The Question To Ask: Glittered or Nude?
Makeup, skincare and avoiding lab rats
Makeup Mania
After seasons of make-up falling into the ‘clean girl’ category, we’re happy to report that Gen Z has dropped their Rhode blushes and picked up a glitter pen for their eyeliner instead.
Part of the trend is coming from the third season of Euphoria being out, but much of it can be traced back to influencers and celebrities online embracing their inner make-up freaks and testing out new playful colors and details that extend the limits of what is considered normal.
Celebrities like Zara Larsson are embracing a colorful look, and the Met Gala red carpet proved that diving head first into a glitter bomb is the only way to do your eyeshadow.
Makeup is fun again, Gen Z cries!
It seems like young people are realizing that the easiest way to express themselves is via all the makeup they shoved to the back of their bathroom when clean girls took over.
But, here’s the real beauty secret for you: with makeup becoming fun again, self-expression and individualism is what’s really trending. Nobody wants to look like everyone else, so help young people to be different.
Leaked Labs Is On The Outs
As more young people spend their newly found ‘adult money’ (or even their allowances) on makeup, the beauty industry is attempting to keep up.
And for some, that’s leading to a crash and burn more than an uptick in sales.
One of the most recent brands entangled in online drama is Leaked Labs, a new makeup brand that prides itself on innovation — and has been having a rough couple of weeks on “MakeupTok”.
Built by the influencer couple The Lipstick Lesbians, Leaked Labs, has been receiving a lot of backlash for selling, what technically are, market test samples (hence the name, Leaked Labs) for $34. Marketed as finished products that bring the consumer closer to the manufacturer through “early access innovation,” the internet has called them “failed products” and even “unsanitary.”
With the unsuccessful launch of their new product “Amplify Flexi Powder” – a thin sheet of eyeshadow pigment that activates with liquid – Leaked Labs became the guinea pig to prove to us all that young people don’t want to be involved in the product development process.
While Gen Z loves innovation, they want to feel as if they are being let in on a secret or advising a process. And even if they were fans of the show Lab Rats in their tween years, they aren’t interested in spending their hard earned money to actually become one.
Forget Performative Males, Performative Skincare Has Taken Over!
And, when makeup is taken off, bare faces are still covered.
If you walk around a college campus and see girls wearing undereye patches out in public, don’t be alarmed and think they just rolled out of bed. This accessory is extremely intentional. Wearing your skincare in public has become a new status symbol for wellness freaks and Gen Z beauty gurus.
Yes, we’re one step away from seeing a teen in a clay mask at 9 a.m. Prepare yourself.
Just as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing colorful pimple patches in fun shapes, like stars, hearts or even Snoopy, on young people’s faces–many are now walking outside with their undereye patches still on.
The most recent eye patch trend has propelled Hailey Bieber’s brand, Rhode, to even more success. Their peptide eye prep patches are branded with their logo, but more importantly: they are expensive ($25), especially for their younger Gen Z audience.
Whether its placebo or these patches actually work, the functional and wearable accessory nature of the product is making the trend stay consistent. With the price, “Instagramability” and the branding being instantly noticeable it doesn’t seem to matter if these products work. Aesthetic skincare is a lifestyle Gen Z loves.