This is an episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. More from the series →
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This week, the Glossy Beauty Podcast welcomed three very special guests: Ali, 10, of New York City; Riley, 11, of Merrick, New York; and Leora, 12, of Bay Shore, New York. The three girls joined us in a Flatiron, NYC recording studio, where we sat down to talk all things beauty.
Glossy Pop has fastidiously reported on the tween obsession with skin care for months, examining the rise of brands that cater to the demographic, younger and younger girls’ beauty obsession vis-a-vis social media, the rise of Gen Alpha influencer-queen Katie Fang, and the Sephora tween brouhaha.
On this week’s episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, we talk through all of it, including how these girls first became interested in beauty, what brands are resonating with them now, what products they’re allowed to buy and use, and what social media they consume and create.
The excerpts below have been slightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Becoming interested in beauty:
Ali: “It kind of [started] last summer when I went to sleepaway camp, and all my friends had a lot of makeup and stuff. But I was interested before [when] I got into Bubble skin care.”
Leora: “All of my friends always had, like, a big skin-care routine. I’ve always seen people with really glowy skin, and I wanted to get that like all of my friends [had]. I wanted my face to feel pretty.”
Riley: “It probably [started] on TikTok when I saw the Get-Ready-With-Me [videos] on how to do all your skin care and makeup.”
Their morning routines:
Riley: “I start off with the Glow Recipe toner, and then I move on to moisturizer and serums. I use the Byoma moisturizer.”
Leora: “First I cleanse my face with the Byoma cleansing face wash — I don’t know [what it’s called]. … Then I use the Glow Recipe toner, like the mist; and then the Glow Recipe serum, the Watermelon Dew Drops. And then I use the Byoma moisturizer, it’s pink. And then for sunscreen, I use the Supergoop one.”
Ali: “Sometimes [I use] the Tower 28 spray, and then the Glow Recipe toner, the Glow Recipe Dew Drops and then Bubble.”
On the ‘Sephora Kid’ drama:
Ali: “Me and my friends always try to be the nicest when we’re in Sephora — like, ‘Don’t make messes.’ A lot of times, we’re not swatching the products, because I think that’s unsanitary. But also, we say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ a lot. A lot of people were thinking the [reported bad behavior was about] every girl that walks into Sephora, which would be kind of rude. Because then, if some people would see you using skin care, they’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s a Sephora kid!’ My sister would always call me one and tease me, though she knew I wasn’t one of those. … Some of the kids making those ‘skin-care smoothies’ are absurd.”
Leora: “On YouTube, [there’s] a lot of, like, ‘Oh, these 10-year-olds at Sephora are making these skin-care smoothies and this big mess.’ … Apparently, at Sephora and Ulta, you know Drunk Elephant? They were putting [the bronzing drops] in the moisturizer, mixing everything in it, and making a mess. But, if me and my friends go to Sephora, … we’re polite. We shouldn’t make a mess, because it’s hard for them to clean up. And actually, in my mall, [now] you have to ask for the products because too many people [were] making a mess of them. [Now the samples are in a] a glass box.”
Riley: “Me and my friends are polite. But we just do our skin care or makeup in the store using all the products. … They usually ask, ‘Do you guys need any help?’ We don’t usually go up to them and ask. We don’t really have any questions.”
