TikTok has been flooded with Sephora shoppers describing their nightmarish experiences while recently shopping for their favorite products. The influx in influencer plugs over the last few months has created a scene of little girls being rude and ravenous at the Drunk Elephant and Rare Beauty stands, deterring the people who use these products daily from stepping foot in the iconic makeup store. 

While this phenomenon is without a doubt annoying, many are not considering that, just like us, kids are not original in where they find their go-to products. With TikTok maintaining a steady incline in influence, we’re all being exposed to relatively the same products day after day. Those even slightly online know the Dior Lip Glow Oil is cute but not worth the price tag, and if you have a sharp nose you’ll smell 62 by Sol de Janeiro in overboard amounts anywhere you go. It’s easy to spot that the hottest winter shoe is a mini Ugg and that whoever invented the Stanley cup must be rolling in piles of money. 

If an adult and a child have a Stanley cup, an adult and a child have the same lipgloss and an adult and a child bought their leggings from the same store, the common denominator seems to be that because of the influencer takeover there is limited kid stuff now that is not adult adjacent.

This is the common complaint — that young girls look more and more like young women. The current universal style is minimalist and comfort-based. A mother and daughter can twin in a matching set, slicked-back bun and a clean-faced look and it would be age appropriate on either person. 

This is not the fault of the children. We think this rapid consumption is something new because we’ve never seen all these children in our adult domains before. But really, these pesky little girls are no different in how we acted when we were younger, selling out Beautiful Day by Bath and Body Works and Justice brand soffe shorts. The difference now is that their external presentation is inspired by what they see on TikTok, just like our own style is. 

Instead of shaming these little girls, let’s just let them be kids. Let them feel the excitement of packing their backpacks with half of the store’s Drunk Elephant section so they can go to school and feel “cool.” Remember the confidence boost you had (or maybe still have) walking around with the same product everyone else does? Are there issues in that, absolutely, but it’s also just part of being a human. We like to feel connected, we like to feel seen and valued —and currently it’s skincare that’s doing the trick. 

This isn’t to say a critique of our consumerist society isn’t necessary; just don’t shout change is needed so there can be more left over for you. So let the kids have it. We all know it’s just a phase anyway.