From celebrating diversity to running confidence courses to help the 42% of young people in the UK that don’t believe in themselves, two big hitting beauty brands are using their forces for good
‘Because I’m Worth It’ is one of the most well-known advertising slogans in the world, but at the end of last week it was given a subtle but meaningful tweak. ‘All Worth It’ is L’Oréal Paris ’ newest campaign, with the mission statement of turning self-doubt into self-worth. A three year collaboration with charity The Prince’s Trust , the ‘ All Worth It’ programme will offer unique confidence building sessions, group activities, experiences, outdoor learning and one-to-one support to help 10,000 young people to develop the personal, social and life skills needed to improve their circumstances. Given that one in three young people in the UK report low self-belief, such an initiative couldn’t come sooner.
To promote the campaign, 15 ambassadors show their support and share their experiences in a series of ‘All Worth It’ films, including Cheryl, Dame Helen Mirren , Katie Piper and blogger and businesswoman Amena Khan. Cheryl explained why the programme, running quarterly across 18 Prince’s Trust centres, means so much to her:
“As a longstanding supporter of The Prince’s Trust and spokesperson for L’Oréal Paris I am so happy to support this partnership. Young people are currently facing more and more problems with self-confidence and we have to address these issues as a real priority. My hope is that this partnership will help young people feel accepted and valued for who they are and make sure that they get the support they need to make the most out of life.”
Taking on issues such as body language, communication, relationships and employability, the quarterly courses will also be available digitally via The Prince’s Trust’s new digital learning platform, which will also connect young people with e-mentors to provide support and advice.
Dame Martina Milburn, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust, hopes that the programme will foster optimism and greater self-esteem in the generation to come:
“We know that a lack of confidence can be a huge barrier for those young people trying to move into work, education or training. These new figures we’re releasing today remind us of how much more work we have to do. We are delighted to be partnering with L’Oréal Paris in such an impactful partnership.”
Likewise, L’Oréal Paris UK General Manager thinks that the distinctive ambassadors within the campaign, and the catchy message, will encourage young people to value themselves:
“We’re very proud of the hard hitting campaign supporting this partnership, embodied by a broad range of inspirational ambassadors that celebrate diversity and self-realisation, because we do believe we are ALL WORTH IT.”
Speaking of diversity, Lâncome’s new ‘My Shade. My Power’ campaign celebrates the launch of 40 new shades of Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation by featuring 40 frankly brilliant British and Irish Women, wearing their own closely matched colour and describing what makes them feel powerful. Sure, big brands have used the ‘powerful woman’ message to push products before, but the difference here is that Lâncome is listening to women and giving them what they want in terms of tailored makeup shades (finally), as spokeswoman and film director Gurinder Chadha emphasises:
“It was hard to find a foundation for a woman like me. I would have to go to India to find my make-up. Luxury brands just didn’t have shades for our skin tones. It seemed they had shades to suit either white or black women but not women like me. Consequently I rarely wore make-up.”
Given that foundation is beginning to outsell mascara in the UK, yet 45% of us struggle to find a good shade match, it’s high time that brands stepped up to the plate for everyone’s benefit. L’Oréal Group chemist Balanda Artist, who headed up the new shade developments, not only focussed on establishing as broad a colour palette as possible, taking into account warm, cool and neutral undertones, but making sure that formulations suit women’s lifestyles and environments:
“We work to scientifically understand the colours that make up the skin and how to translate that into products that are consumer-friendly, and to specific formulations that address needs around the world. We adapt formulations for different climate zones (based on temperature, humidity...)”
“We’re at the forefront of the conversation and we’re focused on customising, personalising and thinking about every single woman individually.”
The 40 women involved in the campaign are representative of diversity in more ways than one- they all wear a different shade, and are champions in fields such as neuroscience, literature, the charity sector, tech, professional sport and business, amongst the multitude of talent represented. They all also prove an undisputable fact that we keep having to bang on about- that women can wear and be interested in makeup while also being highly intelligent, successful, ambitious humans (I KNOW?!).
Laura Kenney wears makeup on the bike because she wants to, and day to day, not just to compete, while Janet Fyfe, midwife and campaigner for FGM, challenges the status quo on the daily while wearing a full face of foundation, when she so fancies. Whatever your reason for wearing makeup, and whatever you do when you’re wearing it, it’s about time that you had makeup made to suit you, rather than having to put up with a more often than not pale imitation of what you’re really about. The fact that Lâncome are joining the likes of Estée Lauder and MAC in offering a far more inclusive spectrum of shaded represents long-awaited progress, especially considering that beauty brands are also showcasing a greater variety of role models, in every sense of the word. Is the revolution upon us? Watch this space…
Discover more about the L’Oréal Paris x The Prince’s Trust ’‘All Worth It’ campaign here .
Lâncome Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation , £31.50. Find your shade online here.