YSL Beauty’s “REFLECTIONS” proves that sometimes the best way to sell beauty is to tell a story first.

COURTESY: YSL

Hello again, my dear Creators. ✨

It’s your beloved writer, Alberto, and today I want to talk about something I genuinely love about fashion and beauty: when advertising stops feeling like advertising and starts feeling like art.

YSL Beauty’s REFLECTIONS, starring Danna, does exactly that.

Yes, there is beauty. Yes, there is a product. And yes, Danna looks absolutely stunning.

But for a moment, you forget you’re watching a campaign.

You’re watching a story.

And honestly, isn’t that what the best advertising should do?

A Love Story From Above Mexico City

One of the first things that caught my attention is where this story takes place.

Danna appears above the Ángel de la Independencia, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Mexico City.

For someone who isn’t from Mexico, it might simply look like a beautiful monument.

But for Mexicans, and especially for people from Mexico City, the Ángel means much more.

It is part of the city.

It’s where people celebrate. Where people gather. Where you immediately know: this is Mexico City.

And seeing Danna above it creates an almost surreal image.

She is looking down at the city from a place that already represents independence and freedom.

That feels especially meaningful because REFLECTIONS explores the power of instinct and the freedom to transform, choose yourself, and exist without definitions.

Suddenly, the location isn’t just beautiful.

It becomes part of the message.

Danna Becomes the Observer

What I find beautiful about the film is the way Danna watches the story happening below her.

She observes a couple as their relationship develops, almost as if she is seeing pieces of their lives from above.

That makes her feel almost like a guardian of the story.

Not necessarily an angel in the literal sense, but something close to one visually.

She is above the city, watching two people experience something incredibly human: falling in love.

And I think that’s what makes the film so emotional.

We aren’t just watching a beautiful woman wearing beautiful things.

We’re watching someone witness the little moments that make a relationship.

The beginning.

The excitement.

The changes.

The memories.

The years.

The kind of moments that usually become invisible when we’re living them.

And Then Mexico City Becomes a Character

I love when international campaigns come to Mexico and actually let Mexico feel like Mexico.

There is a huge difference between filming somewhere because it looks pretty and actually allowing the city to become part of the story.

Here, Mexico City doesn’t feel like a backdrop.

It feels alive.

The Ángel, the architecture, the city below Danna—all of it gives the film an identity that couldn’t simply be recreated somewhere else.

And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Ángel become part of global pop imagery. Shakira has also used the iconic monument in her visual world, showing just how powerful that image has become in Latin American pop culture.

There is something special about seeing a place that feels so familiar to us become part of a global fashion or music moment.

It feels like our city is entering the conversation.

When Music, Love, and Fashion Become One

And then there is the music.

The score for the film was created by Hoyer, which, personally, makes the campaign even more beautiful to me. There is something incredibly romantic about seeing two artists who are connected personally and creatively contribute to the same global project. It almost feels like they gave us a little piece of their own world.

And I love when brands allow that to happen.

Because advertising doesn’t always have to separate the personal from the creative. Sometimes the most beautiful work comes from letting real relationships, real emotions, and real artistic connections exist inside the campaign. They gave us a little piece of their love through a global fashion film.

And honestly? I love that.

Maybe that’s why REFLECTIONS feels so different. Brands don’t always have to play it safe. They could give us another beautiful celebrity shot against a perfect background, holding a perfume bottle and telling us how amazing it smells. And sure, that works. But REFLECTIONS tries something else.

It gives us a story, symbolism, a city, music, and emotion—and only then does it remind us that this is a beauty campaign.

That’s a risk. And I think we need more of them.

Because when brands take creative risks, they can create something people actually remember. You might forget what perfume was being advertised, but you probably won’t forget Danna standing above Mexico City, looking down at a love story unfolding below her.

And that is what I love most about this film. Sometimes we forget that fashion and beauty are forms of art. Fashion is photography. It’s cinema. It’s music. It’s architecture. It’s storytelling. It’s culture. It’s emotion.

When all of those things come together, a campaign can become something much bigger than an advertisement.

That’s what I see in REFLECTIONS.

Danna isn’t simply showing us beauty. She is part of a story about freedom, instinct, love, and transformation. The film uses its visual language and symbolism to make us experience those ideas instead of simply explaining them.

It doesn’t tell us what to feel. It creates a world where we can feel something for ourselves.

And honestly, I hope more brands take that risk.

Give us the beautiful clothes. Give us the perfume. Give us the makeup.

But give us a reason to remember them, too.

Because when advertising makes you forget you’re watching an advertisement, that’s when it becomes art.