Sephora rewrites beauty rules with ‘The Perfect Shade For You’

September 5, 2025 11:34

The Perfect Shade For You in-store assets

Beauty retailer Sephora has rolled out a campaign across the Asia Pacific that highlights its products’ abilities to enhance natural beauty, via Singapore-based creative agency Virtue Asia.

The work — titled “The Perfect Shade For You” — builds upon the organisation’s global brand platform, “We Belong to Something Beautiful”, that was developed to strengthen the retailer’s commitment to champion inclusivity.

Now, “The Perfect Shade For You” reinforces the brand’s platform, while widening its scope to encompass the APAC region. Overall, it was developed to empower consumers to express their individuality using makeup.

In a comment emailed to Mumbrella, Virtue Asia’s senior strategist, Marie Lee, went deeper into the campaign’s message, particularly in relation to Asia where “beauty has often been synonymous with conformity”.

“But today, that narrative is breaking,” she continues. “We’re seeing a cultural liberation where makeup isn’t used to hide, but to highlight our authenticity and this campaign is an open invitation to reclaim beauty as self-defined, fluid and inclusive.

“Centred on complexion, it invites consumers to reject these outdated beauty standards and embrace their real and raw selves.”

The campaign’s creative assets focus on Sephora’s 1500+ foundation shades, and feature talent from “a wide range of cultures, ages, and backgrounds”, all with different hair textures, skin tones and body types.

In a press release, Sephora’s managing director for Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Jenny Cheah, shared the beauty retailer’s ethos on diversity and beauty, explaining that the company sees them both as intrinsically linked.

“At Sephora, we believe beauty is inherently diverse and everyone possesses a unique beauty worth celebrating. In today’s context where consumers increasingly demand authenticity and personalisation, especially in a region as culturally rich as ours, it’ll be a remiss if we confine beauty to a narrow definition,” Cheah said.

“With ‘The Perfect Shade For You’, we’re investing in a future where every individual in Asia Pacific feels seen, represented, and empowered to embrace their unique beauty.

“We believe this initiative will drive meaningful conversations and change in the beauty industry and set a new standard for inclusivity.”

Lee seconded this notion, adding: “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.

“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.”

The campaign is now playing in 10 markets — Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, China, the Philippines and Indonesia — via social media, digital platforms, and in-store assets.

The new platform is not the only instance of Sephora promoting diversity, equity and inclusivity for its brand this year.

In January, it released its first-ever global film “Beauty & Belonging” at Sundance.

Directed by filmmaker Anastasia Mikova, the film starred beauty brand founders and more than 70 Sephora employees as they shared their perspectives and experiences on diversity and beauty.