Piper Sandler Companies released its 49th semi-annual “Taking Stock With Teens” survey, in partnership with DECA, after surveying over 6,450 teens in the U.S.—and Gen Z is apparently spending more on beauty.

The report “offers an inside look at how thousands of U.S. teens are spending their money and its correlation to our economy,” says Korrine Wolfmeyer, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler.

“This spring, teens self-reported annual spending at $2,388, which is an increase from both our spring 2024 and fall 2024 surveys,” she says.

E.l.f. Dominates Beauty Spending

E.l.f. Cosmetics continues to dominate as the number one cosmetics brand among female teens, according to Piper Sandler’s report.

How much are teens spending? “The core beauty wallet reaches the highest level ever during the spring 2025 survey at $374,” the report states.

Sephora holds its spot as the number one favorite beauty shopping destination, followed by Ulta Beauty at number two, and Bath & Body Works at number three. This is the first time Bath & Body Works has ranked in the top 10 since 2018.

Related: The Top 100 Most Relevant Beauty Brands Attracting Gen Z

Gen Z Prefers Instagram—& More Rankings

Piper Sandler’s teen survey also reports on Gen Z’s social media preferences and how they use technology. Netflix is the number one choice for daily video consumption. More rankings follow.

What are the most used social media apps?

What type of cell phones are teens using to access social media?

• 88% of teens currently own an iPhone
• 25% expect to upgrade to an iPhone 17 this upcoming fall or winter

Piper Sandler’s team has been researching teen preferences for nearly 25 years, and has 64 million data points around teen spending. See Piper Sandler’s report for the complete survey results.

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