Maybelline rewrites its 35-year-old tagline for a wider audience

By Tom Whitfield

Maybelline has updated its 35-year-old tagline, changing the 1991 line “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” to “Maybe. We’re born with it. Maybe. It’s Maybelline.”

Maybelline describes the revision as mostly grammatical and pronoun changes. Making “we’re born with it” a separate statement shifts the claim from a generic “she” toward the person using the products. The company says the change clarifies that beauty belongs to the person while reflecting how the cultural conversation around makeup has changed.

Why change an iconic line?

Sandrine Jolly, global brand president at Maybelline, called the tagline “a very strong asset as a heritage brand.” She identified an “ambiguity” in the old wording: customers could attribute their beauty either to their own bodies or to Maybelline’s products.

The revision remains “still about self-confidence,” Jolly said, and focuses on “optimism and our capacity to help women to open the doors of endless possibilities.”

The copy changed; the intent did not.

What does the audience data say?

YouGov data found that 49% of American women wear makeup for a “confidence boost.” Another 26% cite “self-expression,” while 13% say they wear makeup because of “societal expectation.”

Jolly framed the brand’s role in the customer’s possibilities:

“The way we evolve it is really to say, ‘You are born with something very unique, with something very special, and we will help you to stay true to yourself.

But you are also born with the power of becoming…we help you with this power of ‘maybe’ and the transformation of makeup. We help you to become the one you want to be,’” Jolly said.

She added: “It can be a different stage of your life, it can be some small twist or it can be a drastic change.”

The data favors confidence over social pressure.

Who does the new language include?

Replacing “she” with “we” is intended to broaden Maybelline’s customer base, Jolly said. The new wording lets the brand speak to:

“talk to every woman in the world, not only to one model of femininity, not only to one woman,” Jolly said. “We are addressing all people who love makeup.”

The language broadens; the promise stays personal.

How will Maybelline roll out the campaign?

Maybelline is unveiling the update with global ambassador, singer and actor Miley Cyrus, who recorded a new jingle for the tagline last year. Its new 45-second spot explains that “maybe” is a platform built on possibility.

The spot will roll out on social media, where Maybelline will focus much of this year’s marketing behind the revised tagline. The company also plans to build on the campaign in 2027.

Social carries the launch; 2027 carries the expansion.

What does an outside expert think?

Allen Adamson, co-founder of brand consultancy Metaforce, said updating the tagline makes sense as the cultural conversation around makeup changes.

“It’s such an iconic set of words, and so hardwired to Maybelline that they can’t walk away from it,” Adamson said.

“But they have to change it a little bit, and the two changes are [to] not make it judgmental and make it a statement of confidence that women can say about themselves, and make it less of a question.”

Maybelline’s 2027 expansion will test whether broader language can preserve the recognition Adamson describes while keeping the heritage asset Jolly calls “a very strong asset.”