"Battle the Bland" — Urban Decay's call to creative arms
This initiative directly addresses what the brand terms an “individuality crisis,” arguing that “feeds are starting to blur together with safe makeup and censored beliefs,” a trend it characterizes not merely as a beauty issue, but a broader cultural malaise.
At the helm of this bold charge is Anika Majithia, the new Global Head of Urban Decay. She declares, “It's time to shake things up at Urban Decay!” and emphasizes the need for “anti-bland makeup,” from “a disruptive nude or extreme glitter,” to champion “fluid femininity” and “main character energy.”
To bring this crusade to vivid life, the brand has enlisted several unconventional ambassadors:
Ariel “Ari” Kytsya, an adult content and TikTok creator, disrupts “regular programming” in an “anti-bland broadcast” PSA warning about the “bland epidemic,” encouraging the return of self-expression to everyday life.
Ari remarks:
“Most brands tend to hesitate when it comes to collaborating with me because of the kind of content I create. So when Urban Decay reached out, I was genuinely thrilled. Having the chance to work with a team that celebrates—rather than censors—my authenticity feels like a major step forward. … This partnership is completely uncensored—no hiding my image, my career, or the community I've built.”
Lochie Stonehouse, the new Resident Global Makeup Artist, known for boundary-pushing editorial artistry for icons like Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Troye Sivan, will spearhead campaign looks and reinvent product education with a performer’s mindset .
Stonehouse states:
“Urban Decay's mission is simple: bring back makeup that performs—products that last, shades that speak, and finishes that do the most. Every formula is crafted with extreme longwear, advanced shade stories, and multi-dimensional texture at its core...”
Tara Yummy, a TikTok star and social disruptor, becomes the face of Urban Decay’s reformulated All Nighter Setting Spray, now boasting 24-hour wear — “outlasting even the longest DJ set.” Tara Yummy brings “dynamic energy and viral charm” to the effort.
Photo courtesy of Urban Decay
TikTok Star and DJ Tara Yummy x Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray Reformulation
Urban Decay promises more: “To round out their line-up of bold, unfiltered brand ambassadors, Urban Decay will announce their encore later this summer: the ultimate transformation icon—princess turned rockstar, actress turned alt-pop siren.” The sense of momentum builds: from backstage to mainstage, the brand invites viewers — “Ready to go? Let’s start the show… Blur the bland. Bleep the boring.… Ask yourself — who would you be if the world never told you who you were?”
Dove Cameron: Reinventing, performing, and connecting
Fast forward to August 21, 2025, and Urban Decay doubles down on its message with a glamorous, high-impact collaboration: Dove Cameron, the Emmy-winning actress and multi-platinum singer-songwriter known for defying expectations, takes center stage.
The brand underscores Cameron’s chameleonic identity: “As a performer and ever-evolving force on and off the stage, Dove is the perfect parallel to Urban Decay’s products: high-performance, and built to break the rules – not follow them.” She will headline campaigns launching the Naked Shaped Multi-Tasking Palette, a reinvention of a cult classic, featuring 14 multi-use shades with textures ranging from matte to cream and shimmer, designed to shade, shape, sculpt, and highlight from lids to full face — and empower flexible, daily reinvention.
Cameron reflects on their shared ethos:
“As someone who has been in the public eye from a very young age, I’ve come to deeply value the importance of staying true to myself and honoring my creative impulses... When Urban Decay approached me, it felt so fun and so right. I’ve always admired the brand for its bold support of femininity and unapologetic energy, but their new era spoke to me in a more personal way. I’m in a place in my life where I feel free to be unapologetically myself, and that’s exactly what Urban Decay stands for: individuality, authenticity, and self-expression.”
Again, Anika Majithia articulates the brand’s vision:
“At Urban Decay, performance is more than a product promise – it’s a mindset. We want to give the world the tools to be whoever they want to be... Dove Cameron is the perfect partner to bring this vision to life. She’s fearlessly redefined herself in the public eye in pursuit of radical authenticity – that bold self-expression is the essence of Urban Decay. We’re beyond excited to join forces and reignite a cultural conversation around beauty, femininity, performance, and the unapologetic power of owning your look.”
The symmetry between Cameron’s continual metamorphosis—from “child-star to cutting-edge alt pop siren”—and Urban Decay’s ethos is unmistakable. The collaboration symbolizes a fusion of artistry, performance, and rebellion, prompting the question posed in both releases: “Who would you be if the world never told you who to be?”
A narrative arc of rebellion, performance, and unapologetic identity
Together, these announcements craft a compelling editorial storyline: Urban Decay is not merely launching campaigns; it is reshaping cultural currents and expanding the boundaries of what beauty and identity mean in 2025.
Battle the Bland ignites the rebellion: dismantling monotony, insisting on authenticity, and amplifying marginalized voices like Ari Kytsya’s, while tilting toward performative artistry with Lochie Stonehouse and Tara Yummy.
Dove Cameron's partnership elevates the rebellion further: pairing a high-profile, chameleonic icon with a revitalized product (the Naked Shaped Multi-Tasking Palette) that reflects complexity, transformation, and creative fluidity. Photo courtesy of Urban Decay Urban Decay x Dove Cameron Shaped Palette
This narrative arc illustrates a brand operating with confidence, refusing to play safe. Urban Decay’s description—“Born in LA… celebrates self-expression over expectation… giving a stage to every beauty rebel, dreamer and disruptor… anti-bland makeup that’s born to perform…”—functions as both manifesto and backdrop to this evolving saga.
Ultimately, these twin releases read like chapters in the same story: first, Urban Decay rallies its base—identity rebels, anti-conformists, and creators who crave authenticity—and then, with Dove Cameron, they scale the movement, inviting the world to revel in transformation, high-impact expression, and unapologetic femininity.
Conclusion: A brand leading with fearless beauty
Urban Decay's “Battle the Bland” followed closely by “Taps Dove Cameron for a New Era of Outspoken Beauty” reflect a brand not merely marketing products—but curating a movement. Through unconventional ambassadors, formulaic reinventions, and celebrity alignment, Urban Decay reasserts itself as a bastion for those who refuse the mundane.
From Ari’s uncensored broadcast to Dove’s sculpt-and-highlight palette, each strand of this narrative underscores a consistent message: performance, individuality, reinvention.
In the end, the conversation Urban Decay invites us to have is simple yet profound. It asks every individual: If the world had never told you who to be, who would you choose to become?
Perhaps that’s the ultimate beauty: being free, expressive, and beautifully uncensored — just as Urban Decay has always intended.
About Urban Decay
Born in LA, Urban Decay has always celebrated self-expression over expectation – giving a stage to every beauty rebel, dreamer and disruptor. The brand is on a mission to bring back anti-bland makeup that's born to perform, letting you be the main character of your everyday story.
Every product has their 'born to perform' mantra at the heart, focusing on extreme longwear, color-tone theory and multi-finish expertise. Urban Decay is passionate about giving a stage to uncensored femininity – defying boring cliches, and standing with those who embrace self-expression, sexuality and fluidity, and everyone's right to reinvent themselves however they choose.
SOURCE Urban Decay
For additional information, visit https://www.urbandecay.com/.
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