Football star Lauren James is the latest celeb to embrace the divisive Gen Z beauty trend with star-shaped pimple patch at the Lionesses Euros celebration
06:00, 06 Aug 2025

Gen Z beauty trends have a habit of breaking the internet. We’re talking about the morning shed, blush blindness, and even enhancing you’re under-eye bags to name a few. An the latest one to spark some debate is pimple patches.
And now, football star Lauren James is getting in on the action, sporting the £9 spot stickers that have already found fans in celebs like Pink Pantheress, Hailey and Justin Bieber, and SZA. Cute, controversial, and clinically effective, these tiny patches are making a major statement.
Celebrating with the rest of the Lionesses on their victory parade around London, the 23-year-old was seen rocking Starface’s Pink Hydro-Star Patches, £8.99.
This pack of 32 pink, star-shaped stickers help shrink spots, reduce redness, and absorb gunk while looking adorable on your face. Made with 100% hydrocolloid, these patches are designed to protect pimples from bacteria, calm inflammation, and discourage skin picking (a bad habit I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of at some point).
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Hydro-Stars are perfectly shaped to hug your skin and stay put, whether you’re running around, cooking dinner at home, or celebrating your recent Euros win.
Safe for all skin types, including sensitive skin, they’re vegan, cruelty-free, and dermatologist-tested, so they actually help your breakouts rather than just concealing them.
Pimple patches were initially designed to blend into the skin and conceal spots without being too visible. Mighty Patch and The Inkey List offer some fantastic invisible designs that aren’t distinctive on the face.
However, after its launch in 2019, Starface disrupted the trend with its instantly recognisable star patches, which were designed specifically to stand out.
The popularity of these patches highlights the current shift in beauty standards. Rather than discreetly covering up acne, scars, or blemishes, Gen Z is embracing and highlighting previous ‘shameful’ imperfections. It’s a conscious rejection of overly airbrushed or filtered faces, as well as a form of self-expression and fun.
And with celebrity endorsements from Lauren James, Hailey Bieber, and Kim Kardashian, Starface pimple patches have become the must-have accessory of the 2020s.