Sephora Rejects Narrow Asian Beauty Ideals to Prioritise Acceptance

Across Asia, many outdated beauty standards are still prevalent, from the desire for lighter skin to the want for more westernised features. Make-up is often used to help achieve these looks. But as new generations bring with them a growing attitude of acceptance over aspiration, Sephora Asia has released a region-wide campaign aiming to help shift the narrative.

‘The Perfect Shade For You' by VIRTUE Asia redefines beauty by prioritising diversity, individuality and identity over perfection in a region where traditional beauty codes have often leaned towards restrictive uniformity.

Building on Sephora’s global brand signature ‘We Belong to Something Beautiful’, the campaign highlights its more than 1500 different foundation shades with a 25‑strong regional cast spanning a kaleidoscope of cultures and backgrounds.

To find out more about how the campaign’s impact and how VIRTUE helped shape Sephora’s new strategic direction, LBB’s Sunna Coleman speaks with senior strategist Marie Lee and head of production Ann May Chua who discuss Asian beauty’s great transformation and the embracing of self.

LBB> What was the initial cultural insight or tension that sparked the idea for ‘The Perfect Shade For You’?

Marie> Beauty ideals in Asia are in many ways still traditional and prescriptive, with porcelain fair skin, palm-sized faces and euro-centric facial features being regarded as the standard. Conversations around makeup mirrored these ideals with foundation being seen as a tool to conceal or hide parts of yourself that are deemed undesirable.

But beauty is experiencing a new liberation. We’re seeing ‘ugly beauty’ creators, the outsiders of the category, becoming new brand ambassadors. Flaws we once tried to hide are now being embraced in creative ways, drawing attention to them, celebrating their imperfections. Vitiligo makeup routines, transformative maximalist makeup looks and the huge popularity of Starface pimple patches, which inject fun into pesky skin concerns, have introduced new beauty references into culture, shifting them away from shame and embarrassment.

Power is shifting to communities, and people are placing more trust in community reviews over brand-led content. Brands are waking up to this, co-creating with communities and letting the collective drive the narrative. The desire for honesty and authenticity is resulting in a shift in power to the people who desire self-acceptance over blind aspiration.

The disconnect between unattainable aspiration, represented by a limited set of individuals, and the radical community embrace of self-acceptance in culture created an opportunity for Sephora: to take a stand in culture by challenging the existing narrative and redefine the role of foundation – one that promotes diversity, acceptance and creativity.

LBB> What role did Sephora’s consumers play in shaping the strategic direction – were there any surprising insights from focus groups or social listening?

Marie> Consumers were being let down by the category. Brands would go to town with their diversity narrative, but fail to deliver on their promise at the point of purchase because retailers prioritised commercial profitability and operational efficiency above diversity and inclusion. For a generation that prioritises acceptance over aspiration, this made them feel unseen and unheard. Settling for ‘just close enough’ wasn't good enough.

As a global brand and multi-brand retailer, this represented a real opportunity for Sephora to set a new standard in the category with real action, not just talk. With more than 1,500 shades across hundreds of brands, a seamless online to offline experience that could take the consumer from research, reviews, to the real world, and Sephora beauty advisors to provide personalised shade matching services in-store.

The campaign launched with a surround sound cultural narrative that gave a new generation of beauty enthusiasts the confidence to embrace their ultimate authenticity and stand out as their true selves, instead of hiding themselves to fit in with beauty ideals and standards.

LBB> In a region where conformity in beauty has been so dominant, what challenges did you anticipate in positioning diversity and individuality at the forefront?

Marie> For a long time, Asia has been a region where most people would rather fit in than to stand out. Creating a campaign on diversity and individuality was challenging because this meant shifting these deep rooted beliefs which still hold true for the vast majority.

Asia’s diversity is also multi-dimensional, which means having to account for overlapping identities, encompassing different ethnicities, cultures and more. Ensuring we captured these intersectionalities authentically, and not just through diverse visuals, was something we anticipated would increase complexities in campaign production.

Additionally the context of makeup, which is used as an expression of identity and individuality, is also nuanced. Some use it out of routine, others for expression and so on. These layers made it more challenging to refine and sharpen our campaign expression, because the role makeup plays in each consumer's life can vary greatly, and we wanted to ensure that diverse perspectives were reflected in our communication.

LBB> Was there any market within the region where redefining beauty standards felt particularly challenging or required additional sensitivity?

Marie> Asia is at different places when it comes to conversations on diversity and inclusion. The challenge was in putting out a message that felt regionally relevant and true to brand values, while tailoring for specific local nuances to ensure we’re meeting the consumers of each market where they’re at.

In Australia, which is more advanced in these conversations, we knew there was room to go further on the diversity message. Its maturity on the subject was good for the premise of the campaign, but the lack of representation of indigenous Australians meant that this was an area the brand could make an impact.

In China where fair skin is still seen as the aspirational aesthetic, we know that minority representation is still rare, and such messaging could result in resistance and even controversy. We needed to introduce the subject in a less confronting way, using alternative, yet relatable talent, to introduce new references of beauty to the consumer.

In markets such as Thailand and India, where colourism and traditional ideals remain influential, there was a need to explore how we could inspire a more collective movement and highlight new perspectives that could shake up deeply entrenched notions of beauty.

LBB> How did you approach casting to ensure authentic, meaningful representation across all sorts of skin tones, backgrounds, ages, conditions, etc?

Ann May> Authentic representation starts with being intentional about who we cast. We worked closely with Sephora from the start to define what meaningful representation could look like, not just across skin tones, undertones, races and ages, but in how people are portrayed with honesty and respect.

That shared intention with the client and our production partners shaped every part of the casting process. It meant being open to different definitions of beauty and making sure the people we cast weren’t just visually diverse, but were respected and valued throughout – in ways that allowed different expressions of beauty to naturally shine.

LBB> Through working on this campaign, what did you come to learn about beauty standards and perceptions? In what ways has your thinking shifted?

Ann May> This campaign challenged me to unlearn some deeply ingrained ideas about beauty. I used to think of foundation primarily as a way to even out or cover up, a tool to get closer to ‘flawless’. But through this process I came to see it more as a means of reveal, not conceal – a way to bring out someone’s natural undertone, texture and character, not mask it.

I also learned how nuanced skin truly is, not just in tone, but in undertone and how meaningful it is when people feel truly seen in the shade range available to them. It shifted my thinking from ‘What’s close enough?’ to ‘What’s made specifically for you?’. That subtle shift in intention makes all the difference and reflects a broader move in beauty, away from simplistic standardisation, toward nuanced celebration of the individual.

Marie> Beauty looks mean something different for everyone. While there have been prevailing standards that we’ve been made to believe are aspirational, more people are realising that they don’t have to submit to traditionally prescribed beauty definitions. For example, communities are coming forward to champion the acne positive and coming clean to talk about their eczema journeys and all of their flaws.

What was once deemed ugly is now a strength. More people see beauty in the raw and the real. We’re not only seeing it in small online communities either. Major brands are endorsing real people with real skin journeys to front their brands, because these people represent beauty with a story to tell. Picture perfect isn’t just unrealistic and unattainable, it’s also mundane and predictable. Beauty is experiencing a great transformation, marked by a great embrace of self, expressed through creativity and authenticity, which is great to witness, because that means everyone has room to play.

LBB> How does this campaign reinforce Sephora’s brand positioning in APAC?

Marie> This campaign made perfect sense for a category leader like Sephora, Asia’s largest beauty retailer with a responsibility to take a stand on the narrow ideals of beauty in the region. The campaign helped reframe beauty as means of self-expression, prioritising diversity, individuality and identity over societal-defined perfection. In a region as diverse as Asia, Sephora not only solved the consumer frustration of having to settle for shade that wasn’t true to them, it also reinforces its existing position of being the place where everyone can be seen and included.

LBB> What does success look like for this campaign beyond standard KPIs? Are you measuring shifts in perception or brand affinity around inclusivity?

Marie> The brief was very much focused on solving the limited product availability many consumers face, but while developing the campaign we saw the opportunity to spark a larger conversation around the notions of beauty in Asia to drive cultural impact.

Beyond standard KPIs, here are some ways we can measure and quantify true cultural impact: measuring brand affinity and perception among underrepresented groups; creating an inclusion experience index with customers in-store and online; quantifying the long-term impact of diverse casting, community partnership and creators across all campaigns.

LBB> What are you personally most proud of in this campaign?

Ann May> I’m most proud of the campaign’s message of natural beauty. It didn't just live in the concept, it came to life through those we featured on-screen. The confidence, emotion and sincerity they brought went beyond what was seen visually, it was something genuinely felt by the team and the talent.

This was also the most expansive range of skin tones and types I’ve ever worked with on a single campaign. Seeing that level of representation reflected in the talent made the process incredibly rewarding. It felt like a meaningful step forward in how we portray beauty – more open, more real and more inclusive of what it truly is.

Marie> That we could be part of telling a story celebrating all the unique things that make us who we are and working with a brand at the forefront of driving a change in the ideals of beauty that future generations will look towards.