Fashion

Julianne's Favorite Dance-Proof 'Do Is Perfection

by May Sofi

When it comes to product marketing and advertising, I'm a bit of a skeptic. It seems the strategy employed by consumer brands these days is to simply plaster an A-list celeb's face on a campaign, even if the product is not in line with that celebrity's persona and lifestyle (which is usually the case). Fortunately, one brand actually got it right with their recent celebrity-endorsed campaign. Gillette Venus tapped Julianne Hough, a professional dancer, to launch their new Swirl razor, which focuses on seamless 360 degree motion, synonymous to the movement of a dancer.

What makes the Swirl razor unique is its cutting-edge Flexiball technology — which is basically just a small spherical structure that is attached between the blades and the handheld stick. This small flexible ball allows the razor head to navigate in all directions, getting to all those tiny nooks and hard-to-reach spots, so that you don't have to contort your body in crazy positions to get every last hair (I know we've all done that before). I've seen this thing in action and honestly — it's pretty damn amazing. You can see in the video below, how the top really moves in multiple ways.

In an ingenious marketing ploy to make this new product truly fun and relatable for women, Venus came up with the concept of curating "The Swirl" dance move — tying into the theme of a smooth, fluid motion quality possessed by both the Swirl razor and by dancers. They brought on world-renown performer, Julianne Hough, to judge a contest where dancers showed off their unique interpretation of "The Swirl" — an idea I'm totally digging. It seems fitting then, that the official slogan for the campaign is #MovesLikeNoOther, further bridging a link between the movement ability of the razor, and that of an eloquent dancer.

I had the privilege of chatting with Hough about her involvement in the launch, her personal beauty tips, and why she decided to collaborate with Venus. Hough, who says she's been using Venus razors forever, has always been a fan of the brand. She truly loves that the brand in general is all about empowering and inspiring women to be anything they want to be and more, breaking away from labels and focusing on the individual qualities, which is really the underlying message of the campaign as a whole. On the Swirl launch, she says "When I heard the slogan 'MovesLikeNoOther' it was like bam! it clicked and just seemed like a really natural fit for me."

In terms of her own personal beauty tricks, Julianne mentions that she religiously applies baby oil after a shower for silky smooth skin, and is obsessed with La Mer's Lip Balm to keep her lips hydrated. As a dancer by nature, she spends much of her time sweating it out at the studio, so she keeps hair tamed and fresh with a halo braid across the front of her hairline to keep moisture locked in (I will definitely be stealing this trick). When it comes to smooth, soft legs, she noted a real difference in the closeness of the shave she gets with the Swirl versus standard razors.

Sure, sure, she's supposed to be saying that. But with legs like these? I'll definitely take her word for it!

Check out some of "The Swirl" dance moves curated and judged by Julianne Hough at the launch event.