• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, May 5, 2023

Maybelline, the beauty gurus behind America’s favorite mascara, is joining forces with Pinterest to tackle tough conversations about mental health.

Jessie Feinstein, Maybelline’s senior vice president of marketing, says the collaboration stems directly from Pinterest’s trend-spotting.

“We were inspired by the 'Still processing' trend Pinterest recently uncovered, focusing on how individuals try to calm down. Whether they’re making lists or creating art, these are ways people are trying to deal with stress and anxiety.”

Pinterest’s data includes many examples of people's interest in alternatives beyond talk therapy, such as expressive art and music therapy, which is growing. Searches for art journaling, for example, are up 37-fold over the previous year.

For Pinterest, the program involves a creator editorial spotlight, with Maybelline as its inaugural brand partner. 

Feinstein tells Marketing Daily the new effort fits well with the “Brave Together” effort launched last October, aimed at combating mental health anxiety and depression in youth. Working with nonprofits like the Crisis Text Line, JED Foundation and the Trevor Project, Maybelline’s goal is to connect teens and young adults with mental health resources.

Content includes videos from Isabelle Dias, a leading Pinterest creator, offering ideas about mindfulness and a weekly reset routine.

But many of the company's micro-influencers, called Babellines, are chiming in on Pinterest and other social platforms.

Feinstein says that Maybelline, owned by L’Oréal, has worked with Pinterest for some time, and the brand continues to fine-tune its social-media strategies.

“There’s incredible synergy because Pinterest is a place to be inspired. It’s more of an individualistic platform.”

Unlike Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where people go to start conversations, or YouTube, where beauty fans flock for long-form tutorials, Pinterest is different.  “You come here for more self-reflection,” says Feinstein.

While the effort is attached to May as Mental Health Awareness month, it’s a long-standing problem for Gen Z, Feinstein notes. “Especially since the pandemic, we know this group has been suffering with levels of anxiety and depression greater than any other generation.”

She says the effort is about halfway to its goal of having 1 million conversations by 2025.

It also recently launched a Brave Talk series for college campuses, coaching students to intervene and help others when they struggle. There's also a podcast, “I’m fine. You?," using celebrity and athlete interviews to overcome stigma about mental health.

Feinstein says the brand isn’t looking for a sales bump from these efforts, exactly. “It’s more of an initiative to connect with our consumers and help them associate Maybelline with doing good. We want them to think of Maybelline in a positive way.”