NewsletterSign InSearchSearchNewsletterBest of BeautyNewsSkinMakeupHairNailsWellnessShoppingAllure Beauty BoxNewsletterVideoOPINIONWhy the Outrage Over Rini, Shay Mitchell's Skin-Care Brand for Kids, Is Totally MisguidedWhen it comes to kids and beauty standards, there are far bigger fish to fry than sheet masks.By Susan AkyeampongNovember 21, 2025Save StorySave this storySave StorySave this storyWhen I was about seven, I started sitting by my mom’s side at her vanity, sneaking swipes of her beauty products when she wasn’t looking. As a tween, I gleefully rummaged through any retailer’s kids’ section; every tacky, medicinal-smelling lip gloss and glitter body spray wound up in her shopping basket. When I started getting acne a couple of years later, I turned to face washes designed just for teens, brightly coloured with overwhelmingly sweet and citrusy scents. Children have always dipped their little toes into beauty purely for fun or fascination’s sake—so why, exactly, did the launch of Shay Mitchell’s Rini cause an internet meltdown? The brand debuted last week with five single-use sheet masks formulated for what it calls “growing faces,” and its campaign imagery features the faces of little boys and girls coated in colorful hydrogel or cotton sheets with animal-themed markings. Judging by the number of skeptical, dismissive, and even downright furious comments left across social media in response, the general consensus seems to be that kids just don’t need face masks—and that the products themselves amount to an immoral enforcement of beauty standards on kids. I understood the visceral reaction, but I couldn’t help but see a disconnect. Even for adults, sheet masks are a tool for harmless fun or a simple means of boosting hydration—not a serious skin care treatment. But they do still sit within an industry that has historically demonized totally normal skin features (like wrinkles, dark spots, and acne) to market solutions to those so-called problems.…

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