by | Presley Crenwelge
Editor
Trends come and go, primarily affecting teenagers. In 2020 we saw the rise and fall of so many trends in so little time, branding themselves as microtrends. Certain aesthetics took over apps like TikTok, indie being a big staple of 2020. Once the pandemic restrictions were lifted things fizzled out, opting to instead focus on a certain style or article of clothing. The current trends are all about Stanley cups and expensive skincare. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t elementary school-aged girls as the main consumers.
Young girls have always faced a lot of societal pressure to look or act a certain way, but it seems like the age that this pressure is put on is just getting younger. Getting on TikTok and seeing a ten-year-old girl post a “school get ready with me” where she’s using $40 Drunk Elephant retinol and $35 Tarte concealer on her face with absolutely no blemishes is very troubling. It’s disheartening to see ten-year-old girls with a more advanced skincare and makeup routine than most 20-year-olds. Young girls are being influenced to “grow up faster” because of the internet, seriously no elementary schooler needs retinol. It’s not only sad to watch but sad to think about the consequences. In how many years will they realize they never truly had a childhood because of this pressure to follow trends?
Because of this phenomenon, Sephora has turned into a playground. There are countless videos of Sephora workers, and even just the shoppers, trying to deal with the onslaught of young girls in the store. Their behavior is just absurdly entitled, wrecking the testers, interrupting workers helping someone else because they need their products right away, and even taking products out of the box to use them, then putting them back. Elementary schoolers spend hundreds of their mothers’ money, on something that will ultimately end up ruining their skin. Some of Drunk Elephant’s products even say it’s recommended for 13 years or older, and a lot of these girls are not 13. It doesn’t stop at Sephora though, Ulta was also unreasonably trashed the last time I visited. An entire Juvia’s Place display was just decimated. Testers looking like they’ve had a bite taken out of them, and just a general scatter of products. If someone was genuinely trying to shop for a certain product they would have no luck.
Expensive skincare and makeup isn’t the only new craze. A creator on TikTok by the name of @aaronthewolfe posted a video on Christmas day where he “tricked” his niece by first giving her a Yeti tumbler, she is visibly put out and disappointed, not saying thank you and glaring at him. She even gives him the cup back, because it’s not a Stanley. He then gives her a different box with the Stanley inside, and as soon as she opens it her entire demeanor changes, saying “My Stanley!” A 42-ounce Yeti retails for $45.00, while a 40-ounce Stanley retails for $45.00 as well. That’s two extra ounces for the same price, so what makes the Stanley Cup so much better? It is purely based on looks. These cups work the exact same but now it is considered embarrassing to have a Yeti instead of the trendier option. Stanley’s can retail for up to $75.00, some even being resold in the hundreds.
The problem here is not the young, easily impressionable, girls. It’s the parents enabling them. Allowing their children to treat Sephora like a playground and throw tantrums when they are not given the correct tumbler. Unrestricted internet access is quite literally doing irreversible damage to younger generations, the pressure to grow up faster is only increasing. Parents need to put their foot down and tell their kids “no”, teach them it’s not okay to harass Sephora workers for the Rare Beauty blush they want, they can’t spend nearly a thousand dollars at Sephora and put a limit on screen time. This problem will only continue growing if parents don’t step up, it should not be rare to see an elementary schooler ask for toys instead of skincare or a Stanley.
