If you’ve been on TikTok for the past couple of years, like I have, you might’ve seen one or two videos that feature the ever-trendy Sol de Janeiro’s Brazilian Bumbum Cream. Sol de Janeiro is aptly named after hot Brazilian summers with sunny beaches, as the country goes through that season from December until March. The name also references Rio de Janeiro, a southeastern coastal metropolis. All of this is to say that Sol de Janeiro has made its name and mission around Brazilian culture.
All of this is well and good, and one could argue that herein lies the success they’ve found. However, an interesting fact I’ve come to learn about this brand is that the CEO and co-founder of this brand is not Brazilian. The CEO and face of the brand, Heela Yang, is a Korean New Yorker who had worked within the beauty industry for years before founding Sol de Janeiro with Marc Capra and Camila Pierotti in 2015. While Pierotti is a born and raised carioca (someone from the city of Rio de Janeiro), both Capra and Yang moved to Brazil at some point in their lives and fell in love with the country and culture.
As a born and raised paulistana (someone from the city of São Paulo), I have to give credit where credit is due. The brand’s take on Brazilian culture and beauty is close to spot on, as Brazilians do tend to care more for their hygiene and skin because of how hot our summers can get. Believe me, you won’t understand the power of good hygiene until entering a packed subway on a humid 103º F afternoon. So, I understand their amazement in a culture where “cheirosa” (which means smelling good, as Sol de Janeiro explains) is a pet name for couples and the ultimate compliment.
Nonetheless, I must point out how their brand mission seems a bit off. Sol de Janeiro is an American brand based in New York City that only just now reached Brazilian soil. The problem I find in their branding isn’t in the fact that non-Brazilians founded it, but in the fact that the brand uses the culture of one country to sell to another. If Sol de Janeiro was based in Brazil, with the Brazilian public at the forefront of their audience, the brand would seem more genuine and concerned for the culture they so love.
Overall, no one can deny Sol de Janeiro’s well-earned success, but something must be said about their use of Brazilian culture. The brand’s reckless use and appropriation of the country’s aesthetic can be seen as a wrongful reinforcement of an ongoing stereotype that Brazil has faced throughout the years: beautiful people, sunny beaches, and “teeny tiny bikinis.” There is a real love for Brazil and an authentic passion for its people that Sol de Janeiro has, but it might do them some good to broaden their view of Brazil and how they showcase that through the brand.