A child in Sephora has destroyed an estimate of $1000 worth of makeup on display. Photo by Extraordinary life makeup artistry via Facebook.
Playing with makeup as little kids has always been a part of childhood. Little kids always want to try out mom’s bright-colored pretty makeup, as it intrigues them. The problem now is that these kids have found their way into these stores without any supervision.
The problem is not necessarily them going into the stores unsupervised, which is another issue on its own, but it is the fact that these little children are seeing these stores as some sort of playground. From the pictures shown of these stores by various users of the platform, from the staff to random customers after these kids have left the store, show damaged products and unkept displays. This reminds me of when we were little kids making shower potions in the bathroom with our parent’s shower products. Now these kids have moved that idea and started creating skincare smoothies, where they put a ton of skincare on a Drunk Elephant sample and leave that once they are done.
Another side to this is how rude these kids are to other paying customers. A lot of the shoppers have voiced out their stories of these kids just straight up ripping out these products from their hands, while still being snarky about it. These kids have been reported to be in every single aisle at these stores and the brands that they were commonly seen with are Drunk Elephant, Rare Beauty, and all the other really famous brands that they have seen on TikTok. A Tiktoker by the name of Megan Lacey even shared her story about how she had seen a bunch of tweens gathering around an employee at her local Sephora asking for retinol. Kids should not be using retinol. It is a product for those in their mid-twenties and upwards and that brings the question: what is happening?
This question and series of events have brought about a discussion on whether or not these tweens should even be in these stores. Some people say they shouldn’t and some say that it was not their fault. Honestly, both sides are right, to some degree. When Gen Z and Millennials were younger, there were stores like Claire’s, where kids could go and pretend to be grown up without breaking the bank. Today’s kids don’t have that option, so they took the next best thing.
Another aspect that was looked at was how much the use of social media and the internet in general has impacted the way the younger generation sees these things. From a young age, they were given access to the internet. They are constantly being pushed content, like a get ready with me video which has adults who are working and showing their lives. These kids want to be like them. Oftentimes, the social media figures are showcasing the products they use. This causes these kids to want the product because if they get it, they can be just like their favorite influencer.
This matter is not as simple as it presents itself. It is very nuanced, as there are a lot of factors from society, to the parents. The kids are a product of their environment and children tend to copy the behavior of those around them, even if it is through a screen.
