The Foundation of Belleza: A Journey with Latinx Beauty Entrepreneurs

Sephora celebrates the opportunity to showcase Latinx creative visionaries and their cultural impact on the beauty community through a first-of-its-kind documentary series with DE&I at the heart.

Recently, Sephora and our partners, Digitas North America and NBCUniversal, had the opportunity to attend the Sundance Film Festival and share more about the journey behind launching “The Foundation of Belleza,” a one-of-its-kind limited content series that celebrates the rich tapestry of intergenerational storytelling within the Latinx beauty community.

It was an inspiring discussion and culminated the months-long journey to create a platform that showcases the creatives, visionaries and deep cultural impact that Latinx brands have on the beauty industry.

Launching Foundation of Belleza

Late last year, we launched “The Foundation of Belleza,” which debuted on Peacock in November. The 4-episode series is a celebratory love letter to the Latinx diaspora and follows three Latinx beauty industry pioneers with brands at Sephora – who have discovered the transformative power of embracing their roots and creating brands that serve and celebrate their communities.

We were eager to embark on this storytelling journey with our partners in a way that acknowledges the Latinx community’s resilience, creativity, and passion for self-expression through beauty and entrepreneurship. We recognize that elevating the voices and stories of our diverse brands and founders helps to support our mission in building an inclusive beauty community. As more narratives are shared detailing the different meanings of beauty, we pave the way for greater acceptance and inclusivity throughout the industry and beyond.?

Driving Authentic Multicultural Storytelling

?“The Foundation of Belleza” was directed by award-winning writer, director, and Dominican Republic native Gabriela Ortega – and hosted by Emmy?-award winning actress and host, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton.

The first episode showcases Babba Canales Rivera, the visionary behind the hair-care brand Ceremonia. Additional episodes feature Desiree Verdejo, founder of Hyper Skin (a Sephora Accelerate graduate!), and Carina Chaz, the mastermind behind DedCool. The goal was to make the founders feel “at home” and to not only get a deeper sense of who they are, but to also have them feel comfortable enough to speak as freely and naturally as possible.

Our storytelling methods were very intentional. So as not to have a frigid results-oriented documentary, but rather to have the audience feel as though they are having a conversation about beauty experiences with a friend – delving into the profound connections between beauty, self-care, entrepreneurship, and cultural heritage. To show the multi-faceted nature of each founder’s story, each episode was divided into sections that tackle different aspects of their journeys and beauty beliefs. Though structurally segmented, the episodes are seamlessly woven together by deeply cinematic imagery diving into the founders’ pasts, along with vérité-style conversations that give viewers a sense of where they are now, and a sense of vibrancy that captures the spirit of their brands.

Visual storytelling also came into play throughout the series with the theme of “Home,” leaning into the notion that generational ties are at the foundation of beauty. That being said, we also know that home and heritage looks different for everyone. For some, home is a place, for others it’s a connection to their culture, and some people find home within their communities when a traditional home was not possible. This foundation and connection to “Home” elevates the series to be more in line with a cinematic documentary vs. traditional branded content.

Amplifying Diverse Voices Through Collaboration

Focused on mindful collaboration, the partnership with Digitas, NBCUniversal and creative studio Ventureland allowed us to produce high-impact, breakthrough content that was equally entertaining and informative, while keeping diversity and inclusivity at the core of each story.

Beyond making sure our talent in front of the camera encompassed people who had varied experiences, we also ensured the production team behind the camera was diverse, including a fully bilingual director and core team. The most important element to ensure your storytelling is authentic is to have a diverse team working together to bring the story to life.? It’s important that everyone has a real connection to an element of the story you are trying to tell and that you lead its development with curiosity. What made the “Foundation of Belleza” so powerful was having a diverse crew who understood or had similar cultural experiences experienced as our founders. Our host Adrienne could relate the stories of our founders and was able to connect with them on a deeper level and our director Gabriella brought the stories to life more authentically because of her Latin heritage.? If your cast and crew don’t have a curiosity, nor experience, with the story it will be hard to make your content authentic.?

This groundbreaking limited series has amplified the voices and stories of Latinx beauty entrepreneurs – showcasing their remarkable innovation, unwavering resilience, and profound cultural pride. By spotlighting these brand founders, we hope to continue pushing forward with our mission of creating more welcoming, supportive and inclusive environments for the beauty community – and empowering a future in which the boxes we are forced into no longer exist.

Be sure to check out “The Foundation of Belleza,” now streaming on Peacock!

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