One of my grad students set her water bottle on my desk last week. It was covered — rhinestones, stickers, a charm bracelet wrapped around the handle. My first thought was: that’s a lot of effort for a water bottle.
Then I looked around the room. Laptop lids with gem stickers. AirPods cases dripping in rhinestones. Tumblers so loaded with charms they rattle when you pick them up. And I noticed something specific: the closer we get to finals, the more bedazzled everything gets.
It’s not just my classroom. Sephora is selling out of rhinestone kits. Ulta has built an entire aisle around it. Roller Rabbit turned the trend into a business. Tooth gems, bedazzled moisturizer bottles, gem-covered coffee cups — Gen Z is covering everything they own in glitter and rhinestones, right now, all at once.
