Recently trending on TikTok, multiple customers called out Sephora and Drunk Elephant for catering to preteens.
TikToker Megan (@meganlacey19) posted a viral video on the issue on Saturday, and it has since received 2.1 million views and 414,000 likes. She captioned her video, “I need a 21+ Sephora.”
At the start of her video, Megan said, “Sephora needs to actually shut down for just a little bit.”
She continued to say that the number of 10-13-year-olds she sees “taking up every single section in the store” is “actually outrageous.”
“Every time I go in Sephora now, there’s always like a group of them surrounding an employee and talking about products,” she said. “And the employee’s literally like, ‘Um, that’s actually retinol. Like, you actually don’t need that.'”
Next, she said it’s normal for kids to be interested in makeup, noting that her generation was fond of Urban Decay’s infamous Naked Palette when they were younger. However, she feels Gen Alpha is taking it a little far when it comes to skincare.
“I didn’t even look in the direction of the Sephora skincare until, like, now that I’m 22,” she said.
Then, Megan said one of the reasons she enjoys going to Sephora is to get makeup recommendations from her “employee crush.”
“I can’t even do that in peace now because I’m like shoving around with literal 12-year-olds,” she added.
Megan called out popular TikToker Alix Earle for fostering tweens’ interest in skincare that’s out of their age range, though she noted that it’s not “all on her.”
Megan also noted that the “saddest” part of the tween takeover is that “it’s not going to get better, and nothing is going to change.”
“They’re not suddenly going to be de-influenced, … but I’m still going to mourn it anyways,” she said.
Before ending her video, Megan showed the audience what she bought at Sephora that day.
“Exactly what I wanted, but I had to freaking fight for it,” she said.
@meganlacey19 I need a 21+ sephora #sephora #alixearle #haul #sephorahaul ♬ original sound – megan
Viewers in Megan’s comments section agreed with her statements and shared other ways preteens at Sephora can become an issue.
One comment with over 17,400 likes says, “Also the testers are now always completely trashed.”
“They need to start taking the testers off the shelf if they wanna test it they gotta ask for it,” another commenter agreed.
Other viewers pointed out that beauty influencers are not the only ones at fault for what’s happening.
“So real!! Like where is y’alls parents?” one asked.
Another said, “They wanna be big girls, but like I didn’t step foot in a Sephora until I was like 16. Parents are somewhat at fault.”
“They’re totally at fault for sure. These kids don’t have jobs,” one responded.
“I’m sorry but why are you even buying your preteen children Sephora makeup lol,” another said.
In recent Daily Dot headlines, another TikToker called out the same issue and stirred controversy by sharing her experience as a nanny taking two children under 10 years old to Sephora, which changed her stance on whether it’s appropriate to put kids on leashes.
The Daily Dot reached out to Megan via TikTok direct message and Sephora via email.