Back in October, CoverGirl announced its first-ever male brand ambassador, 17-year-old vlogger and #influencer James Charles. Weeks later, the beauty magnate debuted its #LashEquality campaign starring the newly minted CoverBoy, Muslim beauty blogger Nura Afia and melanin goddesses Chloe and Halle Bailey, among others. The Internet lost its mind (in a good way) over the ads and other market-savvy global beauty brands took notice. Last week, CoverGirl competitor Maybelline named its first-ever male brand ambassador, Manny Gutierrez (a.k.a. Manny MUA). Gutierrez stars in the beauty giant’s new Big Shot Mascara promos, as does expert makeup artist and social media sensation Shayla Mitchell, a dark-skinned, plus-size #GirlBoss.
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During last night’s Golden Globes, another major beauty brand, L’Oréal Paris, hopped on the diversity train. The smart brush maker debuted its new True Match ad campaign in which a diverse variety of influencers share which of the foundation’s 33 shades best suits their skin tone-slash-ethnic background.
The campaign stars transgender, cisgender, plus-size, straight-size, white, nonwhite, light-skinned and dark-skinned celebrities, models and Internet personalities. A very pregnant Blake Lively is joined by the likes of Darnell Bernard (L’Oréal’s first male brand ambassador!), Olivia Culpo, transgender model and activist Hari Nef, Xiao Wen Ju, plus-size models Sabina Karlsson and Marquita Pring, Giannina Oteto, Dominique Babineaux, Aja Deng, Cipriana Quann, Arpana Rayamajhi and Alexina Graham, among others.
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A truly inclusive foundation range teamed with a truly inclusive ad campaign? From a big-name brand? The future is now, y’all. Watch the minute-long spot below, then scroll down to hear Nef and Karlsson share their full “skin stories,” because these clips are seriously worth it. (“It” being your precious time.) Hats off to L’Oréal Paris.
Hari is W1.
Sabina is W6.
[ via the Cut ]
