This week, the headline from Fortune read “Gen Z’s bedazzling era is the latest Lipstick Index as youths put gems on everything from coffee cups to skincare.” The Retail section noted that social media users have spent the last month meticulously gluing rhinestones onto everyday objects, including coffee cups, skincare products, phone cases, and even puppies! Almost all related content has referenced Kylie Jenner’s 29th birthday, which took a different playbook from past birthdays filled with lavish trips and gifts. Her cake’s rhinestone ornamentation doubled as a girly and whimsical photo-op. After the viral photos were posted, brands and creators were quick to jump at the lucrative marketing opportunity, and Gen Z’s rhinestone fever was born.
On August 28th, The Spate Beauty POV issued a Trends Alert titled “Bedazzling is Bringing Maximalism Back to Beauty.” Speaking to this newfound obsession, stats included the trend growing +180.1% year-over-year with medium popularity, and TikTok owning 73.3% of the Popularity Share, up +300.6% year-over-year. It receives an average of 109.5K monthly Google searches, 44.8M weekly TikTok views, and 11.6K weekly Instagram likes. On Search, nails (4.4K average monthly searches) emerge as the most approachable beauty application, while Vaseline (1.9K average monthly searches) is the top related brand, suggesting interest in both bedazzled products and DIY customization. On TikTok, lip products (2.1M average weekly views), perfume (1.6M), and blush (1.0M) are the top beauty formats associated with the trend, showing how consumers are bringing sparkle into everyday beauty. The trend also connects to Back to School (371.3K), as users customize makeup and school supplies into personalized pieces (1.4M). Its ties to bling bling (2.4M), girly (623.4K), and fairy aesthetics (371.3K) point to a playful, feminine, maximalist approach to self-expression.
