Youth might be wasted on the young, but beauty trends rarely miss them. While a have centered on the “Sephora teens” who through the aisles of the personal-care retailer, snapping up and lash-growth serums, the adolescent urge for transformation is hardly new. The concept of teenagers as their own distinct marketing demographic first emerged during the postwar boom of the 1940s, though for many years the products catering to them remained relatively modest: a pink froth of bubble bath, a smattering of Lip Smacker lip balm.
This year, the global beauty industry is , with . (Whether a 12-year-old actually a “ is another story.) Below, a partial look back at the last eight-plus decades of shimmer sticks and zeitgeist shifts.
The start of Seventeen, and a democratic lipstick The debut of Seventeen magazine in 1944 helped to promote a fresh-faced glow via products such as and growing brands like , whose best-selling lipstick contained a fluorescein dye that changed color upon skin contact to uniquely suit the wearer, or so the company claimed. (Though its relevance faded by the late ’60s, you can at The Vermont Country Store, following a 2002 revival.) Also emerging around this time: The popularity of miniature products — known as “ten-cent sizes” and initially sold as samples — as a boon to girls with little experience and limited money to spend.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? .
Want all of The Times? ..
