Ulta Launches the Beauty& Campaign to Help Redefine Beauty With Celebrity Backing

Ulta Beauty is looking to go beyond the surface of the beauty industry. The brand seeks to explore and highlight the many definitions of beauty with its new Beauty& campaign. This campaign is “designed to move the industry forward, widen the lens of beauty and inspire all to reclaim beauty on their own terms,” says the press release. As part of the campaign, the brand is launching its first-ever podcast and a limited edition t-shirt collection. Ulta Beauty is also donating $200,000 to The Jed Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit supporting the mental health of teens and young adults. The donation seeks to celebrate how beauty is more than skin-deep.

“As an industry leader, we believe we have a responsibility to drive progress rooted in positivity, inclusivity and celebration,” says vice president of marketing at Ulta Beauty Karla Davis said in the statement. “Beauty& was born from the insight that the duality of confidence and insecurity in the beauty industry has existed for far too long, and when we focus our energy on the good, beauty can and does deliver. Our comprehensive campaign reflects many ways to celebrate individuality, resilience, strength, and above all else, the beautiful possibilities that live within each of us.”

The partners

To celebrate and elevate the Beauty& mission, Ulta Beauty partnered with three designers to create exclusive t-shirt designs. The t-shirts were designed by founder and CEO of Phenomenal Media and New York Times bestselling author Meena Harris; beloved artist Timothy Goodman; and celebrated muralist and artist Emmy Star Brown. We talked to Harris and the two artists ahead of the launch.

“For me, beauty is for everyone, it’s completely inclusive. With my art, I like to create things that touch on the topics of inclusivity,” Goodman tells us. “Art should be for everyone, and so should the beauty industry.” Brown jumped in, adding that “beauty and art are both solid forms of self-expression.” Part of making beauty more inclusive includes bringing more men into the mix. “Beauty is for men, for straight men and hetero men. More men should feel empowered to talk about it, to be a part of it, and feel like they can still ‘be a man’ and have all of that,” says Goodman. Brown urges him to scream this message from the rooftop.

Goodman often mixes his art with messages about mental health. He points to an overlap of beauty and mental health. “Beauty is a form of self-expression, right? That is wonderful, and everyone should have the space to do whatever they want,” he says. Brown adds that the campaign is focused on trying to reframe the conversation around beauty to “really elevate and celebrate self-care, self-love, self-expression and self-esteem.”

The podcast

This Fall, Ulta will launch The Beauty Of podcast. The podcast will “amplify exciting perspectives on the many definitions of beauty,” according to the press release. The bi-weekly podcast aims to spark conversations, shift perceptions and demonstrate how expansive beauty really is.