Canada – Indigenous-owned beauty brand Cheekbone Beauty’s Right the Story campaign sets out to claim control of media narratives surrounding indigeneity. The campaign, produced in partnership with creative agency Sid Lee, speaks directly to Indigenous youth and is intended to counter the reductive and often offensive coverage of Indigenous peoples in Western media.
Right the Story was filmed on Yukon First Nations’ traditional land; shot by a 95% Indigenous crew and directed by Haudenosaunee storyteller Saunoh. Instead of paid actors, the team chose to feature a real friendship group. It's accompanied by a special-edition lipstick in the Aki red shade, which will be featured across eight flagship Sephora stores in Canada. A portion of each lipstick sale will help fund education initiatives for Indigenous youth.
Right the Story is a continuation of our Ancestral Beauty microtrend, highlighting the beauty brands championing their histories to combat cultural appropriation in the beauty sector, while also meeting the needs of historically underserved communities of the global majority.
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