Gen Z turns the beauty industry into their friends

Future. Gen Z is forcing the beauty industry to become more personal and less corporate. As the beauty industry responds to the preferences of Gen Z, brands are beginning to advertise, market, and even develop their products with a much more personal touch — more like friends than brands.

Shapeless influencers
Gen Z shoppers expect brands to align with their nebulous preferences (transparency, authenticity, inclusivity, and trustworthiness).

“There is no longer a single definition of beauty,” says Eden Palmer, the VP of merchandising at FORMA Brands.

Brands have essentially stopped trying to define beauty. instead, they’re listening to their buyers.

The customer is literally always right
“Gen Z’s are not going to buy products from a brand they wouldn’t be friends with,” says Michael Engert, co-founder of Good Light.

Beauty brands are evolving in accordance to the desires of the most ethnically and racially diverse generation in history. They’ve become the friend in a friendship that’s always in flux and changing at the pace of a TikTok trend, which has become the “first touch point for customers.”

Skinmalism
For Gen Z, skincare has replaced color cosmetics and cover-up. This is partially due to Gen Z’s self-acceptance, but also a desire for more natural and minimalistic looks. The result is “skinmalism.”

• 79% of Gen-Z surveyed said that brands have a responsibility to create skincare products that represent all colors, tones, and skin types (Gen-Zers are embracing their freckles).
• Gen Z also wants skincare that’s more affordable.
• They use makeup to express how they feel — not to cover it up.
• They don’t wear the same look every day.

Brands have responded by altering their traditionally polished and airbrushed advertising campaigns. They’re hiring models that don’t look like models. They’re using Gen-Zers as researchers. Like Willy Wonka, they’re opening up their factories to the kids who consume their products.

“We are unveiling ourselves and sharing a bit more,” says Candace Craig Bulishak, president of Tarte.

Gen Z is turning the beauty industry into a highly customizable item — one they can edit before it even hits stores.