Indigenous Beauty Brand Aims to ‘Right the Story’ About Representation

Cheekbone Beauty launches ‘Right the Story,’ an act to reclaim the narrative surrounding Indigenous peoples in the media. In collaboration with creative agency Sid Lee, this campaign challenges stereotypes and underrepresentation by amplifying the voices of unsung Indigenous heroes. As the main symbol of ‘Right the Story’, Cheekbone will launch limited edition packaging for the shade Aki red in-stores at Sephora—donating a portion of each sale to support Indigenous youth education.

As the first-ever winner of the ICA’s (Institute of Communication Agencies) IDEA competition (Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity in Advertising), Cheekbone Beauty was able to put the one million dollars’ worth of Bell Media towards national, mainstream representation for Indigenous peoples. This was further supported by Sephora Canada, who funded both the production and will carry the ‘Right the Story’ lipstick in 8 flagship stores across Canada.

“This campaign means so much to me. Sid Lee did an incredible job bringing Cheekbone Beauty’s vision to life and Sephora has been tremendously supportive every step of the way. After many tears from all involved, this campaign is one step towards righting the story for Indigenous youth,” said Jenn Harper, Cheekbone Beauty founder and CEO.

“It has been a privilege to work with Cheekbone Beauty. Through our partnership, we were awakened to the imminent need for authentic representations of Indigenous peoples in the media,'' added Zemina Moosa, EVP head of account services at Sid Lee. “In collaboration with our incredibly talented director, cast and crew, it’s been an honour to listen to each story and bring Cheekbone’s powerful message to the mainstream. What’s even more important to us, is that this campaign does not end when the media runs out—our mission to Right the Story is only made possible when we continue to amplify Indigenous voices together.”

“We are honoured to be involved in this important and impactful campaign, and to continue to be a part of Cheekbone Beauty’s brand journey and growth by having the Aki ‘Right the Story’ lipstick in 8 of our flagship stores across the country as well as a broader Cheekbone Beauty assortment on Sephora.ca. Supporting BIPOC founded brands, and Indigenous representation specifically, is central to Sephora Canada’s Diversity & Inclusion efforts and we are committed to our journey of ensuring that all Canadians see themselves reflected at Sephora,” said Deborah Neff, senior vice president, marketing, Sephora Canada.