Sephora unveils 37-minute documentary style film featuring employees

Beauty retailer Sephora has unveiled an inaugural global documentary to shed light on the purpose of beauty and celebrate diversity and authenticity on all fronts. 

Titled "Beauty and belonging", the 37-minute immersive film features conversations with over 75 Sephora employees and founders of popular beauty brands from various backgrounds and ethnicities. 

Filmed over six months in studios and real-life environments across eight countries including Brazil, Canada, China, France, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), the film explores individual experiences and perspectives on beauty, from the importance of a diverse representation in society, to embracing ones' authentic beauty.

The film also includes testimonials from brand founders such as Christine Chang and Sarah Lee from Glow Recipe, Danessa Myricks from Danessa Myricks Beauty, Mario Dedivanovic from Makeup by Mario, Mathilde Thomas from Caudalie, and Akash and Nikita Mehta from Fable & Mane.

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By highlighting the unique personal stories of a diverse group of individuals, the film aligns with Sephora's core values of inclusion, diversity, and equity. 

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Anastasia Mikova, who first linked with Sephora when the brand sponsored "WOMAN", an immersive exhibition based on "Woman", a film Mikova co-directed with Yann Arthus-Bertrand. 

"I've always been fond of meeting people and discovering their stories - what makes them unique, their journeys, and their perspectives on life. At the same time, I love finding the threads that connect us all as humans and the meaning of beauty across cultures is one of them," Mikova said. 

She added, "Throughout the shoot of the movie, I was able to sense how rich, diverse, and sensitive the Sephora community is, but above all these people are part of one big inclusive family."

"It's truly heartening to see the stories of our employees and brand partners come to life in this film. At Sephora, everything that we do – from deciding the brands to partner with to hosting large scale events for our loyal community of beauty enthusiasts - is guided by our purpose to champion a world of inspiration and inclusion where everyone can celebrate their beauty. Beauty & Belonging has succinctly and powerfully captured that essence," said Jenny Cheah, managing director of Sephora, Southeast Asia and Oceania. 

In tandem, Xia Ding, managing director of Sephora, Greater China said, "Our employees are the heartbeat of the organisation, and I am convinced that when they feel empowered to embrace and define their beauty, that will deepen the connection and impact that Sephora has with our customers and partners."

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Sephora for more information. 

Recently, brands have gone above-and-beyond to reinvent the idea of beauty through out-of-the-box campaigns. Earlier this month, personal care brand Dove launched a campaign to encourage women around the world to ditch unrealistic beauty standards when setting New Year's resolutions. 

Titled #NewYearsUnresolution, participants were invited to write a resolution on a sticky note and tear it up, or use a digital sticky note on TikTok to share their pledge with their community.

Dove also released a short film on Youtube to highlight the campaign. The 90-second clip followed a woman celebrating various aspects of her life freely from her point of view. Dove aimed to show women around the world that they too can celebrate the joys of life without fixating on unrealistic beauty ideals. 

In addition, the brand launched "The Dove Self-Esteem Project for Women", an online learning experience designed to help women reflect, reset, and take control of how they engage with the idea of beauty. With this, Dove released the first Dove Self-Esteem Project tool for women, the "Dove Real Beauty Talks", developed with body image experts and informed by academically validated methodologies.

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