Banner Image: Left: Boring Without You’s empty PR box that made influencers cry. Right: Emily Brogan speaking about her mental health in a candid video.
Quick points:
- Boring Without You sent empty PR boxes for World Mental Health Day, each containing a mirror and a powerful message about self-worth.
- The message hit home, with many influencers tearing up and sharing their journey with mental health.
- The campaign aimed to spark 100,000 conversations about mental health and raise $100,000 in donations over three years.
- Their Bondi Beach pop-up helped push total donations to over $50,000.
- Influencers like Jordyn Henley and Emily Brogan shared honest experiences with anxiety and depression.
In a bold move to champion mental health awareness, and how our skin reflects how we feel, Boring Without You shocked influencers with completely empty PR boxes.
Instead of sending out the usual skincare-filled packages, the Australian brand mailed out a mirror, with a simple yet powerful message.
Image: PR mailer with a message from Boring Without You’s founder, @skincaredavey.
“We know this box is empty. Yes, it’s intentional.
Your skin doesn’t just wear skin care, it wears how you feel. Your mental health is directly linked to your skin health, and stress, anxiety, and self-talk all show up on your face.
That’s why this World Mental Health Day we’re not sending products, we’re sending you. Because you are the most important ingredient, and in your name we’ve also donated to one of our four Aussie mental health charity partners.
Love, Davey xx”
Since launch, Boring Without You has consistently championed conversations about mental health, especially within LGBTQ+ communities.
The Bondi Beach Skincare Pop-up
Image: The Bondi Beach skincare pop-up featured a monitor the community could appear on.
Beyond their commitment to encourage 100,000 conversations about mental health and donate $100,000 to mental health charities in the next three years, the yellow and blue brand turned Bondi Beach into a mirror for the public, to give them a moment to reflect.
The Bondi pop-up pushed their total donations to over $50,000. For each person that stepped up to the screen to be featured, a $10 donation was added to the tally.
Melbourne based founder Davey Rooney (@skincaredavey) was there on the ground, connecting with attendees and talking about the link between mental health and skin health, which is at the foundation of everything Boring Without You stands for.
Image: A Boring Without You themed truck drove around the city sending the message to Sydneysiders “We don’t make beauty. You do.”
Stress Shows on Our Skin
Image: The branded truck sending a message about mental health: “Stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep all affect your skin. Because how you feel impacts how you look.”
If you’ve ever broken out before a big event, you already know stress shows up on your skin. Science backs this up.
Research shows that chronic stress increases inflammation, and as a result can slow the skin’s healing process. Another study found that psychological stress can impair the skin barrier, leading to more flare-ups and breakouts. The brutal cycle is often made worse from social stigma, sometimes fuelled by unrealistic skin standards online.
Influencers Share About Their Mental Health
Boring Without You partnered with creators who were open to speaking honestly and openly about their mental health experiences, which is never one sized fits all.
Instead of scripted endorsements or glossy ads, Influencers shared their real experiences with anxiety, burnout, and skin struggles, opening up raw, relatable conversations online.
In the past influencers have shared that they’re worried that speaking about mental health may affect their ability to get work, as some still see the topic as taboo.
Jordyn Henley Shared Candidly About Mental Health
@jordyn..henleyLet’s make self-care anything but boring ✨ Boring Without You BWYPartner♬ original sound – Jordyn Henley
Jordyn Henley shared candidly with his audience about his depression and anxiety, and when his anxiety came to a head when studying to become a registered nurse.
“…During my uni degree [my anxiety] quite bad. I was working pretty much full-time, I was studying nursing and I had so many assignments…it was just so stressful.”
“One night it got so bad that I broke down to my mum and I had no appetite” “she made me tomato soup with a cheese toastie and it was just so good.”
A meta-analysis found that 27.2% of medical students had depression or depressive symptoms, an often under spoken issue facing the group.
Emily Brogan Shared About Seasonal Depression
@emilybrogann Seasonal depression was showing up on my skin for sure. Love what you’re doing with Boring Without You @Davey Rooney #ad ♬ original sound – Emily Brogan
Emily Brogan shared about her battle with seasonal depression.
“I used to think it was this big myth, placebo effect, [but] it really hit me like a truck.”
“My skin breaking out, a lot of problems with it…I really do think when you’re mentally going through something, it’s then reflected externally all of the time. Even now, when I’m stressed, anxious, or have little sleep, I do notice it shows up on my skin.”
The Boring Without You Range
Image: The full Boring Without You skincare line.
The Boring Without You range is designed to be simple, effective, and fun-filled – particularly targeting the combination or “combo” skin type, that is a little extra fussy to cater for.
Read: TikTok Viral Brand For Combination Skin Boring Without You Has Two New Products
The Core Range Includes;
- Make Me Wet™ Hydrating Milk Serum, their best-selling, glow-giving hydration essential.
- Face Flood™ Soothing Hydrating Gel Moisturiser, a lightweight, cooling moisturiser for sensitive or stressed skin.
- For Face Sake Duo Mask, their cult favourite for resetting skin and restoring calm.
You can purchase the full Boring Without You range from Adore Beauty, Priceline, and boringwithoutyou.com.
Boring Without You supports 20talk, Orygen, ALLKND, and Minus18, who have all shared the impact the donations have made.
Final Thoughts
At White Rabbit Social we hear time and time again that people want to shop with their values. We hear you. We encourage readers to support brands doing more than just selling, but we understand most don’t know where to start.
Backing brands you genuinely love, and that are working to change culture (like Boring Without You) is one of the easiest ways to make an impact. You get great products while supporting mental health advocacy, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and meaningful donations that help young people across Australia.
Sometimes the best kind of good is the incidental kind, and weaved into our usually routine choices.
Let me know your thoughts on Boring Without You’s approach to mental health, and this campaign – I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Important you know: Some of the links in this article provide White Rabbit Social a small commission, which goes directly towards our community and talented writers.
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