Idea 1: Makeup is Optional

Makeup should be optional.
We’re here to make it a real choice.

Introducing makeup-free skincare.

The idea

Women have more choices than ever: in school, in money, in business, in sports, and in how long they live. Makeup should be one more.

Erythros doesn’t tell a woman to wear it or skip it. But we make the choice real, because when she goes without, her skin is ready.

So we’re launching:

“Makeup is Optional”

Introducing Makeup-free Skincare.

International Women’s Day, 03-08-27.

:60 Brand Anthem Video

“Makeup-free Skin”

AVO:

It’s 2027.

More women go to college than men.

More women are in graduate school.

More women are in law school.

More women are in medical school.

By 2030, women will control over $34 trillion in investable assets.

From 2019 to 2023, women-owned businesses grew nearly twice as fast as men-owned businesses.

Women’s elite sports are on track for $3 billion in 2026, up 340% since 2022.

Women outlive men by nearly five years.

And in 22 American cities, young women now out-earn young men.

Women have more choices than ever.

And while we think lipstick should be one of them, we also think it shouldn’t have to be.

Because, now more than ever, makeup is optional.

Introducing Erythros makeup-free skincare.

Cleanser, serum, and moisturizer made to help your skin get better with time.

Uncover your best skin with Erythros.

Introducing Erythros makeup-free skincare
Cleanser, Serum, Moisturizer
Uncover your best skin.Erythros
:30 Video, with a :15 cutdown

“Saturday & Monday”

One woman, two days. Saturday she goes all in on a party look because she loves it. Monday she skips it and walks into the biggest meeting of her month because she can.

SATURDAY
1 Saturday. Glitter at the mirror.
MONDAY
2 Monday. Same mirror, The Moisturizer.
SATURDAYMONDAY
3 The match cut: lipstick, then The Cleanser.
SATURDAYMONDAY
4 The two doors: the party, then the meeting.
SATURDAYMONDAY
5 Both days, side by side.
6 End frame. The products on her counter.

:30

PictureSound and supers
0:00Saturday, 9 p.m. Her bathroom mirror, friends crowding in behind her. She sweeps glitter along a cheekbone and grins at herself.
SoundMusic, full. Friends laughing off camera.
SuperSaturday.
0:04Monday, 7 a.m. Same mirror, same angle, daylight. Barefaced, she presses The Moisturizer into her cheeks.
SoundThe same track, down to bass and drums. A kettle clicks off.
SuperMonday.
0:08Saturday: she clicks a red lipstick shut. Match cut. Monday: she clicks the cap shut on The Cleanser.
SoundTwo identical clicks, on the beat.
0:12Saturday: she shoulders through the door into the party and her friends cheer. Match cut. Monday: she shoulders through the glass door of a conference room and the room looks up.
SoundA cheer. Then the room goes quiet, and she starts talking.
0:17Split screen. Left, Saturday, dancing. Right, Monday, at the whiteboard, the room laughing at something she said. Same smile on both sides.
SoundMusic back to full.
AVOSaturday, because you love it. Monday, because you can.
0:22End frame. Her bathroom counter: a red lipstick and a glitter compact at one end, The Cleanser, The Session Serum, and The Moisturizer at the other.
SuperMakeup is optional.
SuperErythros makeup-free skincare.
AVOUncover your best skin with Erythros.

:15 cutdown

0:00Saturday: glitter at the mirror.
SuperSaturday.
0:03Monday: The Moisturizer, same mirror.
SuperMonday.
0:06The two doors, match cut.
SoundA cheer, then quiet.
0:10End frame, the bathroom counter.
SuperMakeup is optional.
SuperErythros makeup-free skincare.
AVOUncover your best skin with Erythros.
:30 Video

“Getting Ready”

7:00 a.m. in one apartment building. Three women get ready three ways, then meet in the elevator on the way out. All three are ready.

1 7:00 a.m. Three sinks, The Cleanser.
2 Makeup, but just a little.
3 Serum, moisturizer, nothing else.
4 Finishing touches, moisturizer.
5 The elevator. Morning.
6 End frame. The products in morning light.

:30

PictureSound and supers
0:00Three bathrooms in one frame, split in thirds: a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 20s. All three wash their faces with The Cleanser.
SoundWater running in all three.
Super7:00 a.m.
0:05The woman in her 30s at her mirror, brush on her cheekbone, phone propped up. She takes her time and loves it.
SoundHer podcast. She laughs at something the host says.
0:11The woman in her 60s: The Serum. She takes her coffee to the window.
SoundKettle, birdsong.
0:16Split in thirds: three women, three exits. Each one’s last touch is The Moisturizer, then bag, keys, and out the door.
SoundHer pop song, then the front door.
0:20The elevator opens on the three of them. “Morning.” “Morning.” “Morning.” The doors close.
SoundEvery sound stops at the chime.
SuperThere’s no wrong way to get ready.
0:24End frame. A bathroom counter in morning light: The Cleanser, The Session Serum, and The Moisturizer.
SuperMakeup is optional.
SuperErythros makeup-free skincare.
AVOUncover your best skin with Erythros.
:30 Video, with a :15 cutdown · runs in February

“Yet”

Introducing the “Makeup Optional Index.” Women in different settings answer one question on screen. Some tap Optional. Some tap Not yet. The Makeup Optional Index counts both.

1 The gym. Optional.
2 The wedding. Optional.
3 The video call. Not yet.
4 The job interview. Not yet.
5 The Index, out March 8.
6 End frame. Tell us.

:30

PictureSound and supers
0:00A gym. A woman, barefaced, mid-lift. On screen: Makeup at the gym: optional? She taps Optional.
SoundPlates clank. A soft click.
0:05An outdoor wedding. A guest in a full look, laughing. Makeup at a wedding: optional? She taps Optional. She chose her look, so she counts as optional.
SoundThe band, glasses. A click.
0:09Home office. A woman sits down to a video call, her camera still off. Makeup on a video call: optional? She thinks, taps Not yet, and turns her camera on.
SoundLaptop chime. A beat of silence. A click.
0:14A parked car outside an office tower, an interview folder on the passenger seat. She checks her face in the mirror. Makeup in a job interview: optional? Not yet. She takes a breath and gets out.
SoundEngine ticking. A beat of silence. A click. The car door.
0:19Black. The two buttons, Optional and Not yet.
AVOWe want to know: where makeup feels optional. And where it doesn’t. (Dramatic pause.) Yet.
SuperThe Makeup Optional Index. Out March 8.
0:24End frame. A desk by a window: The Cleanser, The Session Serum, and The Moisturizer next to a phone showing the poll.
AVOTell us.
SuperVote at erythroslight.com.
SuperErythros makeup-free skincare.
AVOUncover your best skin with Erythros.

:15 cutdown

0:00The gym. Optional.
SoundA click.
0:03The wedding. Optional.
SoundA click.
0:06The car, the interview. Not yet.
SoundA beat of silence. A click.
0:10End frame, the desk and the phone.
AVOWe want to know: where makeup feels optional. And where it doesn’t. (Dramatic pause.) Yet.
SuperThe Makeup Optional Index. Out March 8.
AVOUncover your best skin with Erythros.

Storyboard frames are Adobe Stock comps. “Saturday & Monday” casts one woman for both days; the comps use different women.

The stunt · International Women’s Day, 03-08-27

The Makeup Optional Index

The first national measure of how optional makeup truly feels for American women. It captures how free they feel to choose where they can go and what they wear. Erythros publishes it every year on International Women’s Day.

Where makeup is optional. And where it isn’t. Yet.

Two sources feed one number for every setting in a woman’s life.

National survey
Feb
Fielded by an established polling firm. Sample, method, and full results published, so any reporter can check the numbers.
The Makeup Optional Index
One score per setting. Out March 8.
Social polls
OptionalNot yet
All February on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. One question per setting. Reported separately from the survey.
01

A national survey

Fielded in February by an established, recognized polling firm, with the method published.

02

Social polls

“Makeup at work: optional?” Two answers: Optional or Not yet.

03

One score per setting

The share of women who say makeup feels truly optional there. A woman who wears it because she wants to counts as optional.

The settings

Scores are illustrative until the survey runs.

On a day off92%
At the gym81%
On a video call58%
At a wedding52%
On a first date47%
In your profile photo41%
At work34%
In a job interview23%
Why it gets press

A federal appeals court upheld a casino firing a bartender for refusing to wear makeup (2006). Virgin Atlantic dropped its makeup rule for female cabin crew only in 2019. The choice isn’t free yet, and the Index shows where.

Times Square, March 8

Erythros takes over Times Square for the day. Every screen carries the Index, one setting and one score per screen, with the stance on the center tower. Screens mix the results with the questions behind them.

Times Square by day: Index headlines and scores on the tower screens
Times Square board with The Makeup Optional Index
Times Square at dusk: Index questions on billboards

Comps. Scores are illustrative.

How it rolls out

From the December ship to International Women’s Day.

  1. December2026

    Skincare ships

    The Cleanser, The Session Serum, and The Moisturizer go on sale.

  2. January2027

    The shoot

    The :60, the three :30s, and the ad stills. The polling firm and the Times Square screens are booked.

  3. February1 to 28

    Women weigh in

    Index polls run on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn, and “Yet” runs on Meta to drive the vote. The national survey is fielded mid-month. Results stay under embargo.

  4. MondayMarch 8

    International Women’s Day

    The Index goes to press. Erythros takes over Times Square. The :60, “Saturday & Monday,” and “Getting Ready” launch, “Yet” switches to the results, and the Meta ads go live.

  5. March 8onward

    The choice keeps running

    The stat ads, the choice ads, and the Index results run on Meta. The Index page stays open for votes. The second Index comes March 8, 2028.

Meta ads

Six ads

Optional on Instagram

Two stat ads, two choice ads, the “Saturday & Monday” :15 as a Story, and the Index. The poll Story runs in February and feeds the Index; the rest start March 8.

1 From March 8 · Feed 4:5
erythroslightSponsored
···
More women are in medical school than men.
MAKEUP IS NOW OPTIONAL.
Learn more›
♡○➤

erythroslight It’s 2027. Wear it because you love it. Skip it because you can. Erythros makeup-free skincare gives you the option.

2 From March 8 · Feed 4:5
erythroslightSponsored
···
In 22 American cities, young women out-earn young men.
MAKEUP IS NOW OPTIONAL.
Learn more›
♡○➤

erythroslight You run the numbers now. You also run your face. Erythros makeup-free skincare: cleanser, serum, and moisturizer.

3 From March 8 · Feed 4:5
erythroslightSponsored
···
SATURDAY
MONDAY
Saturday, because you love it. Monday, because you can.
Learn more›
♡○➤

erythroslight We aren’t for makeup or against it. We’re for the choice. Erythros makeup-free skincare gives you the option.

4 February, before the Index · Story 9:16
erythroslightSponsored
Makeup at work: optional?
Tell us.
OptionalNot yet
The Index is out March 8
5 From March 8 · Story 9:16 · :15
erythroslightSponsored
SATURDAY
Saturday, because you love it.
Monday, because you can.
MONDAY
:15
Learn more
6 From March 8 · Feed 4:5
erythroslightSponsored
···
The Makeup Optional Index is out.
On a day off92%
At the gym81%
On a video call58%
At a wedding52%
On a first date47%
WHERE MAKEUP IS OPTIONAL, AND WHERE IT ISN’T YET.
See the results›
♡○➤

erythroslight We asked American women where they feel free to choose. See the results and add your vote.

Comps. The handle is a placeholder. Ad 3 shows two women; the real ad uses one woman on both days.

BACK TO TOP