Gen Z Says is a bimonthly column chronicling the latest trends in the fashion-and-beauty space through the lens of Who What Wear’s own Gen Z editors. Expect a download on the upcoming class of tastemakers, emerging designers, and shopping and style choices straight from the generation setting the trends.
One thing I’ll always be proud to share about myself is my undying appreciation of aesthetics. I love pretty things and working in an industry that’s constantly coming up with new ones to fall in love with through the ever-changing landscape of haircare, skincare, perfumery, and more. While I can’t speak for all members of Gen Z, I can say with confidence that our unique connection with social media is driven by niche aesthetics whether they’re given a short, entertaining name, don’t lay claim to a single “core,” or draw inspiration from fictional characters and historical figures.
In this edition of Gen Z Says Beauty, we’ll be digging into some extremely popular and less commercialized brands that deserve attention for their cutting-edge formulas, accessibility across multiple markets, and packaging so aesthetic they’ll cause heart palpitations (non-fatal, of course). Trust me when I say that once you fall in love with these like I have, it’ll always be pretty products over everything else.
So why not populate your beauty cabinet with products that look as pretty as they make you feel when you get your hands on them? There’s no need to sacrifice style and performance for the effectiveness of a beauty product alone (and I have a bathroom counter full of eye-catching items to prove it). With the continued help and guidance of my For You page on TikTok, I’ve pieced together a guide for the most aesthetic beauty brands and products on the market. No matter what your personal style and vibe is, there’s a good chance your perfect beauty brand match is below.
(Image credit: Kindred Black)
Kindred Black
Desert Eye Pigment
Handmade in small batches with a base of natural arrowroot and Sonoran jojoba oil from a family-run farm in the desert, this loose-powder eye shadow delivers a subtle wash of color with a pearlescent finish in a warm tawny pink. It’s packaged in a hand-blown vessel created by a master glass artisan and shipped using cork sealing as part of the brand’s plastic-free Slow Beauty Collection.
Kindred Black
Cucumber Cool Under Eye
Use this intensive spot treatment for the delicate skin under your eyes. Its formula features cucumber seed oil to promote skin repair, fight free radical damage caused by UV rays, and seal in moisture while organic green coffee bean works to reduce inflammation and increase blood flow around the eyes. The handblown glass bottle is shipped wax and cork sealed and comes with a glass dabber.
Kindred Black
Dew Facial Serum
Made with plant-derived, organic, cold-pressed squalane, this light and intensely hydrating serum restores the natural oils replaced in the aging process and locks in moisture to plump and firm the skin. Its formula uses organic, cold-pressed cloudberry seed oil, a Norwegian superfruit that helps brighten the skin while stimulating collagen production and retaining moisture. It arrives in a bottle handblown by a master glass artisan.
Kindred Black
Lava Detox Clay Mask
Lava Detox Clay Mask is a natural mineral mask rich in silica, magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium from the Atlas Mountain region of Morocco. The pure, fine-powdered natural clay is packaged in a stunning hand-carved Teotihuacán obsidian jar mined communally in the Mexican state of Hidalgo and handmade in a workshop near the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacán. Use it by mixing the desired amount with water or the brand’s Argan Oil or Sonoran Jojoba Oil.
Kindred Black
Metamorphoses Perfume Oil
Metamorphoses is a limited-edition perfume oil created with notes of Narcissus des Plaines (a delicate flower native to Grasse, France), velvety pink lotus oil, Osmanthus, citrus, and sandalwood. Each whelk-shell silhouette bottle is handblown by a small collective of glass artisans in Illinois and features semi-opaque white glass. The shell is a symbol of metamorphosis, never fully of the sea or land.
(Image credit: Officine Universelle Buly)
Officine Universelle Buly
Eau Rectifiée
Here’s a micellar lotion that delivers the perfect cleanse for the complexion using Saint-John’s-wort extract, a bright-yellow flower known for its healing and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s a holy-grail product that addresses damaged, dehydrated skin and soothes redness for all skin types but is especially effective on oily skin. Its vintage-inspired bottle features a blue-and-white hand-drawn illustration with an aged bronze cap.
Officine Universelle Buly
Beige Clay
Officine Universelle Buly’s Beige Clay tones, purifies, and revives the skin for a glowing complexion when applied to the face as a brightening mask. It has a high concentration of calcium that works to soften the epidermis while ridding the skin of impurities. It comes in an antique-style green-and-white tin featuring the product’s name in script across faded lines, like a page ripped from a well-loved journal.
Officine Universelle Buly
Baume des Muses Ivory
I was introduced to this TikTok-viral product through a number of The Millennial Decorator’s bag flat lays. The Baume des Muses is chock-full of moisturizing, repairing, and protective organic ingredients including castor oil, carnauba vegetable wax, and vitamin E–rich plum kernel oil. Like many of Officine Universelle Buly’s products, its leather-like box can be embossed with initials in gilt letters.
Officine Universelle Buly
Alexandrie Scented Matches
Have you ever experimented with scented matches? Officine Universelle Buly’s matches fill the room with their fragrance with a single stroke. These ones are coated with the brand’s Alexandrie fragrance and feature notes of mint tea, lemon, blackcurrant, ginger, and vanilla. The scent is inspired by the legend of the city of Alexandria, borne from a dream Alexander the Great had. Its package features an illustration of an elegant veiled woman. I’m thinking her name might be Alexandria.
Officine Universelle Buly
Blow-Dry Hair Brush
It’s no wonder why this one is described by Officine Universelle Buly as the Rolls-Royce of hairbrushes. Designed to detangle, aerate, and discipline hair to achieve a salon-worthy blowout, the Blow-Dry Hair Brush is crafted using high-quality boar hair and a wood-carved ergonomic handle, allowing for comfortable use. It’s incredibly light, easy to handle, and looks stylish whether it’s in your hand or resting on your vanity between uses.
(Image credit: Tenoverten)
Tenoverten’s best-selling base coat is the secret to helping damaged, ravaged nails recover. Formulated to lock in moisture, boost hydration, and enhance overall nail health, The Rehab works as an intensive-care primer that combats and prevents damage using a formula with antioxidant-rich celery seed oil and strengthening horsetail leaf extract. Plus, its olive-green box and simple design are the stuff minimalist dreams are made of.
Tenoverten
The Sleep Mask
I give my mother all the credit in the world for encouraging me to always have a hand cream on deck for smooth and healthy-looking skin. The Sleep Mask delivers those results and more with a non-greasy formula that delivers rejuvenating results by morning. Packed with fruit-derived acids and plant-based boosters of cell renewal, the cream works overnight to smooth skin, increase elasticity, and restore moisture. Its cream-colored casing with pretty text and the soft brush are gentle on the eyes and your hands.
This two-sided nail buffer works miracles. Made to last in a soft, compact shape for use at home or on the go, The Buff Plus creates a smooth canvas that brings out the natural glow and color of your nails. Use the pink side to gently buff nails, removing dead cuticles and smoothing nail surfaces and edges, and then use the cream side to further smooth and polish nails. Its design features the same classic serif font and neutral colors the brand is so well known for.
Free of acetone, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance, The Roes Soak is an effective nail polish remover infused with essential oils, vitamins, and extracts to nourish the nails. Formerly named the Rose Polish Remover, it is housed in an off-white recyclable glass bottle packed in an outer box printed with soy ink. No more hiding your nail polish remover under the bathroom sink or in the back of a beauty cabinet.
Tenoverten
The Celery Oil
The Celery Oil is a nourishing nail treatment designed to aid in repairing damaged nails, boost nail strength, and stimulate growth. Its holy-grail formula combines celery seed oil extract, meadowfoam oil, midnight primrose oil, and more to lock in moisture, strengthen, and smooth the nails while delivering instant glow using a roll-on applicator. Its olive-green packaging and minimalistic black text continues this brand’s legacy of effortless style.
(Image credit: Vacation Inc.)
Vacation Inc.
After Sun Eau de Toilette
If you’re as obsessed with the scent of Vacation’s After Sun Gel as I am, you’re in luck. The brand’s newest fragrance, After Sun Eau de Toilette, captures its essence with notes of aloe vera essence, green tea, cardamom absolute, and tonic water. Its base notes are a plush resort towel and open-weave lines—enough to transport its wearer to a sun-soaked beach with a single spritz. It’s also encased in an eye-catching glass bottle and features mint-green detailing.
Vacation Inc.
Classic Whip SPF 30 Sunscreen Mousse
The packaging of the Classic Whip sunscreen mousse draws inspiration from the bright and colorful advertisements of a yesteryear. This lightweight, water-resistant, and reef-friendly sunscreen rubs smooth and clear on all skin tones with a formula using coconut oil, aloe vera, banana extract, shea oil, and nourishing vitamin E. It also features a tilt valve actuator that produces perfect, star-shaped mountains of foam inspired by delicious desserts.
Vacation Inc.
Classic Lotion SPF 50 Sunscreen
Vacation’s clean, lightweight sunscreen is designed to optimize leisure and protection against harsh UV rays with transparent application on all skin tones. The sunscreen’s award-winning scent, developed with Carlos Huber and Rodrigo Flores-Roux, combines notes of coconut, banana, pool water, pool toy, and swimsuit Lycra for a long-lasting scent that’s basically summer in a bottle. It’s the first thing that lands in my carry-on bag for beach getaways.
Vacation Inc.
Chardonnay Lip Oil SPF 30
This multipurpose lip oil protects and nourishes the lips while delivering shine with a formula made from chardonnay grape seed. Its non-sticky, buildable caramel-vanilla flavor profile can be worn alone, as a mask, or as your favorite lip color. The lip oil also offers UV protection, a caramel-vanilla fragrance profile inspired by Vacation’s Grand Cru 86 scent, and luxurious golden packaging.
Vacation Inc.
Ball Boy Scented Candle
This has to be one of the most underrated candles on the market, and I’m on a mission to make sure everyone knows about it. It’s described as possessing notes of freshly uncanned tennis balls, Vacation Sunscreen, Prince Cotton Sweatbands, and courtside cucumber sandwiches. Its reusable green glass vessel features a retro tennis ball illustration and text that I can’t get enough of.
(Image credit: Typology)
Typology
L33 Caffeine Eye Serum With 5% Caffeine + 5% Niacinamide
Clearly, my beauty cabinet is experiencing a French takeover. This caffeine eye serum de-puffs and brightens the under-eye area with a circulation-boosting blend of caffeine and niacinamide. Not only does it have a 93/100 Yuka Score, but it’s completely fragrance-free and vegan and comes in a bottle that’s simple and clean-looking.
Typology
D41 Nine Ingredient Face Moisturizer
I love it when my product lineup complements my overall vibe, and right now, I’m all about silver. Typology’s Caffeine Eye Serum is in a 100% recycled aluminum tube that looks chic on my bathroom counter while delivering daily hydration. Its lightweight and non-greasy formula is made from nine essential ingredients to nourish the skin, adding a healthy glow as the last step of my skincare routine.
Typology
L37 Eyebrow and Eyelash Serum With 2% Pea Peptides + Castor Oil
Typology’s Eyebrow and Eyelash serum is crafted with a blend of active ingredients including pea peptides to strengthen and densify the eyelashes and brows while castor oil promotes eyelash and brow growth. Like a number of the brand’s most popular products, it’s stored in an amber container reminiscent of antique alchemist bottles.
Typology
T31 Glow Drops With 5% Vitamin C + Aloe Vera
Hooray for glow drops that are complementary to all skin tones! These are enhanced with antioxidant vitamin C and soothing aloe vera to deliver radiance to the complexion, working instantly and overtime. Typology recommends mixing this with moisturizer or tinted serum for a luminous finish. It’s packaged in a clear bottle, allowing its true color to shine through.
Typology
L12 Purifying Cleansing Gel With 2% Zinc PCA + Bamboo Extract
This purifying gel deeply cleanses, unclogs pores, and rebalances the skin with a 97% naturally derived formula. While zinc PCA (a sebum regulator and antibacterial ingredient) purifies the skin, organic bamboo extract mattifies and rebalances excess sebum to combat shine. Its bottle is crafted from recycled plastic and has the perfect amount of product to use night and day for months on end.
