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By Leah Greenblatt and Melissa Guerrero
Youth is possibly wasted on young people, but good looking trends rarely overlook them. While a number of recent headlines have focused on “Sephora teens” running like packs of wolves through the aisles of the personal care store, buying rarefied creams and serums to expand lashes, teens’ desire for transformation isn’t new.
The concept of teenagers as a single demographic first gave the impression of the postwar boom of the 1940s, although for many years the products aimed at them remained relatively modest: a pink bubble bath foam, a touch of Lip Smacker lip balm.
This year, the global good looks industry is expected to generate more than $600 billion in revenue, with an 8% increase among young and tween consumers alone. (Whether a 12-year-old wants a $48 “visibly firming” Brazilian Bum Bum cream is another story. ) Below, a partial look back at more than eight decades of shiny bars and tweaks in the spirit of the times.
The debut of Seventeen magazine in 1944 helped herald an explosion of fresh products like Pond’s Angel face powder and developing brands like Tangee, whose best-selling lipstick contained a fluorescein dye that replaced color on contact with the skin to conform. uniquely to the user. At least that’s what the company claims. (Though its relevance faded in the late ’60s, you can still find the line’s iconic shade today at the Vermont Country Store, after a resurgence in 2002. )
Miniature products, known as “dime sizes” and first sold as samples, also emerged in this era as a boon to women with little fun and little money to spend.
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