Sephora likes to get “in the kitchen” with brands, guiding their products, messages, prices and design grounded in its understanding of customers, but rarely does the public catch a glimpse of that process—at least until now.
In a social media series with the hashtag #6MonthsToSephora, Jade Beguelin, co-founder and CEO of 4AM Skin, a member of the 2025 cohort of Sephora’s Accelerate mentorship program, has been giving her 150,500 TikTok followers and nearly 13,000 Instagram followers an inside look at her brand’s retail preparation, including running its ideas through the ICE (impact, confidence and ease) framework and breaking down its storytelling with Front Row, the marketing and e-commerce agency that’s worked with Sephora brands Ami Colé, Kosas, Olaplex, Rare Beauty and Glow Recipe.
Beguelin says, “What happens behind the scenes with these bigger companies has been gate-kept a lot, but I’m often sharing product updates on our TikTok and on Close Friends list on Instagram, so it felt like a natural progression to share this journey. We really see this content as nurturing to our biggest fans and letting them get involved with the behind-the-scenes process.”
On average, #6MonthsToSephora posts score higher engagement than Beguelin’s other content. A post on April 8, for example, highlighting Front Row’s insights on 4AM’s branding registered 134% and 245% greater engagement on TikTok and Instagram, respectively. They’re not the most viral posts—a post of Beguelin’s on Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show last year garnered 5.2 million views on TikTok, and the #6MonthsToSephora posts generally receive views in the thousands on the platform—but they build excitement for 4AM’s retail launch and solicit feedback on potential tweaks. (TikTok users vociferously want the brand to keep its “Keep Your Bad Habits” tagline, for instance.)
Ahead, Irmand Trujillo, associate creative director at Front Row, and Beguelin take us deeper behind the scenes to explore the steps 4AM is taking to ready itself for retail.
Positioning and Messaging
Trujillo says Sephora is drawn to brands with “a clear, concentrated message along with an arresting, purposeful and fresh identity.” While it has a strong aesthetic and identity, 4AM is working to streamline its messages. It’s used several slogans, including “No Sacrifices, Just Skincare” and “Anti-Wellness Wellness Club.” To resonate with science-focused, cash-strapped consumers, Front Row came up with the alternatives “Hardcore Science, Easy Skincare” and “All Day, All Night, All-in-One Skincare.”
4AM is especially interested in emphasizing its scientific background. Sabrina Sadeghian, who started the brand with Beguelin in 2021, is currently a medical student and dermatology research fellow at Georgetown University, and 4AM has a science tab on its website diving into ingredients and peer-reviewed research that inspires its products.
Beguelin says, “The science part of the brand isn’t necessarily something that we’ve been able to show to our wider audience in ways that felt on brand, so that was a very specific problem that [Front Row] was able to help us with.”
For 4AM’s imagery, Front Row has suggested close-up visuals of ingredients placed against sleek black backdrops. Beguelin commends the suggestion for allowing the brand to have a sexy, upscale aesthetic as it weaves in science. Front Row also helped 4AM create a science-focused series for social media titled “Behind The Science” that explores topics like how scrolling on phones affects the skin.
@jadebeguelin what do you guys think ? 👀🤔 @4AM
A big part of 4AM’s identity involves a primarily gen Z party lifestyle. As the brand heads to Sephora, broadening its reach is important. In an effort to do that, Front Row floated the tagline, “Hard-Hitting Skincare for High-Impact Lives,” which is applicable to lifestyles beyond the gen Z party lifestyle.
“4AM, at its core, is for everyone who is busy,” says Beguelin. “It’s truly about having simplified skincare that actually works with your lifestyle, and that expands a lot further than just New York City club kids.”
Color Scheme and Packaging
Trujillo says, “Color is one of the most important codes a brand can play with when it comes to not only standing out on shelf, but carving strong brand recognition at all touchpoints.”
4AM’s main colors are black and white. They work with its unisex positioning. However, Beguelin notes they feel “less ownable” than other colors. Beguelin and Sadeghian have long considered bringing in a mauve tone as a complementary color, but have been concerned it’s too girly. Beguelin says, “This, I kid you not, has been something we’ve argued over for two years.”
Front Row reimagined the mauve as a deep purple to infuse 4AM with a touch of luxury. Two shades of blue and a tan shade are additions, too. The shades are meant to evoke different times of day, the blue shades specifically night times. Beguelin says the new color palette bolsters 4AM’s cohesiveness, and she’s incorporating them in the brand’s social media posts.
@jadebeguelin what we’ve been working on this week @4AM 🙂 #6monthstosephora
When Front Row evaluates packaging, Trujillo says it asks three questions: “Does your packaging translate your brand vision? How clear is your navigation? And how do you stand out in a sea of color, forms and expressions while being true to who you are as a brand?”
The agency recommended 4AM make the benefits of its two serums, Rise and Rest, incredibly clear to customers and differentiate them through language and color. 4AM has redone its packaging for shipping, swapping out boxes for mailer envelopes.
“For years, brands have been told that a viral unboxing moment is everything, if your packaging isn’t over the top, you’re doing it wrong,” says Beguelin in a TikTok video posted Feb. 9. “We looked back at our favorite content people have shared about 4AM, it was always about having 4AM on your face, not inside of a box.”
The video explains that the mailers protect products better in transit and make packaging easier for the brand’s third-party logistics provider. The brand has started including 4AM-branded coasters with e-commerce orders that it declares are to be used for, “Under your coffee, your cocktail or whatever’s fueling your 4AM moment.”
Beguelin says, “4AM was never about the aesthetics of an unboxing, it’s about making products that keep up with real life.”
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