The feeling of stepping into a Sephora, squinting against those horrendous fluorescent lights, and surveying the neverending aisles of beauty and skincare products—only for your gaze to fall upon them. A horde of feral tweens, using the sample tester products to turn the store into a nightmarish mess of bronzing drops and retinol cream.
Generation Alpha is the direct successor to Gen Z. Ranging from children born around early 2010 to children born at the very end of this year, 2024, Gen Alpha is the largest generation to ever exist. A slightly outdated estimate from the World Bank’s 2022 population count suggests that around 2.01 billion people are Gen Alpha—over a quarter of the total world population. But what’s their deal?
Gen Alpha has already repeatedly been described by TikTok and YouTube users as “feral”, “vile”, “illiterate”, and “doomed”. But the makeup thing. How? Why? Where are their parents?
This new display of entitlement is partially due to the makeup brand Drunk Elephant, whose entire gimmick is that users can make a “smoothie” of their products—an interactive feature that seems to be specifically designed to target children. The company said in a TikTok last year, “Combining small doses of powerful ingredients, instead of overloading your skin with layers of different actives, is the best way to get the most from your routine.”
The company also stated in the frequently asked questions section of their website that while most of their products are okay for children, “not every product in our line should be used by younger fans, 12 and under. In general, we do not recommend using products containing [a] high concentration of active ingredients, which address concerns that aren’t present at such an age.”
They’re also incredibly expensive. Millennial parents film themselves dropping thousands of dollars on beauty products for their children. For example, one of Drunk Elephant’s products, T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum, is completely sold out on Sephora’s website in the 1.7oz bottle size, despite its hefty price of $134. Don’t fear though, because the 1oz bottle is still available for the low-low price of $90. (For reference, the average coffee mug holds eight ounces.)
This isn’t even the fault of the generation themself; their parents are the ones at fault here. The oldest Alphas are turning fourteen this year—just now old enough to start getting their first jobs. Up until this point, everything has been bought by their parents, who seem to view this harmful behavior as a fun hobby for kids.
However, the kids themselves see the makeup usage differently. Emma, a ten year old who spoke with Teen Vogue, defended her generation’s usage of the products, saying, “I get it; Bratz dolls were probably popular when you were 10 years old. This is the new toy that we have. This is a new generation; we’re Generation Alpha. And I’m proud of that.”
