Ulta Beauty’s The Joy Project Address Everyone’s Struggle with Negative Self-Talk

Ulta Beauty is embarking on The Joy Project, a long-term initiative created to “help beauty enthusiasts and consumers at large find, embrace and experience joy.”

In partnership with best-selling author, motivational speaker and podcast host Mel Robbins, Ulta Beauty says it is on a critical mission to combat what research found to be the number one obstacle to experiencing joy, your own inner critic.
Through The Joy Study, third-party research commissioned by Ulta Beauty, the retailer aims to spark a national conversation about the barriers to joy face and how to overcome them. Starting with a bespoke associate training curriculum, crafted by Robbins, to positively transform the way Ulta Beauty’s 53,000 associates think “about themselves and ultimately empower 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, chief marketing officer, Ulta Beauty. “The reality is, there’s a joy deficit in our country, which if left untreated, will only continue to hold people back from living the lives they’ve always wanted. As industry leaders, who care deeply about how people experience beauty and show up in the world, we believe it’s our responsibility to help change this. By taking an inside out approach, in helping our associates unlock their own barriers to joy, and using our platforms to positively influence the communities we serve, we know we can ignite a movement that will help people everywhere live more authentic and joyful lives.”

After listening to feedback from associates who regularly witness guests struggle with negative self-talk, Ulta Beauty was inspired to understand how the inner critic could be affecting people’s ability to experience joy and overall wellbeing. The Joy Study examined a sample of how 5,000 national adults and teens experience joy and the common barriers to experiencing it on a daily basis. The research found that 73% of those surveyed experience negative self-talk, 70% experiencing it don’t recognize negative self-talk when they’re actively doing it, and 91% identify negative self-talk as a primary obstacle in their ability to experience joy.

Understanding this work starts from within, Ulta Beauty is partnering with Robbins, to rewrite the narrative and help the beauty community at large experience more joy, starting with its vast network of associates, said Ulta in a statement.
“It’s stunning that the research shows that negative self-talk is the biggest obstacle to experiencing joy, yet the majority of us don’t even realize how much we engage in it. I’m proud to work with Ulta Beauty and The Joy Project to address this head on. Knowing Ulta Beauty’s associates hear this self-criticism from their guests every day, Ulta Beauty and I are giving them the tools to help their guests silence the inner critic and experience more joy,” said Robbins. “There are so many brands and companies publicly discussing well-being, but few are activating in such a meaningful way. I’m honored to work with Ulta Beauty, creating custom trainings that will empower those associates to silence that inner critic and coach guests to do the same all with a mission to inspire a national conversation to spread more joy.”

Training for Associates

Dubbed “A Toolkit for Joy,” the series of mini courses taught by Robbins will provide all 53,000 associates nationwide the strategies and tangible tools needed to identify their inner critic, interrupt the negative patterns, and inspire themselves and others in the process. Once armed with this roadmap to joy, associates are encouraged to share those same practices with guests, ultimately sparking a movement with the potential to reach far beyond Ulta Beauty stores. In addition to mobilizing its fleet of associates across the country, Ulta Beauty will ignite a social movement inviting influencer and creator communities to join the conversation by posting about their own journey to joy through inspiring content encouraging others to do the same and #joyforward.

“Tackling the inner critic is only the beginning, but an important step to bringing attention to an issue that has long been a source of people’s inability to experience the joy they deserve,” adds Crossan-Matos. “It’s our hope that by addressing this now and working together we can positively shape how future generations see themselves and ultimately create a better future for all.”