The New Beauty Consumer: Informed and Ingredient-Conscious
I told my mom I needed new beauty products sometime last year because the brands I was using weren’t “non-comedogenic”. She looked at me like I was crazy. Comedogenic means “tending to cause blackheads by clogging the pores”. Within Gen Z there has been a new surge in caring what’s beyond the packaging. From ingredients, to what a brand stands for, Gen Z cares what they put on their skin and in their bodies.
Tech-Savvy Shopping: The Yuka App Revolution
Recently, becoming a more educated consumer has become easier than ever. Yuka is an app that has changed the way I shop for my skincare and makeup. I first saw Yuka when it was going viral on TikTok around a year ago. Influencers and average people like myself were scanning all their everyday products and getting their “Yuka” rating, which varies from 0-100.
Celebrating Authenticity: The New Beauty Ethos
Digging deeper than just what is in a product, Gen Z cares about how those products make you feel. Olamide Olowee, 23 who is the co-founder, and chief executive of Topicals, said “The brands of yesterday focused on aspiration in making you want to be somebody, Gen Z brands focus on celebrating you in the way that you are.” (New York Times, 2020)
Gen Z is a community that wants to uplift those around them. Gen Z supports brands like Glossier, which strives to support everyone being simply the best versions of themselves. Emily Weiss, the Glossier founder, and chief executive said “What’s interesting about Glossier is we just hold up a mirror, and we’re like, ‘We’re here to make you look more like you” (New York Times, 2020).
Harnessing the Power of TikTok: E.L.F’s Success Story
To be a company for Gen Z, you need to be more than just a company that sells products. Customers want to support brands that stand for something they believe in. For example, although E.L.F Cosmetics has been around since 2004, they have recently had a surge in sales because of their dedication to being a cruelty-free brand and, more importantly, their dedication to rebranding themselves to make sure consumers know their values.
You might be wondering how a brand that has been around for over 15 years can suddenly gain so much traction. This is because E.LF honed in on what they knew their main consumer base cared about and paid attention to, which is TikTok.
in 2019, Kory Marchisotto was hired as E.L.F Cosmetics’ chief of marketing officer. The brand then invested in publicizing what it had always supported. E.L.F invested in heavily in TikTok campaigns to educate users on what the brand stood for (eyes, lips, face). With this came the viral #eyeslipsface hashtag which generated over six billion views. This strategic marketing by Marchisotto paid off, in 2022 E.L.F was ranked as Gen Z’s favorite beauty brand.
As an up-and-coming beauty brand or even a brand that wants to revamp and re-align with its consumers, it is important to remember that Gen Z cares about what they put on their faces. Brands need to be aware of the message they put out, where they are putting it out, and most importantly they need to be aware of the ingredients in their products.
And as a consumer, I challenge you to learn more about what the brands you invest in stand for. It is our job to hold brands accountable and to hold ourselves accountable for what we consume physically.
Resources used:
Ella Marinace 
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