Key Takeaways:
Drunk Elephant is setting out to sober up the “Sephora Kids,” infamously known to have overindulged in the brand’s cocktail of skincare offerings. Their latest marketing campaign, “Please Enjoy Responsibly,” hints at a 21-and-over audience reframe, and reads as a reversal from a strategy that once accepted younger consumers. Now the hangover has arrived: following consistent sales declines in 2025, the business that once embraced the binge has turned to a message of restraint—and consumers have mixed opinions.
How Did We End Up Here?
Founded in 2013 by stay-at-home mom Tiffany Masterson, Drunk Elephant was created to give “clean” and efficacious skincare products to fellow moms. Positioned perfectly in the 2010s, just as “clean beauty” was first gaining traction, the brand vowed to avoid the “suspicious six,” including fragrances, dyes, and essential oils.
Conscious yet science-backed formulas cemented Drunk Elephant as a trusted entity, while bright packaging kept the brand engaging and fun. This combination quickly led the brand down the path to Sephora superstar. In 2019, Shiseido acquired the brand for $845 million, and Masterson stayed on as Chief Creative Officer until stepping down from day-to-day duties in May 2025. But it’s been far from champagne and caviar since the Shiseido acquisition.
In the summer of 2025, Drunk Elephant faltered as Shiseido Americas entered rebuilding mode. In the first quarter of 2025, Drunk Elephant sales dropped almost 65% YoY, prompting major layoffs. An ex-employee anonymously informed BeautyMatter of the culture clash between Drunk Elephant and Shiseido. “Shiseido culture was not Drunk Elephant [culture]. That was clear. Tiffany Masterson would not be happy with how they handled things."
Several employees, past and present (at the time the article was written), were not shy in expressing their true feelings about the ownership change. A former Drunk Elephant employee of over five years posted a 3-star review on Glassdoor in mid-2025, titled "RIP Old Drunk Elephant." The individual criticized executive senior leaders for having little decisiveness and not understanding the brand's vision. The reviewer advised management to “consider understanding who the customer is.”
Tween Trivia: The Sellout That Sunk the Ship
Other employees shared with BeautyMatter that they had little faith that Drunk Elephant could be saved under Shiseido. “Drunk Elephant is a sinking ship now,” one source said. “It wouldn’t be this way if they didn’t sell out.”
The referenced “sell out” came from the embrace of what were dubbed Sephora Kids. In 2023, TikTokers began to flag these young Gen A consumers for leaving beauty stores in a sorry state while seeking out products such as Drunk Elephant’s Protini Moisturizer. In early 2024, Drunk Elephant reported a 77% YoY sales jump and 90% growth in the Americas, arguably fueled by young consumers. The brand also experienced a 300% growth in social media followers, and the Protini Moisturizer became the number-one moisturizer across the US, six years after its release.
Aside from the concern for the generation's shopping habits, many were appalled by the idea of children as young as 10 reaching for shelves stocked full of Drunk Elephant products formulated with actives too harsh for young skin. The brand faced criticism for allegedly marketing to Gen A, but Drunk Elephant supporters suggested younger consumers were seeking out the brand organically on social media.
Though Drunk Elephant’s Sephora Kids moment peaked under Shiseido’s ownership, Masterson’s continued role in shaping brand voice complicates any clear division of blame. Masterson received widespread criticism when she spoke on the Gloss Angeles podcast. While she did not endorse young shoppers using products with active ingredients, she also did not condemn tweens and teens for using those of her own brand.
“So what if we are targeting children to use the products that are appropriate for children?” Masterson told hosts Sara Tan and Kirbie Johnson. “We have basic cleansers, basic creams, and moisturizers [like] F-Balm, B-Hydra, Lippe (a lip balm), the shampoos, the body cleansers … things that are great for skin that don’t have some of the inflammatory ingredients that [you may] find in other products. Who’s to say we don’t have something for that age? We do, and we want to share that.”
The subtle embrace of young consumers and lack of clear target audience clarification ended up being what Rich Gersten, co-founder of True Beauty Ventures, described as “the double-edged sword of virality.” The colorful branding that once made the brand seem approachable and fun began to be associated with teens and tweens, painting the brand as immature in the eyes of many.
Gersten told BeautyMatter, “[virality] can deliver explosive short-term results, but makes long-term growth more fragile if not backed by foundational strength.” The post–Sephora Kid sales boom evidenced exactly this. Once kids were over their Drunk Elephant phase, and dupes made similar products more accessible, the brand faced its 65% YoY downturn. Now, Drunk Elephant wants to win back the consumers who are old enough to place an order without ID.
Please Enjoy Responsibly
What does Drunk Elephant look like post Gen A? Not much different, according to critics.
The “new evolved brand direction” emphasizes science-backed skincare to support customers in determining what their skin needs to see transformative results. “This campaign brings clarity to the philosophy that shaped the brand from the very beginning. I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity to connect with both our longtime community and those discovering Drunk Elephant for the first time,” Masterson said in a company press release.
The press release also claims “Drunk Elephant has updated retail merchandising and the brand’s social platforms to reflect the new brand look and feel,” but social media users aren’t so convinced of the rebrand.
TikToker Audrey Johnson posted a video addressing the changes, noting that while the tagline “please enjoy responsibly” alongside adult models is a clear hint at an older audience, a lack of change in packaging and product names continues to brand Drunk Elephant as “something we know children like to buy.”
Others criticized that while the rebrand puts emphasis on regaining its older consumer, it doesn’t address the damage caused during the Sephora Kid craze. “There’s no coming back for Drunk Elephant. Once you cash in on the tween crowd, that's all you’ll ever be,” one user commented.
Another wrote: “The ‘please enjoy responsibly’ tagline and some education about not letting kids use their harsher products would’ve been a hit during the peak Sephora Kid Armageddon, but this is far too late.” However, the marketing materials do not actually include any reference to children using products specifically, and the brand declined to comment when questioned by BeautyMatter on the correlation between the two.
Demise or Rise?
Drunk Elephant’s “no kids allowed” rebrand comes as other beauty entrepreneurs are embracing skincare’s trickle-down to tweens. In November of last year, consumers cringed when Shay Mitchell launched Rini—a skincare brand allowing children as young as four to practice skincare “just as mommy does” with dystopian-like facemasks. However, other approaches are being praised, such as Sincerely Yours, created by 15-year-old Salish Matter and her father Jordan Matter. The brand's debut pop-up, which coincided with its official launch, drew over 10,000 attendees and has been receiving high praise ever since.
Which begs the question: Is Drunk Elephant serious about regaining its older consumers' trust, or are they leaning into yet another trend, this time by going against the grain? Regardless, the brand is sure to hope that 2026 will be the year Drunk Elephant rises again, ushering it away from its near demise. Although the market is saturated with products for the 21-30 age group, the skincare line will need to change more than a tagline to win back consumers.
