When Pretty Little Liars actress Shay Mitchell launched her new children's skin care brand, Rini, this month, it was quickly met with headlines calling the brand ‘unnecessary’ at best and ‘dystopian’ at worst.
However, supporters of the brand argued that children are curious about beauty products, and that this provides a safer way to engage.
The way Rini responds to this backlash will now determine whether the brand becomes a case study in smart crisis management or winds up on the shelves of an off-price retailer next year.
Understanding the divisive reactions to Rini
Rini’s critics believe that the brand is dangerous and unnecessary – not just an early gateway to harmful beauty standards, but environmentally unfriendly in its promotion of single-use sheet masks.
On the flipside, support for the brand is rooted in ‘lived experience’: children are already obsessed with beauty.
While Gen Z started experimenting with beauty products and services around age 13, Gen Alpha is starting at the average age of eight, found a report released by US retailer Ulta Beauty last year.
And unsurprisingly, given larger market trends, 87% of Gen Alpha prioritise skin care over make-up.
The launch’s creative primarily featured children as young as three, which muddied the likely intended target
Children may be starting earlier, but on a macro level, this behaviour is not new.
Millennials grew up with Bath & Body Works sprays, Lip Smackers, body glitter and flip-phone-shaped make-up palettes from the likes of accessories retailer Claire’s.
I went to birthday parties at nail salons and sleepovers with DIY spa nights.
Put simply, what we are seeing now is childhood play amplified through a more intense public microscope.
Is Rini the problem or a symptom?
The backlash says less about Rini and more about the ecosystem it entered.
The ‘Sephora kids’ discourse [a period which saw tweens buying products made with ingredients too harsh for their skin at Sephora stores across the US] has been a hot topic since 2024.
This was fuelled by children's obsessions with [beauty brands like] Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe, and since dermatologists’ warning that skin barrier damage is now showing up in younger patients.
Rini did not create that behaviour, but it is the latest lightning rod for it.
The brand’s misstep was maybe not the concept, but the initial marketing
What gets lost in the conversation is that there is a legitimate gap in the market for older children, around eight to 12 years old.
They want to mimic what they see
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