Drunk Elephant tries to undo the ‘Sephora Kids’ effect

What happened Two events last week landed almost simultaneously, and together they reveal a clear market signal. Drunk Elephant unveiled a deliberately adult-focused brand refresh, while The Estée Lauder Companies moved to offload a slew of youth-driven labels, including Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart+, in a discounted package deal. One company is now undoing a period of brand drift, pulling a label once focused on the 25-to-40 age bracket back from the unintended gravitational pull of the “Sephora Kids” phenomenon. The other is choosing to exit entirely — a signal that in today’s beauty market, youth relevance without loyalty is no longer worth the balance-sheet risk. The two moves reflect a broader industry recalibration. After a decade of chasing virality, beauty groups are re-evaluating whether Gen Zalpha attention can be converted into durable growth — or whether it simply accelerates brand volatility. The Jing Take: From TikTok chaos to clinical control Drunk Elephant’s new global campaign marks its first major repositioning since being acquired by Shiseido in 2019. The shift is explicit: bare-faced models replace neon packaging; clinical trials and active ingredients take center stage; and the new tagline — “Please Enjoy Responsibly” — signals a brand intended for consumers 21 and up. The brand has wiped its Instagram feed clean and replaced it with tongue-in-cheek, adult-coded humor. The tone is flirtatious but controlled. The message is disciplined. There isn’t a teenager in sight. This is not cosmetic tinkering. It is an attempt to undo the brand’s most damaging chapter: the 2024 “Sephora Kids” moment, when Gen Zalpha shoppers flooded Sephora stores chasing Drunk Elephant’s colorful, high-active products. The virality brought short-term volume — and long-term confusion. As tweens piled in, core millennial customers quietly exited. Stock shortages worsened the experience, while competitors rushed in with near-identical alternatives. When the trend moved on, Drunk Elephant was left with neither loyalty nor momentum. When youth-driven acquisitions stop paying off If Drunk Elephant represents repair, Estée Lauder’s move represents retreat. The group’s decision to sell Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart+ at a steep discount — a decade after paying $1.45 billion for Too Faced alone — underscores how sharply the calculus has changed. These brands were acquired for their youth appeal, social buzz, and perceived cultural relevance. What they failed to deliver was sustained profitability in an increasingly crowded, discount-heavy market where trends cycle faster than balance sheets can absorb. Rather than attempt another round of reinvention, Estée Lauder is reallocating capital toward its core franchises. It is a tacit admission that not every brand built for virality can be rehabilitated — and that portfolio discipline now matters more than trend adjacency. Youth is no longer beauty’s growth engine Put together, these two moves reflect a broader industry pivot away from “youth at all costs.” Gen Zalpha consumers are curious, influential — and profoundly non-loyal. They chase novelty, not brand mythology. In a saturated market, that behavior creates spikes, not foundations. Drunk Elephant’s gamble is that adulthood still carries economic weight: bigger baskets, longer routines, and repeat purchasing driven by trust rather than trend. Estée Lauder’s gamble is that pruning is cheaper than rescuing. The deeper lesson is uncomfortable but necessary. In 2026, beauty brands are learning that attention is not the same as attachment. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Drunk Elephant tries to undo the ‘Sephora Kids’ effect