Want some ice cream? Just kidding. It’s nail polish! In the mood for a popsicle? Also kidding! It’s a lip tint. While some cosmetics are specifically made for children and preteens, higher-end makeup brands are now regularly crafting toy-like looks for their products — even when they’re meant to appeal to grown-ups.
The industry’s latest whimsical obsession is leaving many to wonder: Is that a beauty product or a plaything from the bottom of a Happy Meal? For instance, Kylie Cosmetics is flying high with vintage Batman collection with a palette inside a comic book, while Trixie Cosmetics is the driving force behind an itty-bity bus packed with lip glosses. Tarte’s surfboard-shaped palette could be a Barbie accessory. And a recent collaboration between Morphe and throwback artist Lisa Frank features crayon-like lip pencils that would fit right in at a fourth-grade art class.
Bésame Cosmetics founder and CEO Gabriela Hernandez believes the over-the-top packaging is mostly thanks to the rise of pop-culture licensed products, which can now be regularly found everywhere from Target to Gucci. “These products are going after fan bases,” she says. “Manufacturers saw an opportunity to target different demographics.” Whether audiences are into mermaids, talking animals, or superheroes, there is a makeup product specifically appealing to them.
“It makes the audience feel like a participant in that storyline,” Hernandez says. “The fun of the fantasy of movies [is] to be immersed. It’s like a prop.” She knows firsthand. Hernandez helped design Bésame’s Queen Shadow Book palette. The Disney collaboration, a palette made to resemble the Evil Queen’s spell book from the 1937 film version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was conjured with both form and function in mind. It doubles as a charming jewelry box or storage for knickknacks long after the shimmery makeup has achieved a happily ever after.
“It’s like you’re revisiting the past,” says Hernandez, whose original Black Cake mascara creation was themed after a 1920s beauty product used during the early days of cinema. “I like to play and give people something that will take them back to a different period or to a different feeling. I make products that transport you somewhere else.”
Despite the childlike abandon, these cosmetics are not available in the kids’ aisle next to the bouncy balls and Lego bricks, and the upgraded packaging comes at a price. Brands like Christian Louboutin are getting in on the act to help differentiate themselves in the oversaturated beauty market. The brand’s Rouge line, for example, includes a $90 lipstick embellished with a crown jewel topper that can be worn like an adorable little piece of costume jewelry.
“A lot of this makeup is high-quality, expensive, designer stuff,” says Andrew Abeyta, an assistant professor of psychology at Rutgers University-Camden. “This is the first generation where childhood and designer labels coincide.” He notes that Gen Xers and older millennials, who are now in their 30s and 40s, have the disposable income to buy such products, so manufacturers are eager to aesthetically cater to them.
Abeyta says that folks are psychologically drawn to products like these because it takes them back in time. “People are attracted to it because nostalgia makes them feel good,” he explains. “Not only is it an escape, but it also works to energize people and give them the desire to move forward.”
In a 2016 Self and Identity paper, Abeyta and his colleague Clay Routledge found that around age 35, indulging in nostalgia makes people feel more youthful. “It has to do with changing of norms,” he adds. “Beginning with Gen X, it’s more socially acceptable to hold on to hobbies and interests from childhood.”
Conversely, many people view the childlike design and marketing approach as a way to encourage kids to pick up makeup at a younger age. “Parents might have a hard time navigating that and feeling like maybe their daughters or sons are just too young to start down that path,” Abeyta adds, “and the packaging makes it tempting.”
Still, while some may take issue with the design as a ploy to target a new generation, Hernandez believes the colorful trend ultimately embraces the feel-good power of makeup inspired by the warm feelings of yesteryear. “To younger generations, [it] can seem historical,” the Bésame founder says. “To older generations, it can be a reminder of fun times.”
Mia Brabham is a staff writer at Shondaland. Follow her on Twitter at @hotmessmia.
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