Maybelline Is Making History With Its All-Asian Beauty Campaign

I remember the first time I went shopping for concealer at the drugstore. I was probably 14, and was so excited to start trying makeup looks inspired by my favorite YouTube beauty gurus. I’m mixed-race Japanese-American, with olive skin that usually falls into the light-medium range. I looked at the darker shade options of a popular mass brand’s concealer, already bummed that the overwhelmingly peachy, cooler undertones made my olive skin look grey. I left the store with a serviceable option, but didn’t feel great about it. 

In 2025, Maybelline is making sure no one has that experience again — and for Global Brand President of Maybelline New York Trisha Ayyagari, it’s a mission that hits home. “Growing up, I've always loved beauty,” she tells Refinery29. “I will never forget how I was unable to find a shade that matched my skin and how disappointing that was.” To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Maybelline (in partnership with Bustle Digital Group and Gold House) has unveiled a history-making campaign called Face the Difference, spotlighting its bestselling Fit Me foundation (which comes in 40 shades and has a 97% match success rate). 

“From the start, the notion of Fit Me was to make people feel represented both in the shades and the products, but also in all of the campaigns and activations that we do,” Ayyagari says. Featuring 40 AAPIH creatives, athletes, business owners, and more, Face The Difference is spotlighting the diversity that exists in the Asian community. The impressive cast of Maybelline’s campaign includes Jenn Tran, the first-ever Asian-American Bachelorette, Jing Gao, founder and CEO of the popular (and delicious) Fly By Jing, Olympic figure skater Maia Shibutani, content creator Cynthia Victor, and Svetha Nallapaneni, professional dancer and Radio City Rockette. 

“Maybelline has long championed the idea that beauty is for everyone,” said Alex Wang, Brand Marketing Director of Maybelline, who helped bring the campaign to life. “This campaign is a powerful extension of that legacy, celebrating the strength and richness of the Asian Pacific community through a modern, comprehensive lens with our wonderful partners at Bustle Digital Group and Gold House.” Teaming up with Gold House, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and investing in Asian Pacific leadership and voices, Maybelline is making sure this initiative is much more than just another beauty campaign with pretty faces.

In addition to the cast of talent, Maybelline enlisted a team of creatives (including makeup artists, hairstylists, photographers, and more) to ensure representation behind-the-scenes in addition to in front of the camera. “It was just an incredible day to celebrate our heritage,” says Ayyagari of bringing the campaign to life on set.

“It's not just the products matching, but it's also being able to see yourself represented,” she says. “Confidence is often based on being able to identify with other people. And so ensuring that our campaigns represent as many different skin tones, backgrounds, genders as possible has been a big priority of mine, and is truly aligned with the values of the brand.”