The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024
Sephora turns makeup control into an early-warning film about abuse
On the day against violence toward women, Sephora shows makeup as self-expression — then as the first thing an abusive partner takes away.
Sephora
What it had to solve
Violence against women usually begins with control and emotional dependence, and control over makeup is one of the first, least recognised signs. Sephora wanted to warn young women about these early signals before they escalate into physical abuse.
How it works
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Sephora released 'Getting Ready', a film about the early signs of abuse. Its subject is not physical violence but the control that precedes it — starting with control over makeup.
The film follows a young woman preparing for a night out, expressing herself through makeup. When her abusive partner arrives, she sacrifices her identity to please him, wiping away the face she made for herself and rebuilding one he will accept.
The campaign's research found that a third of young women feel controlled by their partners when it comes to makeup, yet most do not read it as a red flag. By dramatising the moment before abuse turns physical, the film helps young women recognise the pattern while there is still time. The D&AD Awards archive lists it as a Sephora work.
Why it lands
- Control over makeup is an early, everyday sign of abuse that victims themselves often fail to name.
- A getting-ready scene lets young women see their own mirror ritual in the story instead of watching a stranger's tragedy.
- Stopping the story before violence means the film works as a warning to share, not a horror to avoid.
- A beauty brand speaking against control over appearance makes the message impossible to dismiss as someone else's problem.
What it did
The film turned a beauty ritual into a recognisable red flag, helping young women see control over makeup as an early sign of abuse rather than normal couple behaviour. The D&AD Awards archive lists the work as a Sephora case.
What you can take
To warn about abuse before it turns physical, film the psychological part: control over a victim's own face is visible, familiar and early, so the warning lands before any violence appears on screen.
Since then
Created for Sephora for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2024, the film closes with a call to ask for help rather than any product message. The D&AD Awards archive preserves it as a Sephora case, where the work stands for a preventive approach: naming behaviours not yet culturally recognised as abuse — such as a partner controlling how a woman wears her own face — while there is still time to act.
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