when it comes to funding these budding skincare and makeup addictions. . . (Retail Reporter) A father told me that he spends a thousand dollars a month on his daughter's skin care. (avery22w) These girls have Amex cards in their hands: Amex cards.

Their parents gave them Amex cards. (Sephora Kid) Can you tell me this, please? (gigipimpin) Oh. *Laughs* And teach proper store etiquette. . . (elliana.em) The problem is not the fact that they are in Sephora, the problem is their behavior. (Debater) If you're giving your kids the freedom to say they can have any skin care product they want and they can use it any way they want, and I'm not going to have basic conversations about going to the stores. and how you behave, you will often find children going to stores and doing horrendous things. (benblue01) Mothers are allowing these children to grow up into horrible people who walk into retail stores, ruin everything, and then leave.

According to some critics, the right of these buyers lies with their parents. But so should the responsibility of knowing what's in the products your kids buy. Ultimately, I think we don't realize that it's not the fault of the content creator or the influencer. It is the responsibility of parents to monitor what their children consume and to be diligent and do their own research. And that brings us to the third point of concern: the products themselves, which it turns out are not formulated with children in mind. They are not formulated with children in mind. In fact, dermatologists have noted that while children learning about skin health from a young age is, at its core, positive. . .

Skin care makes you get into the habit of washing your face and doing all these things that would help make your skin better and cleaner. When it comes to the Sephora-filled, multi-step beauty routines these tweens are developing. . . I just died a little. Why does this adorable 11-year-old need makeup and a more complicated skincare routine than I do? The products they use often contain harsh chemical exfoliants and anti-aging ingredients like retinol that target collagen loss, fine lines, and wrinkles in mature skin, not kids who haven't yet experienced their first pimple. And unfortunately, the results can be disastrous.

According to a Reddit post by a Sephora employee, a 10-year-old girl who walked into their store with her father tried Drunk Elephant's baby facial and glycolic serum, the brand's two products that "contain the highest concentration of AHAs." ", a chemical substance. exfoliant. they wrote. The employee stated that they attempted to dry the customer's skin and apply a soothing facial spray and moisturizer to her worn skin, but she continued to itch and scratch her cheeks in discomfort. they wrote. And while these young people may feel like they are taking preventive measures, similar to the dangers of baby botox. . .

Doctors say that too much Botox can age you, it slows down the use of some muscles, their size decreases and the muscles waste away. These products can have the opposite effect when applied to skin that is not prepared to withstand them. This is because a preteen's skin and an adult's skin are simply different. In general, children have slightly thinner and slightly more sensitive skin, a more permeable skin barrier that allows water to leave the skin more easily. They are more prone to irritation and dryness. And in pediatric skin, ingredients like this can cause breakouts. . . What is happening is that they are using products that break down the skin barrier and cause rashes, irritation and acne, even when they never had a problem.

To skin damage. This inflammation can cause premature aging in the long term. And these dangers are not just aesthetic. Chemical exfoliants, retinol, and other ingredients can leave skin susceptible to sun damage when not combined with sun protection, leading to premature aging or worse. The long-term damage is that if they accumulate UV exposure, they will eventually be predisposed to skin cancer. And

finally

, we come to the Internet's fourth point of concern: the sudden lack of safe spaces for tweens. You see, back in the day, tweens had their own stores that they frequented, which catered to youthful sensibilities as well as their disposable spending change.

However, as of 2024, many of those companies no longer exist. Everyone keeps talking about how there are 10 and 12 year olds at Sephora and Ulta, but they no longer talk about how there is no longer a preteen stage in life. Once you turn 10, 11, 12, you start jumping around and doing things that you like, at 17, 18 because there is no gap between them because everyone forgot about the fact that kids are kids even when they are teenagers. I was a Limited Too girl, I was a Claire girl, I was a Bobby Jack girl. All this is over. And so, with no other options, do Sephora kids really have a choice?

As adults, it's our responsibility to focus on the real problem here and everyone makes fun of the kids at Sephora for throwing away samples and making these drunk elephant smoothies, I get it. I understand what they are doing here. Children today have no joy. This is all they have, we have to figure it out for them. But without any solution, whether we like it or not, these are circumstances that Sephora employees have had to face. . . Until recently that is. Whether they are attempts at guidance received with disdain. . . So I said, "Yes, we do, but I want you to know that this is a very strong serum and you probably don't need it for your young skin." *Laughs* She looks at me and says, "Yeah, I don't really care what you think or say, I want it, so I'll buy it." Comments that are too deep. . .

I've literally had kids laugh in my face, make fun of me to my face, talk bad about my skin or my makeup. They are real bullies. What I am going to do? Beef to a child? Yes, but I'm on schedule so I can't. Or higher level cleaning jobs that weren't in the job description. . . (delaneykalea) Does anyone teach their children manners yet? This is not a tester, so we can't sell it now. Sephora employees are not your babysitters. Sephora workers have taken the disadvantages that come with their new customer base seriously, whether they want it or not.

Lately, however, it seems like employees have had enough. And since they can't put shoppers on a timeout, they've come up with other ramifications for Sephora's kids. Take, for example, the experience TikTok user bethanyxking had when she took her daughter and resident "Sephora kid" to the store where they were treated more like nuisances than customers. she captioned the post. And as more measures are taken, including the closure of application stations. . . Sephora isn't cool with you little kids anymore, okay? Thats not all. Remember those Sephora complaints about enforcing an age limit? You could say that they have received many, many emails from people about this whole crisis.

Well, there are rumors that this is in talks for certain Sephoras and Meccas. If you are under 14 years old, you will not be allowed entry. Some stores may even divide their store into an area where children can go to purchase those products. If you look too young, you will have to show identification. You can buy the products online. So . . . It looks like the Sephora kids' reign of terror might

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be coming to an end. But then again, is the problem of tween shoppers as serious as social media makes it out to be? Well, not everyone agrees.

Yes, amid the online criticism, customers also came to Sephora's kids' defense, acknowledging that there are respectful young shoppers in the business who don't deserve the same bad reputation as their peers. And then there are parents who have taken the initiative to teach children to treat not only store products with respect. . . Show me how you placed it very well. Thank you. But minimum wage workers with basic human decency. (Sephora Employee) I actually don't have that in stock, I'm so sorry. (Child) Okay, okay! Thank you! (Sephora employee) Of course. Thanks for being so polite guys. You are great.

Thank you. (Child) Thank you. You too. (Sephora Employee) Thank you. As for the criticism of this Generation Alpha's interest in skincare and beauty, not everyone understands the clamor. Who cares? Honestly, I can think of much worse things kids could be doing. But they're buying skincare, Drunk Elephant, makeup, I don't know, that's for sure for me. a TikTok post said and added: After all, interest in cosmetics does not necessarily indicate goodbye to childhood. That a child learns to protect the largest organ in the bodynor is it an inherently dystopian quest. If she can learn to take care of him in a good, healthy way, then I'm all for it.

And when it comes to the new trend of filming kids at Sephora without their social media knowledge, it seems like some critics of Sephora kids aren't exactly on the moral high ground. Why the hell are you filming random kids and posting them on the internet? I understand the whole Sephora kids thing. But it is not okay for adults to harass children. I've seen a lot of videos of adults filming kids and saying, "OMG, Sephora kids are real." You're filming children in public. Please think before posting. As for the alleged harmful ingredients in Drunk Elephant products, founder Tiffany Masterson recently responded in an Instagram post, stating that the brand's products are designed with all skin types in mind, including children's.

However, she follows this up by saying that the brands “more powerful products that include acids and retinols” are not suitable for children. However, commenters weren't convinced the expensive products belonged in a child's skincare routine. Drunk Elephant decides to go on the offensive and say, "Hey, we're for the kids." And they even gave a skincare routine, which is down here in green, of what their skincare routine would basically be like if they used Drunk Elephant, which is $168; no, my apologies, that equals $186. But as some have pointed out, this is not the first time that adults have been scandalized by the behavior of the younger generation.

After all, aren't today's Sephora kids just yesterday's mall rats, lounging around, spending their parents' hard-earned money, and being a general nuisance to the rest of the population? Even the moral panic surrounding the way the media has forced these kids to grow up too soon isn't exactly unique to 2024. And as cyclical as this outcry is, it won't be long before Generation Alpha becomes shock the next generation. But while there's nothing stopping kids from getting involved with trends, that doesn't mean they have to embark on the quest alone. With the help of feedback from dermatologists, it appears that both parents and children are more informed about which skin care products are safe for children. . . (Boy) I have this brightening toner, but I can't use it. (Nanny) Why? (Child) Because it has lactic acid. (Nanny) Ah. (Child) I can't drink anything with acid.

And what a routine should consist of. Cleanser, oil-free moisturizer, lip balm and sunscreen. That's all they need. TikTokers have also started taking on the role of big sister to help their younger followers figure out what beauty products are right for them.(avery22w) This is what I would give a 10-12 year old at Sephora. It is not illegal for these 10-year-old children to have Sol de Janeiro. (serenitydawn.123) Instead of buying expensive Drunk Elephant stuff that your child probably doesn't need, this In Beauty set is great and a fraction of the price. For now, well, it doesn't look like the Sephora kids are going anywhere anytime soon, as one preteen recently told Teen Vogue when asked about her age group's fixation on skin care: And it seems that as long as there are tweens, there will be industries that repackage adult insecurities for a new, impressionable consumer base. . .

I can see these young girls thinking, "I need botox when I'm 16," because that's the message out there. Older generations debate whether the interests of today's youth are healthy experimentation or indicative of a larger problem. . . (Person 1) They don't need makeup, they don't need skin care. (Person 2) I think they are too young to even do any routine other than using a normal face wash and just using a normal cream. (just.leanna) Honestly, my main concern is that they are leaving their children to raise as creators, influencers, and marketing tactics alike. (Host) When your skincare routine starts to look clean, toned, and obsessed, ask yourself this: what does it take to feel comfortable in your own skin, literally?

And those who are defined by their peers, despite doing everything they can to overcome their behavior. If you are that age and you are watching all these videos and you feel offended, you should know that if you are not being rude to the employees and the other people around you, they will be I'm not talking about you, like you're fine. This is the story of Sephora Kids, the latest example of the ever-changing nature of childhood.