💫 Pimple Patches & Pop Culture: Inside Gen Z's Beauty Brain
- Julia Chang
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
From pimple patches to Poppi, Gen Z is rewriting the rules of skincare, style, and what it means to be cool. This week on GlowJob, we dive headfirst into the beauty trends, internet obsessions, and chaotic collectibles that have today’s teens in a chokehold.
Think: Starface stickers, Sonny Angels, clean girl vs clean beauty, and how Labubu's are basically the new Beanie Babies. Spoiler: it’s giving ✨Y2K✨, mental health, and a sprinkle of fugly chic.
We break it all down—from the rise of collectible cosmetics to a California bill that might ban retinol for teens—and unpack what it says about how Gen Z (and Gen Alpha!) are shaping the future of beauty.
📌 Timestamps
0:00 Intro & Perms!
01:35 — Beauty news: Poppi's Billion Dollar Deal, Apostrophe Axed by Hims & Hers, and an acne product recall03:54 — Gen Z explained: what makes they/them them?
04:40 — The pimple patch obsession
07:05 — Hydrocolloid technology 101: how it actually works on acne
08:30 — Do all trends start out east? K-Beauty’s start w pimple patches & Hero Cosmetics
09:40 — Is Starface cute or cringe? We explain the brand’s cult following
12:47 — Nelly, Air Force Ones & the Y2K cultural reset
14:44 — Touchland Hand Sanitizer: Why it’s suddenly on every teen’s wishlist
17:30 — Thy psychology of collectibles
17:55 — Beanie Babies, Sonny Angels, Labubus
23:25 — “Fugly” Gen Z: How the new aesthetic flips the beauty script
26:20 — Donni Davy’s Half Magic & the Euphoria effect on makeup
32:40 — What is "clean beauty" really? And how it differs from the “clean girl” look
39:29 — Conscious consumerism: Do Gen Z shoppers actually care?
41:40 — Rare Beauty & the conversation around mental health & beauty
42:10 — Selena Gomez vs Hailey Bieber: A breakdown of this decade long feud
46:56 — Why 15-step skincare routines are falling out of favor
47:48 — Gen Z spending habits: What Forbes is saying about their money mindset
50:35 — Cancel culture & beauty: From skinny jeans to winged eyeliner
53:30 — Gen Z nostalgia: The surprising trends they're bringing back
55:46 — Ask Us Anything! Your burning beauty questions, answered
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