They are barely 13 and still living on pocket money, but Gen Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) is fast shaping beauty retail with their online connectedness and decisive opinions.
Leading the pack are celebrities’ children who are now young beauty influencers, sharing their skincare and makeup routines with their millions of social media followers.
North West, 11, daughter of Kim Kardashian, and her cousin, (Kourtney’s daughter) Penelope Disick, 12, are possibly the most famous Gen Alpha beauty influencers right now.
However, instead of using makeup to look polished like an adult woman, North West employs a playful, childish take to recreate comical and funny looks including painting her face pink and yellow.
But make no mistake, her fingers are deft and she applies makeup like a seasoned cosmetics user.
Closer to home, Aaisyah Dhia Rana, 10, daughter of actress Rozita Che Wan, is known for her made-up look. On TikTok, she sometimes displays her childish antics, requesting for new skincare products from her mum.
The tweens’ obsession with beauty products has given birth to the “Sephora Kids”, trend, as they flock the beauty megastore to stock up on Gen Alpha-approved beauty brands like Evereden, Sol De Janeiro, Elf Cosmetics and Drunk Elephant.
Read more: Shopping for luxury fragrances? Why not ask a teenage boy for advice?
A force to be reckoned with
Evereden founder Kimberley Ho, 34, a former Khazanah scholar who studied finance in Stanford University, says Gen Alpha is so social media savvy that there’s no stopping their influence. She insists that “Sephora Kids” is just the tip of the iceberg.
Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Ho founded Evereden in New York in 2019 with her husband, fellow Malaysian and Stanford alumnus Huang Lee, 40.
Her niche? Skincare for babies, children and expectant mothers.
“While mothers buy skincare for babies, children are now making their own choices. They know what they want and they’re more than happy to say so. These digital natives are highly opinionated, and they want to use what’s made for them,” she says.
“Their parents can try to limit their choices to conventional pharmacy brands, but I don’t think they will be successful for very long,” she says.
Children are underserved customers in the beauty retail market, Ho adds, “and I don’t mean catering to all their whims and fancies to the point of being overly-indulgent,”
“But children have more physically demanding days than adults. They go to school, have sports practices, move and sweat more and are even exposed to more sunlight. Their skin needs are different,” Ho says.
But that doesn’t mean kids need many products.
“A face wash, a moisturiser and a sunblock are enough.”
While the general consensus is that being a tween is too young to dabble in makeup and skincare, Ho views the trend positively.
“Children should be encouraged to practise hygiene and self-care since they are young and they should have age-approriate products that are suitable for their skin. What I disagree with is kids using adult beauty ingredients like retinol and vitamin C which can damage their skin or using make-up to create looks that sexualise them,” she says.
“You can’t stop a girl from using her mother’s make-up. She will still go through her mother’s beauty drawer and try on her lipstick; but what we can do is make something that’s more suited to them,” Ho says.
External influence
Mother-of-two Mazlin Norman, 47, says she’s lucky that her daughters Nur Shana Fariha Jamal, 17, and Nur Sarah Nisrina Jamal, 11, are not very obsessed with makeup and skincare. “They have different levels of interest; Shana enjoys experimenting with makeup while Sarah isn’t really interested in it,” says the stay-at-home mum.
But Mazlin says she and her husband understand the effects of social media, peer influence and advertisement on young minds so they have had open discussions about beauty standards with their daughters. “We encourage them to be confident naturally and always remind them that their worth is in who they are, never how they look,”
“They are many external elements that will influence children so it’s important for parents to help kids manage these influences so they are not overwhelmed or gullible,” she says.
Social media, Mazlin says, poses a danger to kids if they feel pressured to look a certain way. “Kids should always be taught to feel good about themselves,” she says.
Mazlin says she doesn’t give her daughters allowances for skincare or makeup, but she receives requests on what they want. “I will make sure I do my research before I buy anything for them and I consider both the ingredients and the message that the beauty product brings,” she says.
Like Ho, Mazlin says while kids’ interest in skincare and hygiene is commendable, it is very important for parents and caregivers to guide them to use only what’s suitable for their young skin.
“I think there’s a danger in using skincare ingredients that are not suitable for them, which could lead to skin irritation and redness. But they also need to be taught to wash and moisturise their faces as part of their daily routine. Skin is an important organ and skincare isn’t only about vanity,” she says.
Mother-of-four Sarah Cameron, 39, takes her daughters Emilia, nine, Teddy, seven, and Dixie, six, for manicure and pedicure as special treats.
“They usually opt for these services when it is their birthdays or as a reward. On these treat days, they just relax and have fun,” she says.
Cameron says while her daughters love to play with makeup, they do not use it everyday. “They like to watch videos about makeup application but they can only wear makeup for events, like for their recent dance show,” she adds.
She says it’s important for kids to have the knowledge to protect and care for their skin.
“But children should not be over-exposed at such a young age; being comfortable and confident in their own skin is most important,” she says.
Read more: Skin doctors caution against kids using beauty products meant for adults
A chance to engage
Treo Capital chief executive officer Jeremy Ong, 38, who owns Jac & Ivy, a nail spa in Mont Kiara that caters to children, views the skincare and makeup interest by tweens and teens as a way for parents to bond with them.
“Parents never really had a chance when it comes to influencing their children. Vanity and being physically conscious of their appearance will automatically come as they grow older and more often than not, they will be influenced by their friends,” Jeremy, whose own daughter Tiffany, 11, is into skincare and makeup, says.
“But with the ‘miniaturisation’ of things, including products and services once marketed for adults, parents have a chance to engage in the conversation early on. It gives them the opportunity to talk about body image, what beauty means, lipstick colours, even ingredients... something that the older generation wasn’t able to do,” he says.
His wife, Ivy Chong, who’s a manicurist at the spa, says Jac & Ivy has many repeat customers, made up of mothers who come in with their daughters. “For most of them, it’s bonding time, just like how you go for a manicure with your friends, but now you do it with your daughter,” she says.
Like Mazlin, Ong says if parents can walk the path with their children on their lifestyle choices, it can help shape the children’s opinions before they are exposed to peer influence.
“It’s about participating in their growth instead of letting only external forces and their children’s personality shape how they could become,” Jeremy says.
“We have to determine our own culture otherwise, that culture defines you,” he concludes.
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