Remember when we were nine and would play with Barbies, use fake makeup, and dress up like princesses? Well guess what today’s nine-year-old girls are doing. Today, nine-year-olds are taking over Sephora. Buying retinol, wearing full faces of makeup, making a mess of everything, and they’re not even supervised by their parents.
When I was nine, I didn’t even have a skincare routine, but nine-year-olds today have a 30 step routine. So many of them haven’t even gone through puberty yet so they don’t have anything to worry about. They do not need 10 step skin care routines and a full face of makeup. I get it when 12 to 14 year olds are going into Sephora to buy skincare and a little bit of makeup because it is when most people go through puberty, but eight and nine-year-olds going to buy that stuff is insane because their skin is as clear as glass. Not to mention they are also insanely rude to staff and regular shoppers. From messing up samples to full on stealing things from the stores, and their parents aren’t doing anything about it. “When I was working in Sephora, all there was was adults and some 15 year olds. I don’t know what happened to this generation” says Alana, a former Sephora employee in NYC.
I understand that makeup has no age limit, but what these kids are reaching for is more concerning. A lot of people want to know why these kids are reaching for retinol, makeup, and skincare, and there is an actual reason. They are all following different trends from the social media app TikTok. All of these beauty influencers are talking about what products are good and what’s good for people in their 20s, such a retinol. The thing is, TikTok is an app for ages 12 and up, so these kids shouldn’t even be on the app. If they were not on this app, this whole thing could be avoided.
“I barely see any adults in sephora now, its only little girls who are running up to me and disrespecting me” says Nina, a current Sephora employee in NYC. Nina has explained to me than when she closes the store, it is a mess. Testers are ruined, trash cans are overflowing, and there are empty boxes everywhere because when people steal something, they just leave the box on the floor or on a makeup stand.
