Adria Arjona doesn’t like glam that feels like a transformation. A self-described tomboy growing up, Arjona says she avoided makeup at all costs; but through her journey to becoming a Hollywood actor, she’s been fortunate to work with enough pros who’ve helped her define what she likes. “I’ve discovered that with makeup you can enhance yourself without changing the way that you look, and that makes me feel really empowered, beautiful, and sexy because it’s still me,” she tells Vogue. “Now I believe less is more.”
Some might find it ironic, then, that a makeup minimalist would go on to become a face of one of the world’s most known cosmetics brands; Arjona was just announced as the newest L’Oréal Paris global ambassador. For the actor and producer, this partnership hits far closer to home than makeup itself.
Half Puerto Rican, half Guatemalan, Arjona tells me she grew up all over Latin America, where she didn’t have consistent access to TV shows and movies. “Commercials were my most consistent thing,” she says with a laugh. “The L’Oréal Paris commercial is so ingrained in my head. I just remember playing it with my little friends and being like ‘Porque tú lo vales.’ I’ve been doing that for so long, so to be able to now be an ambassador and be able to say ‘I’m worth it’ to a camera, it’s surreal.”
Arjona was in the middle of filming The Thomas Crown Affair, the romantic heist film set to debut in March 2027, when she got the news. She remembers telling seven of her closest female friends and family members, who happened to be relaxing in her living room with her: “We let out this huge scream.” Fast-forward to Arjona’s campaign shoot, and the excitement hadn’t turned down a notch. “My mom was there [with me], and we both looked at each other like, Oh my God, this is the coolest thing in the world.”
Filming felt like a big, glamorous movie set, she continues, though everyone was incredibly warm and welcoming. I ask her what she hoped to bring to the campaign, and she admits it’s a tricky question. “You’re coming into a company that has empowered women for so long that yes, you want to bring your essence, but I’m Latin American—I want to bring my own sort of spice.” Now, she’s focusing on learning from the other ambassadors and the company itself. She nods specifically to L’Oréal’s ongoing philanthropic work, envisioning how the two can unite to continue uplifting women—a cause the actor champions through her own foundation.
The campaign, directed by Colin Cardo, takes us to the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where Arjona introduces us to the new Volume Liberté mascara. Created for more than 800% more volume in a single application, the formula delivers soft, clump-free lift. The smudge-free, flake-resistant formula is housed inside a sleek click-to-release tube that adds a touch of luxury to your average mascara—so much so that Arjona was shocked when she first tried it. “It almost feels like a piece of jewelry in your bag, or something super high-end and elevated,” she says. “I’m a very big mascara girl. This makes your lashes so beautiful and bold.”
