✨ EXTRA, EXTRA (READ ALL ABOUT IT)

Are clean girls putting rhinestones on their claw clips? Searches for bedazzled claw clips are up 749%, per Pinterest’s inaugural beauty trend report, with the maximalist vibes extending across nails (raspberry jelly nails, +828%), hair (pink hair stripe, +463%) and makeup (frosted makeup, +286%).

There’s a name for romanticizing the most mundane parts of daily life with gloriously unnecessary touches: whimsymaxxing. Partly thanks to Kylie Jenner’s gem-encrusted birthday cake, bedazzling coffee cups, phone cases and pill bottles is #trending, but stick-on stones are just one way to play. Sprinkle-topped sandwiches or star-shaped fruit count too. So what’s behind this sudden appetite for extra? 

💡 OUR TAKE

Long-time readers might be feeling some whiplash. At the start of 2026 we wrote about low-energy dressing, which saw details stripped away as a way to take back control in a chaotic, over-digitized world. Whimsymaxxing piles the detail on, for many of the same reasons: when life feels overwhelming, being in control of something can help.

Financial pressure is putting big plans on pause, with 55% of Gen Z and 52% of millennials globally saying they are delaying major life decisions, including marriage, starting a family or business, or further education. With big milestones on hold or out of reach, small moments of joy feel more urgent.

In Southeast Asia, that joy seems to be more for the self than for show. Data from YouGov shows that Gen Z in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam rank mental health and wellbeing ahead of personal freedom and self-expression (49% versus 26%). Nerve also reported that 66% of Filipino Gen Z’s put their career, personal goals and finances before relationships. Meanwhile, 75% of them shop online because “they deserve it.” For this generation, bedazzled belongings or heart-shaped sandwiches might simply be a way to get through the week. 

Much of whimsymaxxing leans towards the handmade, which isn’t surprising given that interest in crafting continues to grow: #CraftTok videos on Tiktok are up 60% globally over the past year and #SewingTok is up 90%. Levi’s Wear Longer project has reached 90,000 US students since launching in January, and the brand just expanded the initiative to Europe. Mending comes from a thriftier place than bedazzling, but both give young people something to do that doesn’t require a screen (yes, these projects often end up on TikTok, but that’s a consumer paradox for another day). 

Whimsy presents a unique challenge for brands. While its enthusiasts often decry the irony of “whimsy” becoming a trendy aesthetic, the true appeal of modern maximalism lies in the act of creation itself. Much of the appeal in this new maximalist outlook lies in the DIY nature and in the intentionally ridiculous personal touch, so giving people the tools to add their own flourish is more compelling than selling a pre-finished product. Some brands, like the Canadian rhinestone manufacturer Allstarco, which usually supplies Disney and Cirque du Soleil, now sell stick-on gems to beginners. At the other end of the scale, Mellerio (considered the world’s oldest jewelry house) recently unveiled 18-karat gold nail ornaments. How’s that for max-maxxing? 

Brands have long sold big dreams: a holiday, a dream apartment or The Big Day. With so many of these on hold, people are weaving small doses of whimsy into daily life. The hashtag – or even the phrase – might not endure, but the underlying need for small everyday escape almost certainly will. How can your brand help customers add their own daily dose of whimsy?

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’

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