Jasmine Glasheen of The Robin Report tells her readers that brands targeting Gen Z are moving away from polished, “perfect” beauty marketing and embracing darker, unsettling aesthetics to stand out in an oversaturated market. By leaning into discomfort, Uncanny Valley visuals, and gothic or eerie themes, these brands create memorable, thumb-stopping content that feels more authentic to younger, highly informed consumers. This strategy builds differentiation and trust, even if it risks alienating older audiences, signaling that embracing imperfection and darkness is becoming a powerful tool for connecting with next-generation consumers. Glasheen writes:
Brand marketing has long hawked the illusion of perfection with flawless models, soft lighting, and “aspirational,” i.e., highly photoshopped beauty. But walk into a store right now, and you’re just as likely to see models with contorted faces and gothic product packaging. Take Elf Beauty’s new “corpse paint” collab with Liquid Death water, which is literally packaged in mini coffins. Brands like Elf, that cater to Gen Z, are intentionally creeping out customers to cut through the noise of an oversaturated market…and it’s working.
The creep-out trend is driven by a greater aesthetic shift away from the pursuit of perfection, which smacks of AI’s veneer. Next gens are moving away from the dated and increasingly unattainable, idealized “filtered look” towards Uncanny Valley, reflecting today’s dystopian elements of the economic and political landscape. […]
That discomfort creates thumb-stopping content. Look at millennial skincare brand The Ordinary’s “Periodic Fable” video, a hack on the “non-scientific” table with actors coated with dystopian facial masks promoting the truth about beauty, not exactly the aspirational look we’re used to from beauty brands. But therein lies its genius.
Read more here.