When walking into Sephora, you’d picture aisles full of makeup and expensive skincare products as adults shop for the products they love. But what about kids? Specifically, tween girls? Is it okay for them to browse and purchase in a place like Sephora?
Stressed-out millennial parents go to check out with carts full of $500–1000 worth of products—all for their nine-year-old’s beauty routine. Unfortunately, it is not all glam and glitz; Sephora employees are facing off with tiny customers who might be a bit too sassy for their age.
What is the cause of this mishap? Well, it’s social media. Gen Alpha has been handed an iPad since birth and has been on the device non-stop ever since. Tween girls, smartphones in hand, have explored the world of beauty through social media, like TikTok. These girls see grown-up influencers promote skin care products such as anti-aging retinoids, primers, and serums that are not meant for their age group. Now that these kids are informed about the hottest trendiest skin care, regardless of whether it is for their skin or not, they must have their paws on it.
These influencers hold one million followers in the grasp of their hands and shift a significant amount of power to be able to guide, shape demands, and shape minds. Their tutorials, product sponsors, and hauls aren’t just entertainment but also influence.
But let’s also shift the liability onto the children’s parents, not just famous strangers on a 6-inch screen. Parents want to foster independence, but at what cost? Teaching independence does not mean letting young girls run around public stores unsupervised, destroying testers and displays while challenging employees who are trying to do what they are there for. This is not just about makeup or the child’s desire to emulate grown-up behaviors while still acting like the children they are; It should be a genuine parenting moment.
Respecting boundaries and showing gratitude and responsibility, versus allowing and enforcing the behavior of children running up credit card debt and running their mouths to overworked employees. Since this tween epidemic made many platforms, what is the outlook of the situation society has?
Social media has a knack for amplifying everyday occurrences, even if they are not important. Many platforms buzzed with “The Sephora Tween Takeover,” sharing stories and videos of young girls running around unsupervised and demanding $50 drunk elephant serums. But is this phenomenon as widespread as the tweets and posts claim? I decided to head to my local Sephora in Taylor to see if the chaos continued. When I got there, the atmosphere seemed to be stable. I went over to the testers; some looked clean, and others looked a bit dirty/ smudged with “makeup fingers.”
One local Sephora employee stated, “The tween takeover was something else. A group of girls had come in ready to try everything. It was a bit hectic keeping up with them.”
Once I finished shopping for makeup, I asked the cashier about the rampage. The cashier explained, “Honestly, the mess left behind was ridiculous. The testers were destroyed; there was makeup on the floor; I had to stay a bit after my shift.” In all honesty, it seems like the outbreak of the Sephora tweens isn’t all that popular in the local area. Which concludes social media exaggerates (once again).
So at the end of the day, the question is, “Should ten-year-olds be allowed in Sephora?”
Tweens all over the nation in every Sephora store to ever exist running rampant may be exaggerated by social media, but it shines light on another issue: modern-day parenting. Parents should be the ones to guide them, teaching responsibility and respect. Kids often try to mimic what they see online and bring it to reality; it is the parent’s job to use authority and have their child listen to the guidance of an adult. As it seems modern parents struggle with that, it is best to keep the tweens out of Sephora until they are mature enough to embrace the makeup haven.