Maybelline Changes Its Iconic ‘Born With It’ Slogan

Few beauty slogans stick like Maybelline’s. It debuted in a 1991 ad with Christy Turlington, and “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” went on to be carried by ambassadors including Gigi Hadid and Miley Cyrus. The brand retired it for “Make It Happen” in 2016, yet when it revived the jingle in 2024, it said 84 percent of people still remembered the original. Now, Maybelline is rewriting the line everyone knows by heart.

As of today, the mantra is “Maybe. We’re born with it. Maybe. It’s Maybelline.” The “she” is now a “we,” and each “maybe” gets its own sentence. The idea, according to the brand, is that makeup isn’t about looking a certain way anymore. It’s about trying on different versions of yourself, the way you’d try on shades, and seeing which one fits.

Those periods matter. Sandrine Jolly, Maybelline’s global brand president, told WWD that the old “maybe” sounded unsure. Now, she said, “‘maybe,’ period, is a statement of possibility.”

Cyrus, Maybelline’s global brand ambassador, fronts the campaign with Nicki Nicole, an Argentine rapper and singer-songwriter, and Joya Bravo, a vocalist, rapper and classically trained violinist. Each tells her own story about trying new things, changing course and not being boxed into one idea of beauty.

Jolly says Cyrus was an easy choice, since she’s been reinventing herself her whole career. Cyrus sees it the same way. “I think of ‘Maybe.’ as all the doors being open,” she said in a statement. “Maybe is music. Maybe is creativity. Maybe is dreaming.” And who you become is part of it: “Who you are is something you’re born with, but you can always become something that you’ve dreamt of being by staying true to yourself.”