Coty Hosts Expert Panel to Bust Beauty Myths and #UndefineBeauty

• Experts discuss the impacts of restrictive beauty standards
• Urges major English dictionary publishers to revise outdated definitions of beauty
• Invites the public to sign the #UndefineBeauty petition at change.org

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coty (NYSE: COTY) (Paris: COTY), one of the world’s largest beauty companies, with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, skin and body care, hosted a cross-industry roundtable to discuss restrictive beauty ideals and definitions. As the next chapter of the award-winning #UndefineBeauty campaign, the panel debunks beauty myths and includes perspectives on neuroscience, art, social media, sociology, and mental health, and underscores the need for collective action to drive change.

“There is no valid single standard of beauty; the way we assess beauty is acquired, rather than evolutionary,” says brain scientist and psychologist, John-Dylan Haynes, Professor at the Charité Medical University in Berlin.

“As a beauty company, we recognize our responsibility to reflect a diverse vision of beauty,” said Sue Nabi, Coty CEO. “Our ongoing commitment to this campaign, including our latest roundtable discussion, underscore our resolve to create beauty for everyone. Our goal is to help each person feel their most beautiful self.”

Coty launched the #UndefineBeauty campaign in 2023 with an open letter to major English dictionaries, calling for an update of the current definition of the word ‘beauty’. The sentence “she was considered a great beauty in her youth” is often cited in dictionaries to illustrate the concept; the #UndefineBeauty campaign considers examples like these limiting and exclusive. To date, there has been no response from the dictionary publishers, and Coty is calling on them once more to change the definition to reflect today’s society.

The power of collective action

Coty is inviting everyone to join the #UndefineBeauty movement and help drive change by signing the petition on change.org.

For more information about the #UndefineBeauty campaign and to sign the petition, visit coty.com/undefine-beauty.

About Coty Inc.

Founded in Paris in 1904, Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with a portfolio of iconic brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care. Coty serves consumers around the world, selling prestige and mass market products in over 120 countries and territories. Coty and our brands empower people to express themselves freely, creating their own visions of beauty; and we are committed to protecting the planet. Learn more at coty.com or on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About #UndefineBeauty

Launched in 2023, the #UndefineBeauty campaign recognizes that the current English language definitions of the term ‘beauty’ are outdated and no longer reflect the values of today’s society. Specifically, the examples cited under the current entries for ‘beauty’ across the leading English dictionaries are both limiting and exclusive. “She was a great beauty in her youth” is the phrase often cited in major dictionaries to illustrate the concept of beauty, and one whose excluding effects we witnessed in a social experiment involving 100 people from all around the world.

Since its launch, the #UndefineBeauty campaign has reached over 350 million people globally, earned widespread media attention, and received recognition from leading industry awards. Its online petition calling for major English language dictionaries to revise outdated definitions of ‘beauty’ has attracted thousands of signatures. A-list figures including Billy Porter, Coco Rocha, Marc Jacobs, Maya Jama, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Tom Daley, Vera Wang, and Wolfgang Joop have publicly shared their support for the campaign.

Panelist Commentary

John-Dylan Haynes, Brain Scientist and Psychologist, Professor at the Charité Medical University in Berlin

“The strong components of our beauty assessments are acquired, so I think it is very valuable that we break up these shackles and break up this idea that there is this one stereotypical definition of beauty.”

Anita Bhagwandas, Award-winning Journalist and Author of the book UGLY: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards

“Since the age of four, as I talk about in my book, I had a concept of feeling ‘ugly’. And that word ‘ugly’ was keeping me trapped. I think we need to be able to have control over our beauty standards because it gives us power and it sort of sets us free.”

Jessica Bondy, Words Matter Charity Founder, a charity focused on improving the mental and physical health and development of children by ending verbal abuse by adults.

“Words matter. They have the power to encourage and inspire or crush and destroy. It’s just so important that one builds young people up as opposed to putting them down.”

Denise Schindler, Multi-medal Paralympic Cyclist, three-time World Champion

“If I had had two legs, my life would have been completely different. I think it is crucial that we have people in our life who tell us “You can.” And this is something that we can do with this campaign—lift people up to speak out and to change something.”

Ewa Grzelakowska-Kostoglu, Red Lipstick Monster, Beauty Influencer

“We have to normalize that all expressions of beauty are valid, that all people and all bodies are accepted.”

Francisco Vidal, Portuguese-Angolan Contemporary Artist

“Beautiful comes from inside of our bodies. The beauty that we cannot see, we have this universe inside of us and there is this universe outside of us, so we need to know how to balance. We must fight to be ourselves.”

Priya Srinivasan, Chief People and Purpose Officer, Coty

“The lighter the skin you are, the more beautiful you are supposed to be. So clearly with me, with my skin tone, I was out of the equation.”