Ulta Beauty, a longtime supporter of self-expression, has announced the launch of The Joy Project, “a long-term initiative created to help beauty enthusiasts and consumers at large find, embrace, and experience joy.”
The brand, in collaboration with best-selling author, motivational speaker, and award-winning podcast host Mel Robbins, is on “a critical mission to combat what research found to be the number one obstacle to experiencing joy—our inner critic.”
According to a press statement, the company commissioned The Joy Study, a third-party survey exploring how 5,000 national adults and teenagers experience joy and the main impediments to doing so on a daily basis. They hope the findings will “spark a national conversation about the barriers to joy we all face and how to overcome them.” To that end, the results will be integrated into Robbins’ associate training curriculum, which will positively impact the way Ulta Beauty’s 53,000 associates think about themselves—and ultimately, inspire guests to do the same.
“At Ulta Beauty, we strive every day to use the power of beauty to bring to life the possibilities that lie within each of us, and joy is a feeling we want everyone to experience when walking through our stores,” said Michelle Crossan-Matos, Ulta Beauty’s chief marketing officer. “The reality is, there’s a pleasure deficiency in our culture, and if left unaddressed, it will only continue to prevent individuals from living the lives they’ve always desired. As industry leaders who are passionately concerned about how people perceive beauty and present themselves in the world, we believe it’s our obligation to help change this. We believe that by taking an inside-out approach—helping our associates overcome their personal barriers to joy and using our platforms to positively influence the communities we serve—we can spark a movement that helps people everywhere live more authentic and joyful lives.”
One major finding: 73 percent of those surveyed experience negative self-talk, 70 percent do not recognize it while it’s actively occurring, and 91 percent identify negative self-talk as a primary barrier to experiencing joy.
“It’s astonishing that the study suggests negative self-talk is the most significant barrier to experiencing joy, yet the majority of us are unaware of how frequently we engage in it. I’m thrilled to collaborate with Ulta Beauty and The Joy Project to tackle this issue head-on. Knowing that Ulta Beauty associates hear this self-criticism from their guests on a daily basis, Ulta Beauty and I are providing them with tools to help their clients silence the inner critic and experience more joy,” Robbins stated in a release. “There are so many brands and companies that publicly discuss well-being, but few are activating in such a substantial way. I’m proud to partner with Ulta Beauty on specialized training that will empower associates to silence their inner critics and guide clients to do the same—all with the goal of sparking a national conversation about spreading more joy.”
