"It's been really special to collaborate and evolve how I express myself through beauty with YSL Beauty in the past months. Hope you enjoy what we're making." - Charli xcx
For YSL Beauty, this appointment marks the next chapter in a creative partnership months in the making. From the hyper-emotive glamour of movie premiere looks to Charli's undone elegance at fashion's biggest night, and the raw, visceral energy of the "Rock Music" video, YSL Beauty has continuously been part of the visual language shaping Charli's evolving beauty identity. Each moment, each look planted a seed. Together, they have built toward this next era. Now, the relationship steps into the spotlight.
"YSL Beauty has always moved with the pulse of its time, with an instinct for the talents who capture culture as it happens. Charli xcx is one of those rare artists: instinctive, uncompromising, and radically herself. She pushes the boundaries of music, image and identity with the same edge and freedom that have always lived at the heart of YSL Beauty. As we launch a breakthrough innovation in makeup, the first-ever couture cushion foundation clutch in the US, Charli brings the exact energy of this moment: disruptive, desirable, and impossible to ignore." - Juliette Ferret, GM
Together, YSL Beauty and Charli xcx embody a shared vision of beauty that emotes young, edgy, luxury. Rooted in the disruptive legacy of M. Saint Laurent, the collaboration celebrates makeup not as perfection — but as transformation, emotion, and raw self-expression.
YSL BEAUTY: THE NEW MAKEUP MANIFESTO FEATURING CHARLI XCX
Captured by director Renell Medrano, the campaign follows Charli through four stages of "artistic becoming" inside a music venue. From solitude to spectacle, the narrative explores the visceral tension between private identity and the intensity of the public reveal.
This is more than a makeup campaign; it is a manifesto for unfiltered femininity. In an era of algorithm-driven trends and digital noise, YSL Beauty cuts through the static by connecting makeup to the raw pulse of culture. This pursuit of radical authenticity remains the brand's winning edge in disruptive storytelling.
Throughout the campaign is a metamorphoses crafted by Global Makeup Artist Sam Visser, bridging runway artistry and raw, instinctive self-expression. The looks prioritize the launch of the new Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation—a hero innovation designed to deliver an authentic, "lived-in" radiant glow that feels unmistakably modern.
This luminous skin serves as the ultimate canvas for the campaign's second revelation: a modernized smoky eye. Stripped of tradition and reinvented with an effortless edge, it signals a collision of bold luxury codes and the energy of today's cultural vanguard.
INSIDE THE CAMPAIGN: FOUR ACTS. ONE TRANSFORMATION
Every chapter - a pulse. Every look – a signal of what's next. Kill the noise. Trash the expectations. Burn the old to welcome the new. Look all you want. It is impossible to ignore.
ACT 1 | THE DRESSING ROOM: IT GIRL INTROSPECTION
In a room of infinite reflections, it is the IT Girl gaze – a moment of raw self-realization that meets the camera.
The skin is the focal point: a luminous, yet authentic canvas created by the NEW SKIN AFFAIR SOFT GLOW CUSHION FOUNDATION, delivering unmissable glow in a compact.
The look is finished with lacquered, light-reflecting lip via YSL LOVESHINE CANDY GLAZE LIP GLOSS STICK in the perfect nude (Shade 15). Eyes are left softly sculpted with a hint of yesterday's eyeliner left and lashes lifted with LASH LATEX MASCARA.
ACT 2 | THE HALLWAY: POWER IN PERPETUAL MOTION
Moving through the venue, Charli cuts through the distraction and expectations. The beauty look becomes sharper, more intentional — an expression of power in motion.
Soft sunset blush tones meet sculpted latte-inspired eyes and plush glossed lips, introducing a new YSL Beauty color story that feels simultaneously effortless and commanding. Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette in Shade 710 creates depth and definition, while YSL Loveshine Plumping Lip Oil Gloss delivers a stage-like shine and Make Me Blush Powder Blush in shade 23 is recklessly swept across her cheeks, signaling a new color story that is effortless yet commanding.
ACT 3 | THE GREEN ROOM: THE ADRENALINE FLUSH
Suspended between nervous energy and creative euphoria, the scene captures the shift before stepping on stage. Here, emotion isn't felt – it's seen through color.
The "adrenaline flush" takes center stage: a high-placement, hyper-pigmented blush lifts creamy rich-color with shine towards the temple – a sneak peek at newness to come. Paired with softly diffused pink eyes and dimensional "just-bitten" gradient lips thanks to the bestseller YSL LOVENUDE LIP BLUSHER, the look is electric yet undone – a visual manifestation of a heart racing before the curtain rises.
ACT 4 | THE ROOF: THE UNFILTERED REVEAL
The final transformation arrives under the bright, cinematic spotlight, amidst the pulsating city energy.
Here, the YSL Beauty glow has evolved for a new generation. Decades after the Touche Éclat Pen first revolutionized the industry by capturing light in a click, the NEW Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation taps in as the latest complexion innovation designed for on-the-go glow. It is the hero of the reveal, creating a radiant, "lived-in" complexion that feels like a second skin—never masked, only amplified.
Paired with a modern, smoked-out eye, honoring the brand's history of "Le Smoking" and midnight-black couture, the look balances visceral intensity with unmistakable luminosity.
A COLLABORATION SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BEAUTY
The campaign debuts May 20, 2026 across social/digital platforms, as Charli's new track 'Rock Music' is being heard worldwide.The campaign kicks off the launch of YSL Beauty's NEW Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation before unveiling the additional chapters throughout the year.
ABOUT YSL BEAUTY
In the tension between timeless legacy and modern audacity, YSL Beauty creates daring beauty that dresses change. Boldness and singularity. Manifested through clashes of color, light, style, and the liberation from convention. The defiance of the norm. Authenticity, the foundation driving the brand to create icons in makeup, fragrance and skincare, born from the heritage of M. Saint Laurent who shaped the cultural zeitgeist for generations. YSL Beauty creates unapologetic beauty that frees and moves the lines, in the here and now. Young, edgy, luxury.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact Foundation: [email protected]
SOURCE YSL Beauty
Share this article