If you’re anything like Seth, you might have had a minor panic attack when, rocking up to work, you bumped into more than three poeple with freshly-dyed pink hair.

Funny enough, it happened to coincide with Kim Kardashian’s week of bubblegum pink hair at the end of February. Remember?

Of course, for those of you who are so on trend it hurts, you might have realised that as much as we love Kim, her decision was, like, so yesterday.

Upon investigating what we first thought a localised phenomenon, we soon realised that it was actually a global trend – and one that has been going on for way too long.

But why? Why has the colour stuck around for so long? Why does it refuse to leave us? Well, there are two main reasons.

Regarding the whole hair dying side of it, dying your hair to match any of the colours featured in the rainbow spectrum has become acceptable beyond the world of cybergoths and punks for over a decade already. Finally.

But there’s more to it than hair; pink is everywhere, and the phenomenon has even been given a name: Millennial Pink.

I am going to leave it up to The Cut to introduce the two of you:

At first, in 2012, when this color [sic] really started showing up everywhere, it appeared as a toned-down version of its foil, Barbie Pink, a softer shade that looks as if all the blue notes have been taken out.

By the time everyone started calling it Millennial Pink in the summer of 2016, the color had mutated and expanded to include a range of shades from beige with just a touch of blush to a peach-salmon hybrid.

Over the past two years, it has managed to keep its reign as the most on-trend colour and, just when we think it has been laid to rest, BAM, it pops up again.

In a lake, on a toaster, as the colour of Kendall Jenner’s wall.

But why? TELL US WHY?

Well, on one hand Millennial Pink has managed to lose pink’s girly-girl identity; now it’s androgynous. On the other, well, the Bustle brought on the science:

[I]t’s also worth remembering that, for the millennial generation, little is positive at the moment. American politics is a mess, millennial debt is climbing, the newspapers are filled with stories of sexual harassment, and a woman came closer than anybody else to the White House before being beaten by someone with no experience.

It’s not surprising that a color associated with innocence and uncomplicated childhood has held a strong position in the public consciousness for so long.

A report in 2015 found that there’s a direct tie between millennial fondness for the markers of childhood nostalgia (unicorns, milkshakes, cartoons), and their restricted access to the markers of “adulthood” (a lifelong job, owning property, pensions and life insurance). Millennials are increasingly redefining what it means to be a grown-up in a seriously troubled world.

Sometimes, we all want to be soothed — and what better way to do that than looking at Instagrams of a mid-century modern pink velvet settee.

I mean, have you seen what people have done with the colour? LOOK:

And there’s more where that came from: there’s a whole Instagram account dedicated to showcasing the best Millennial Pink posts out there. Gorgeous, I tell you.

With all that, it should be little wonder why Cape Town Gin Company’s The Pink Lady is such a massive hit right now:

Yaaas, kween.

Named after the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel – affectionally known as Nelly – The Pink Lady is able to encapsulate cheekiness, sincerity and nostalgia all at once:

Winston Churchill once called the Pink Lady “a most excellent and well-appointed establishment”. Originally built in 1890, its light salmon pink colour has made this hotel an icon in Cape Town for over 100 years.

Below, the tranquil Nelly:

And when we say “hit”, we mean it.

Infused with hibiscus flowers and rose petals, as well as a heavenly hint of rose water, The Pink Lady is one of the best-selling alcohols on Takealot.

Here’s what the experts say about it:

Fresh floral aromas on the nose, with rose and Turkish delight on the palate. It is best enjoyed with lots of ice, fresh strawberries and tonic water as a long drink or as a Classic Pink Lady Martini.

You can also head over to Yuppiechef and get a free bottle of The Pink Lady when you buy two bottles from the Cape Town Gin Company.

So, instead of killing your follicles with the messy process of getting your hair to the perfect shade of Millennial Pink, just smash some Fitch & Leedes Indian Tonic with the gin of choice and you could be Instagram famous in no time.

Promise.

[source:theguardian&bustle&thecut]