Sephora's Black Beauty is Beauty

Question 1

What is some context information about Sephora’s ownership?

Answer 1

French multi-national retailer
Founded in 1970
Carries 340 brands with products across the beauty spectrum
Taken over by conglomerate LVMH (Louis Vuitton and Moet) in 1997

Question 2

What is the name of the company based off of?

Answer 2

Named is based off of biblical character Zipporah, wife of Moses
She is seen as a positive role model

Question 3

How much do black people spend on beauty products annually

Answer 3

$1.1 billion

Question 4

What are some of the examples of brands stocked at Sephora?

Answer 4

Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty
Alicia Key’s Sailcare
Ariana Grande’s R.E.M Beauty

Question 5

How have critics argued that the USP of the advert’s slogan is a force of good and a force of bad?

Answer 5

-some may argue that the promotion of black “innovations” is just another selling tactic
-Others say the brand is a mechanism for good, giving kudos and limelight to marginalised groups in society

Question 6

How many influencers joined Sephora to promote the campaign?

Answer 6

24

Question 7

What does Sephora believe about search engines and what are they trying to do about it?

Answer 7

The believe search engine bias effects self esteem and by encouraging audiences to use the #BlackBeauty they aim to combat online bias and change algorithms to give credit to marginalised groups, who are responsible for many beauty trends

Question 8

What figure can be used to represent how big the black beauty is beauty target audience is?

Answer 8

43% of the 75 million millennials in the US identify as African American, Hispanic or Asian, so the brand can capitalise on this huge market by making these groups feel represented and seen

Question 9

What is the significance about the opening scene being in a hair salon?

Answer 9

It offers familiarity to the audience and so is comforting
It also helps to emphasize all the different types of hair, promoting diversity right from the start; hair gives people a sense of identity and being proud of that.
The camera pans across the salon in a conventionally fluid motion, as it creates a sense of momentum and energy.

Question 10

What is the significance of the split screens and mirror shots showing beauty now and 100 years ago?

Answer 10

It creates binary opposition, showing how much has changed, making Sephora seem like a progressive brand
However, it also helps us to draw on its similarities and allows us to celebrate black inventions as it draws parallels between black inventions and current beauty trends

Question 11

Who is the reference to the invention of the hairbrush looking to recognise?

Answer 11

Celebrates Lyda D. Newman, who is known for creating a hairbrush that could be taken apart for cleaning and was very durable

Question 12

What slang or jargon is used in the advert?
What is the purpose of this?

Answer 12

“cut-crease” and “beat faces”
this is helping to target a black audience

Question 13

How are black people throughout history referenced to in the advert?

Answer 13

They call them “icons” and use archive footage of them to show them as important beings in history and this industry

Question 14

Why does the advert go out of its way to talk about “laid-edges and baby hairs”

Answer 14

Black hair is usually never spoken about in the media. This could be shining a light on that as it chooses to represent that audience and may make a usually represented audience question what this is

Question 15

What is significant about the women making her own beauty product?

Answer 15

It reflects a context that wasn’t catering to their needs. Illuminates ideas that black women refused to be ignored and they will do want it takes to allow themselves to feel beautiful.

Question 16

What is significant about the phrase the “styles we love to post”. How is this reinforced in the visuals?

Answer 16

This may reflect context of cultural appropriation, where white people have taken credit for ideas originally by people of colour. This is reinforced by a Picture in Picture shot of a white person looking towards videos of trends done by black people and being influenced by them. Alongside the voiceover, this makes it seem like she is watching an online video of something that is trending

Question 17

In what ways does the video promote diversity?

Answer 17

Gender
LGBTQ+
Body Shape
Skin tone

This is highlighted in the 12 picture split screen

Question 18

What does the word “join” sephora in their slogan achieve?

Answer 18

The word join shows that they are a brand leading the way and they are already doing it

Question 19

Why is black capitalised in the slogan?

Answer 19

To show power and dominance

Question 20

Who was the video directed by?

Answer 20

Garrett Bradely- she was the first black women to win the best director at the Sundance film festival

Question 21

How is the theme of familiarity and comfort represented throughout?

Answer 21

-Use of location: salon, mother and daughter, kitchen, friend’s house.
-High key lighting - lack of shadows: promotes light and celebration, rather than darkness or eeriness. This could be seen as a use of binary oppositions as the lack of shadows drive on the narrative and helps to create the feeling of love and transparency. There’s also warm lighting used when portraying “a mothers love” to indicate themes of being welcome and comfortable
-In the dialogue, they say “what is beauty, without black beauty?”, but then don’t give a perspective of the other side of the binary opposition: where there is no black beauty. It makes the audience feel comforted that a environment without it no longer exists, making it seem like a safe environment to express yourself: home is a safe place

Question 22

How does the theme of familiarity make the audience feel?

Answer 22

-It allows us to feel like we can feel beauty in our own homes and we don’t have to go to a beauty salon to achieve this. This symbolises the fact that beauty also comes from within.
-This allows the customers to feel comfortable and catered for/thought about when using Sephora’s products- aspect of trust in the brand
-It conveys that Black Beauty is like home and that they have built the foundations of we we feel a sense of belonging on
-It creates ideas of uniting everyone through this comfort and it defies stereotypes as often in history black and white people have been separated because they made white people feel uncomfortable

Question 23

How is male beauty represented in the advert and which theorist can this be linked to?

Answer 23

The blurring of lines of gender identity is evident through the portrayal of drag queens. This defies stereotypes, or the myth that makeup is only for women. Butler would argue these drag queens are highlighting gender fluidity as anatomically male people engage in what is traditionally a female ritual

Question 24

What does a vivid palette and high key lighting in the advert help to achieve?

Answer 24

-Ideas of celebration and colour, as it’s often luminous
-Ideas that black people refuse to be ignored and they won’t be held back by oppression
-the same levels of lighting are given to each person to show a level footing

Question 25

What is the main message of the video?

Answer 25

Black creators have served as a driving force in making the beauty industry where it is today

Question 26

How does the script push the narrative forward?

Answer 26

binary oppositions between the transcript and the visuals drive the narrative forward: “imagine if there was no…”. However, the lack of the question being answered by an alternative reality shows it’s not possible to imagine because the work done by black women is so unforgettable.

Question 27

What are ways to boost marks in an example question on Sephora?

Answer 27

Include semiotics through Barthes with the sign and meanings e.g. drag included
Talk about media effects and Albert Bandaura - impact of sharing inclusive images reduces othering
Refer to Edward Said’s orientalism and how black people have been othered because white people create a civilized western culture and an uncivilized eastern or African culture, which has been used to justify colonialism

Question 28

How could we interpret the switch between close up shots and medium shots of the influers?

Answer 28

It’s conveying ideas of black people creating in detailed trends up close and trends far out which make up the foundations of beauty

Question 29

What theorists can we use to discuss race and identity in this product?

Answer 29

bell hooks
David Gauntlett
Judith Butler
Paul Gilroy

Question 30

What did Sephora score for the human rights of their workers?

Answer 30

100%

Question 31

How can David Gauntlett be applied to the video?

Answer 31

The advert reinforces his idea that there is now a much broader range of representations in the media, challenging traditional notions of a gender identity that is fixed. The audience has a greater array of options for how people of colour could present their identity.

Question 32

How does the advert counter hook’s idea?

Answer 32

She believes black women are excluded from the media, but in the advert, the majority of women are black. They are no longer marginalised and instead ‘black beauty’ is celebrated and recognised for its impact on the industry

Question 33

How can Paul Gilroy be applied to the video?

Answer 33

The advert challenges hegemonic standards of beauty and refuses to see black people as other

Question 34

What is the representation of age like in the video?

Answer 34

The representation of age is no different to that of a conventional beauty advert, as the majority of people in the video are between the ages of 21-35. Individuals over 35 are somewhat under represented, but there are some older women, including the mother and the lady creating the makeup. This conveys a message that they aren’t necessarily the target market, but instead are the people passing on a message to the target market

Question 35

What’s an example of black people actively celebrating their position in the industry?

Answer 35

When the friends get ready and dressed up in carnival like outfits, showing vivid colour palettes, high saturation and high key lighting

Question 36

What beauty products are shown in the advert that are examples of products which all stem from black culture? How is this enforced in the voice over?

Answer 36

Acrylic nails, glitter and hair extensions. This is reinforced in the voice-over which says ‘doing it for the culture, the trends we love and the tools we need’

Question 37

How is editing used to show cultural appropriation?

Answer 37

There’s a white women doing a cut crease eye shadow look, followed by a drag Queen flicking their hair across the screen to show they are creating a similar cut-crease look. This creates ideas of a curtain being drawn to show that behind the scenes, the origins of this makeup came from black communities and LGBTQ+

Question 38

How does the advert use techniques of persuasion to make the consumer want to buy the product

Answer 38

Attention- vivid colour palette and celebration e.g. those getting ready for carnival makes the advert feel like they are getting ready to party and we don’t want to miss out
interest - Tells us about ‘beat faces’ and ‘baby hairs’ which is something people may be unaware was from a black culture
desire - ‘the trends we can’t wait to post’ ‘its influence is universal’ shows how influencers desire the products and so we should too, playing on the two-step flow of communication
action - ‘Join’

Question 39

What is Sephora’s 15% pledge?

Answer 39

In June 2020, they announced the 15% pledge, pledging to fill 15% of its shelf space with black owned businesses

Question 40

What ideologies are portrayed in the advert?

Answer 40

Consumerism - persuading people to buy make-up and buy luxuries. Doesn’t necessarily aim a lower income audience. Using the ‘styles we can’t wait to post’ highlights the product creates excitement and desire to have them.
Capitalism - using targeting and inclusivity as a selling technique
Gender fluidity - drag queens
Identity - split screen showing the 12 influencers, showing there’s a wide range of influencer’s identities to pic n mix from. By being an advert based around makeup, it reinforces the idea that people can make themselves into whoever they want to be and when you put makeup on, you become yourself

Question 41

How does the product adhere to Todorov in the way that it creates a new equilibrium?

Answer 41

The advert begins with ‘what is beauty without black beauty’, hooking the audience into the story they thought they knew. The premise is to retell the origins of beauty through showing the cut creases come from black people and showing them as icons. This can be seen as a disruption because it shows that cultural hegemony of white people and othering of black people is a social construct as they were highly influential in the industry. At the end of the advert, we are invited to acknowledge the real origins of beauty, but also to respond by ‘joining’ Sephora, in a new equilibrium

Question 42

What are some of the themes portrayed in the advert?

Answer 42

Familiarity, belonging and home
Ideas of wanting to be trending
Refusal of oppression and celebration
Male beauty
Black as being defined as powerful

Question 43

What cinematography technique reinforces the idea of black people being powerful?

Answer 43

The camera uses a slight tilt -up to show power and confidence. We are positioned to admire rather than look down upon. This is shown as the black women is making the beauty product or of the two women in the salon at the start