Often, social media influencers define and perpetuate beauty standards that we as consumers aspire to and inevitably view as “normal.”
They can reinforce unrealistic beauty ideals and contribute to anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and overall low self-esteem. Even more, we live in a system where beauty ideals from one culture are appropriated and only deemed acceptable when they appear on other bodies outside of that culture. It’s no surprise that the fox eye trend was popularized during a time when hate crimes targeting Asians increased nearly 150%: the root of hate is always jealousy.
SEE ALSO: It’s time to normalize skin texture
This is why representation matters; not just in the beauty industry, but in all forms of media and entertainment. Until people see others who look like them being celebrated for their beauty, it’s nearly impossible for them to recognize the beauty in themselves.
TULA’s #EmbraceYourSkin campaign
Enter TULA Skincare. The brand has been at the forefront of representation in beauty campaigns. Launched last October, their #EmbraceYourSkin campaign flipped the script on traditional beauty campaigns by promoting skin confidence and normalizing normal skin with the understanding that all skin contains varying degrees of acne, texture, discoloration, and scars.
Today, they’re taking the #EmbraceYourSkin campaign to the next level by partnering with five diverse female influencers committed to inspiring confidence and create a more positive, meaningful, and inclusive dialogue around self-care and confidence.
Tess Holliday, Tennille Murphy, Nyma Tang, Chizi Duru and Weylie Hoang are all leaders in the following movements including: body positivity, sustainability, skin tone inclusivity, natural beauty, and ageless beauty. When they didn’t see themselves represented in these spaces, they paved their own path and invited others to join them in their community where they preached the values of self-love, acceptance, and inclusivity.
TULA partnered with these five diverse influencers to curated a limited edition #EmbraceYourSkin kit personalized to address a specific skincare concern that they themselves have experienced. Each kit contains two products, a sticker sheet, and comes in a really cute holographic see-through makeup bag.
You can explore the new #EmbraceYourSkin kits here, featuring Unleash Your Glow ($64), Tess Holliday’s exfoliating skincare kit, Find Your Balance ($82), Weylie Hoang’s clarifying skincare kit, You Dew You ($72), Nyma Tang’s hydrating skincare kit, Ageless State of Mind ($90), Tennille Murphy’s ageless skincare kit, and Bright Inside & Out ($80), Chizi Duru’s brightening skincare kit.
TULA shares the spotlight
In addition to the carefully curated kits, TULA is taking this partnership one step further by creating a “Share the Spotlight” initiative to amplify smaller beauty content creators. Each of the five influencers will identify three additional creators that they believe exemplify the shared core values of confidence and inclusivity.
TULA will then partner with these 15 new creators as part of a year-long brand initiative to foster relationships with influencers in new, diverse, and underrepresented communities and support their growth and exposure through sponsored content and other branded opportunities. By partnering with these smaller creators, TULA hopes to popularize the skin positivity movement far and wide and continue to inspire others to #EmbraceYourSkin.
“We’re excited to be partnering with this diverse group of women who embody confidence, which is something TULA believes is essential for redefining the concept of beauty in today’s world,” said Savannah Sachs, CEO of TULA Skincare.
“We can’t wait to see where these collaborators take us on this skin positivity journey, and who they introduce us to along the way. TULA is committed to continuing this confidence conversation and working with new content creators through various sponsored partnerships and initiatives over the next year. We believe this can only help to strengthen our commitment to changing the standards of beauty through confidence and ultimately, to create a more positive and inclusive industry.”
Smaller creators have had an increasingly difficult time growing their personal brands as the ever-changing algorithm prioritizes posts with viral potential. The algorithm promotes posts that elicit a strong positive or negative reaction over actually serving consumers posts from the people they actually follow and want to see.
This year-long campaign to uplift these smaller creators and give them a larger platform to share their unique perspective on beauty and confidence will not only benefit the creators by giving them the financial support they need, but will also introduce new faces to an audience that never stops looking for themselves in the media they consume.
It’s a search that all too often ends in disappointment, but with brands like TULA using their power and influence to bring people from underrepresented communities to center stage, we get closer to beauty standards that accurately reflect the diversity of the world we live in today.
For more information about TULA’s ongoing #EmbraceYourSkin initiative, click here.
