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NYX turns beauty into gameplay for back-to-school on Roblox

NYX Professional Makeup takes over Bayside High School on Roblox, US

US – NYX Professional Makeup is amplifying its digital-first strategy with a bold return to Roblox by taking over the platform’s most popular high school-themed experience, Bayside High, which attracts more than 23m monthly users.

Timed for the back-to-school season, the activation transforms the space into a beauty-centric playground complete with gamified experiences that merge self-expression, creativity and play.

Players can race through mochis, mix dessert-themed lip balms, hunt for viral Face Glue products and attend digital make-up classes, all guided by animated brand mascots.

With Gen Z now spending 25% of their free time gaming, NYX is positioning beauty as a lived, playable experience – a key theme we explored in our SXSW London 2025: Gaming and Brand Strategy report.

For more insights on the brand opportunities, marketing and retail strategies emerging in virtual realms and web3, explore our Metaverse topic.

Strategic opportunity

Transform campaigns into interactive digital experiences that invite play, not just promotion. Leverage platforms such as Roblox to turn brand engagement into a culturally relevant, immersive activity

Foresight Friday: Dan Hastings, deputy foresight editor

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, deputy foresight editor Dan Hastings dives into dating on Roblox, erotic skincare and rebranding tinned fish.

: Hide your kids: CEO David Baszucki wants Roblox to become a dating platform. According to GQ Middle East, romantic relationships between players are explicitly prohibited under Roblox Community Standards, since most users are under 16 and 39% are under 13. Yet Baszucki insists Roblox can help address the loneliness epidemic: ‘Have a virtual date to start, and then if they connect, move to the physical world.’ Seeking love in a digital playground of quirky, child-oriented avatars strikes me as a massive red flag. Find more insights about the future of love in our Gen Z Dating Futures report.

: Wattpad marketing for skincare is something I didn’t see coming. Neutrogena has partnered with writer-influencer Serena Kerrigan for a steamy short-story series titled Bank Your Glow, featuring two Wattpad tales that weave sexual empowerment into skincare messaging. The campaign taps the booming 'passion reads' trend, which has amassed over 4.7bn views under #steamybooktok on TikTok (source: Cosmetics Business).

: In other new, the hilarious Las Culturistas Culture Awards prove that these shows need sharper writers and more gay icons, Waterbomb hints at a new form of heatwave entertainment, and the Sardine Girl summer trend shows Gen Z can turn anything – even recession – into an aesthetic core.

Avatar Looks by Zepeto and Roblox, Viva Tech, France

Quote of the week

‘The middle-class dream is a meritocracy and being self-made… We thought we were in a meritocracy, particularly with all that education, but actually we are in an inheritocracy’

Dr Eliza Filby, author of Inheritocracy: It’s Time to Talk About the Bank of Mum and Dad (source: Novara Media)

Stat: Ageing pressures persist despite shifts in beauty language

Isamaya Ffrench and Nike, US

UK – Despite the rise of pro-ageing narratives in beauty marketing, new research from skincare retailer Face the Future finds that pressure to look younger is still deeply felt by UK women.

As part of its Beauty Beyond Time campaign, the brand surveyed 2,000 women and discovered that 65% feel compelled to appear more youthful at social events. The study found that workplaces (35%), dating environments (27%) and social media (41%) are also significant sources of appearance anxiety.

Confidence appears to decline with age – only 27% of women feel more confident about their looks now than they did when they were younger. Just 42% think that they’re well represented for their age in the skincare industry and a third no longer, or have never, used anti-ageing skincare products.

Crucially, 67% of respondents define ‘ageing well’ not by appearance, but by maintaining good health, echoing a broader shift explored in our Longevity Lifestyles macrotrend.

Strategic opportunity

By building on the momentum of longevity-focused ingredients such as collagen, brands have an opportunity to expand beyond the beauty category. See our Innovation Debrief 2025: Collagen’s New Frontiers for emerging directions