According to Pinterest, battle lines have been drawn and – given the platform’s ability to divide user searches by age range – they can point us in the right direction, based on our beauty habits.
Question: how do you spot a millennial in the wild? Is it the ‘cheugy’ side-parting? The skinny jeans? The relentless smiley emojis tapped into our iPhone?
And what about Gen Z? Is it the throwback crop tops, the resin rings, or their ability to ‘woah clap’ as soon as TikTok blasts up Renegade?
Intrigued? Us too. To work out how millennial or Gen Z you are, here’s what our age groups have been hitting up…
Gen Z: Mint makeup
When it comes to eye makeup, this summer Gen Z are favouring lighter shades like pastels. Searches for “mint makeup” are up 7 times since April. Meanwhile, “makeup looks with white eyeliner” and “candy inspired makeup” looks are being searched four times more frequently.
Millennials: Red eyeshadow
Millennials are opting for richer shades with “red eyeshadow makeup” taking a surprise lead (searches for the term are 17 times greater than they were in April). “Green and gold eyeshadow looks” have become a top combo with 8 times more hits and “blue liner makeup looks” are up 11 times.
Gen Z: Pink gloss
Gretchen Wieners called, she wants her pink gloss back. According to Pinterest data, Gen Z are big into minimalist makeup, keeping things fresh and natural with low-key lip looks. “Pink gloss” is up 7 times and searches for “brown gloss” are 5 times greater.
Millennials: Brown lipstick
Millennials are referencing our ’90s upbringing with “brown lipstick shades” (which has nine times more searches). And, in a shock to us all, “glittery lips” is up 13 times? ! Whaaaaat? No-one puts millennials in the corner, not when we’ve gone and bedazzled our lips, people.
Gen Z: Lavender nails
Gen Z are sidelining ‘millennial pink’ for lavender and lilac. When it comes to nails, they favour quick fixes that let them move on fast, hence press-ons are popular. Here for a good time, not a long time. Design-wise soft, chill shades are winning. Searches for “summer pastel nails” are a whopper 60 times greater and “lavender nails with design” have surged by 17 times.
Millennials: Rainbow cow print nails
Millennials, we’re nothing if not specific. One trend Pinterest has seen moving to the stop spot in our age bracket, is “rainbow cow print nails” (up 11 times). Failing that, we’ll have some “bright summer acrylic nails” plz (up a massive 154 times).
