Come get to knowGeneration Beauty.
It is 10 a.m. on a drizzly day in Kansas City, Missouri.
No, not Travis Kelce.
David Robert Elliott
Evelyn Unruh, age 13.
This is the first time her last name has appeared in the press.
Then she (well, technically, her mom) posted the minute-long video on TikTok.
Evelyn “gets ready” to party using products from brands including Youthforia, Tower 28, Tula, and Ilia.
Evelyn gets ready to party using products from brands including Youthforia, Tower 28, Tula, and Ilia.
The clip didnt take off.
I didn’t really get a lot of views, says Evelyn.
Partygoers get crafty designing their own charm necklaces and customizing brightly-colored trucker hats.
But I guess that was owed to me being very camera-shy and awkward.
Inspired by her influencer idols likeKatie Fang, she kept at it.
Who decided there were 24 hours in a day?
Oh, yeah, about that last thing… Well get to that in a minute.
Evelyns videos soon began to pick up speed in the way only TikTok videos can.
Whether she knows it or not, Evelyn has created a master class in product placement.
“My friends have always supported me. I’m so thankful for them,” says Evelyn, sipping a strawberry shortcake-flavored mocktail.
But shes smartit’s hard to imagine she doesn’t know it.
But to get more engagement, she says, she evolved to using skin care in the mornings.
It also just built a healthy habit.
Evelyn films while a photographer, videographer, and assistant look on. Her dress is by City Vibe, available at Dillard’s.
(I use my Rare Beauty blush, which won theAllureaward, right?
Like we said,smart.)
Partygoers get crafty designing their own charm necklaces and customizing brightly-colored trucker hats.
When Evelyns views started growing, it was like, What is going on?
Do we stop this?
Do we just let it go?
Evelyn blows out 13 candles atop an all-pink, red velvet cake.
All of these people are now seeing my daughter, she remembers.
So there was a little bit of uncomfortability in terms of, How do I parent this?
It’s not like I can go ask my friends or my mom group.
Evelyn’s mom Alex (far left, in pink) greets guests.
“My friends have always supported me.
I’m so thankful for them,” says Evelyn, sipping a strawberry shortcake-flavored mocktail.
Not to my face, but yeah, says Alex.
Evelyn says her friends will continue to make cameos in upcoming videos.
To each their own.
Not everyone’s going to agree with everything we do, and that’s fine.
Evelyn was very likely going to find herself in front of the camera one way or another, anyway.
The collective desire among young people to be in the public eye is not new, she says.
Evelyn films while a photographer, videographer, and assistant look on.
Her dress is by City Vibe, available at Dillard’s.
Its uncharted territory, says Alex.
You deal with it as it comes.
Evelyn was at a sleepover party at a friend’s house when it happened.
But in this case, Evelyns mom was the account holder.
Alex provided verification of her identity when she registered, she says.
It was she who pressed post on the videos, and she who interacted with commenters.
(Evelyns bio makes it clear that hers is a Parent Run Account.)
Evelyn blows out 13 candles atop an all-pink, red velvet cake.
And a lot of that is just being in lockstep with her parents every day.
Zelle continues, The truth of the matter is I’m not really in business with Evelyn.
She’s too young to do business; she can’t sign a contract.
How about a massive 13th-birthday party to celebrate Evelyns entry into teenhood?
I want it to be likeGossip Girl,Mean Girlsvibes, with lots and lots of pink.
TheMean Girlsreference is for aesthetics only.
I’m inviting every girl in my grade, says Evelyn.
I didn’t want to make anyone feel left out.
There would also be gift bags stuffed to the gills with makeup provided by Essence Cosmetics.
Evelyn’s mom Alex (far left, in pink) greets guests.
Ill be honest: I went into these conversations with a healthy amount of skepticism and certainly some concern.
Id read therecent investigationinto the number of adult men who follow underage girl influencers.
Im not oblivious to the realities of social media and the dangers it can pose to kids.
Evelyn says her friends will continue to make cameos in upcoming videos.
Still, Evelyn is, in many ways, an average teenage girl.
She attended night two of the Eras Tour in Kansas City last summer.
I was in the top 1% of Taylor Swift listeners this year, says Evelyn.
[Going to the show] was one of the best days of my entire life.
I cant wait to go to prom.
Long-term, I would like to maybe have a makeup and skin-care brand, says Evelyn.
Being an author is my dream, though.
I’d like to write fiction or maybe articles about the Earth and stuff.
Its fitting, then, that its Evelyns world.
Were all just living in it.
Read more about tween beauty:
Watch Alix Earle’s makeup routine for acne-prone skin:
