Brands lose credibility the moment they start chasing culture instead of showing up authentically within it, according to Shereen Besselle of KAYALI.
Shereen Besselle, marketing director at KAYALI, brings more than 15 years of experience in beauty and consumer packaged goods. Besselle leads integrated marketing strategies across brand, digital, retail and social, with a focus on creating seamless consumer experiences. Known for her consumer-first approach, Besselle specializes in culturally relevant campaigns and cross-functional collaboration that connect with audiences authentically.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Besselle and the KAYALI team partnered with mental wellness platform Calm on a campaign focused on self-care and mindfulness, encouraging consumers to prioritize emotional well-being through daily rituals.
You’ve worked across both brand and retail organizations. How has that dual perspective shaped the way you approach storytelling and consumer connection today?
Working across both brand and retail really taught me that they’re not separate worlds — they’re two sides of the same conversation. At the center of both is the same question: what does the consumer actually care about emotionally? Retail especially gave me a much deeper appreciation for how emotional connection drives behavior and ultimately drives conversion. Retailers are incredibly close to consumer behavior every single day, and because of that, they’re often much stronger storytellers and brand builders than people give them credit for.
That experience really changed the way I think about storytelling. I approach it through a consumer-first lens now, rather than thinking about “brand” and “retail” as separate functions. The strongest partnerships happen when both sides trust each other and build together instead of operating in silos.
In beauty marketing, trends move quickly. How do you balance cultural relevance with building long-term brand equity?
I think brands get into trouble when they chase culture instead of contributing to it in a way that feels authentic to who they are. Trends move fast, but emotional truths tend to last much longer. For me, the goal is always to participate in culture in a way that still feels unmistakably true to the brand. The strongest beauty brands evolve creatively, but there’s still a consistent emotional feeling consumers associate with them over time.
Consumers today are incredibly intuitive — they can tell immediately when something feels genuine versus opportunistic. Long-term brand equity comes from building recognizable emotional territory and trust, not just reacting to whatever conversation is happening online that week.
Mental Health Awareness Month campaigns can sometimes feel surface-level. What felt important to get right with this initiative?
What felt most important was making sure the partnership felt genuinely useful and emotionally authentic rather than performative. Fragrance already has such a natural connection to emotion, mood, memory, and ritual, so partnering with Calm felt very aligned with the brand from the beginning. We were also really mindful about not overclaiming or positioning beauty as a solution to mental health. The intention was simply to create small moments of pause, reset, and self-connection through both scent and mindfulness. Personally, I’ve always believed fragrance can be a powerful mood shifter, and that idea really anchored the partnership for me. Accessibility mattered too. Offering Calm Premium with every purchase — without a minimum spend — helped the program feel more inclusive and community-driven instead of transactional.
Led by the Kayali global team, this initiative naturally aligned with KAYALI Cares (the philanthropic arm of the organization) and the brand’s broader commitment to creating impact beyond beauty. It was great to see so many different teams come together around a shared intention thoughtfully and authentically!
What’s a fragrance or beauty memory that instantly transports you somewhere emotionally?
Fragrance is incredibly emotional for me because it can completely shift how I feel. I think scent has a unique ability to transport you mentally faster than almost anything else.
Certain fragrances immediately bring comfort and nostalgia, while others shift my mood entirely — making me feel more confident, grounded, or able to reset mentally. I’ve always loved how fragrance becomes attached to specific moments, people, seasons, and even different versions of yourself over time. For me, it’s less about transformation and more about mood and emotional expression.
When you think about the future of beauty marketing, what kinds of stories or conversations do you hope the industry prioritizes more?
I’d love to see the industry continue moving toward more emotionally honest storytelling, as consumers are increasingly looking for connection alongside aspiration. There’s a real opportunity for beauty to feel more human and personal, with a focus on rituals, wellbeing, identity, and self-expression.
The brands that will resonate long term are the ones that understand beauty isn’t only about how people look — it’s also about how they want to feel. And as consumers continue valuing transparency and authenticity more and more, brands really have to show up with genuine intention instead of simply reacting to trends or cultural moments.
Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer/ reporter for Ragan. Follow her on LinkedIn.
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