Josie Nnaji

10 year old Sephora addicts spend an average of 2 hours a day applying makeup and skin care products, when they should be spending their day socializing and having fun.

Many kids these days are ditching jungle gyms for make-up aisles. It’s almost like Sephora has become the new recess hang-out spot for ten-year-old girls. Who would’ve thought that alongside the toy makeup our generation of girls dressed up with, little ones today would be begging their parents for $35 mascara and skin care products?

If you’re on TikTok or Instagram, you have probably heard about and seen the latest phenomenon called Sephora Kids. Local Sephora stores’ biggest consumer age group is run by little girls who invest in Drunk Elephant products, Glow Recipe Dew Drop Serum, and Anti-Aging products. These are all products designed for an older age group of people to help with hormonal acne, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation; all things that no ten-year-old girl is experiencing.

Preteen years can be a vulnerable time for 9-12-year-olds. Physical and mental health is incredibly important as young teens are going through puberty, social changes, exposure to social media, and outside influences. With the growing influence of beauty standards advertised on social media, the pressure on young girls to abide by unrealistic ideals can be overwhelming. The shift towards prioritizing makeup and appearance at such a young age reflects something bigger than being “too young” to wear makeup: it represents the growing impact of social media, and what females need to do to look prettier.

Some may argue that for some young girls, wearing makeup can boost their confidence and self-esteem, helping them feel more comfortable and empowered in their own skin, especially during periods of self-consciousness like puberty. As that stands true, I believe that relying on makeup as a confidence booster during formative years like puberty could create an unhealthy dependency on validation and typical beauty standards.

Regarding a trending subject on TikTok, women are calling for beauty stores like Ulta and Sephora to impose an age restriction to enter, banning anyone under 16. Based on the ingredients in the popular brands these kids are purchasing, they contain potent formulations, often packed with harsh active ingredients such as retinol and chemical exfoliants (like AHA and BHA– looking at you, Glow Recipe AHA/BHA toner). There is also the fact that most kids don’t necessarily practice proper etiquette in high-end stores like Sephora and Ulta. They often are behaving badly, overusing or destroying makeup samples, and being rude toward workers.

These young girls need time to figure themselves out without having a confidence booster to enhance their features. Beyond the innocent play of dress-up, this behavior underscores the influence of social media and unrealistic beauty standards on impressionable preteens.