Beauty behemoth Lancome has launched a new campaign that has little to do with cosmetics.
The French make-up and skin care brand has partnered with former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty to raise funds and awareness of domestic violence in Australia.
![Rosie Batty is the new face of Lancome's Australian Love Your Age campaign.](/web/20160920080615im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/h/z/8/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grhz45.png/1474098645908.jpg)
Batty is the new face of the local Love Your Age campaign, joining other ambassadors including actors Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz.
The 54-year-old family violence advocate is the first Australian face to appear in a Lancome commercial.
"I was immediately interested in the campaign as family violence hasn't had support from outside of the women's services sector, so to partner with a brand that is female-focused and has such a large reach will do great things to get our message out there," Batty told Fairfax Media.
She will appear in a number of short films that will be rolled out across Lancome's social media platforms, which have a collective audience of close to 8 million.
In the clips she explains how her life has changed and what she wants to achieve in the future. She also describes, through tears, how she lived with 12 years of violence prior to her son, Luke being killed by his father at cricket practice in 2014.
"I'm not someone I wanted to become, I pushed through a lot of self-doubt, fear and grief and I now want to use who I've become to inspire other women," she said.
The emotionally charged short films, a departure from the usual airbrushed advertisements the beauty industry is renowned for, will be released over the coming weeks, culminating in an unofficial Luke Batty Day the brand will host at its counters around the country on October 11 when Lancome will match every dollar raised.
The latest video, released on Sunday, comes just days after Pauline Hanson's controversial maiden speech where she railed against the family law system that, according to the Senator, drives fathers to murder family members out of "sheer frustration".
"How she can still be so uninformed after 20 years? It just shows that nothing has changed for her, she's just as ignorant, and ignorant to the facts that one in three women are affected by violence," Batty said.
"She's actually informing society by doing this because then the facts, the data and the research, can then be reconfirmed and we can re-educate people about this misinformation that is often circulated by men's rights groups who are more aggressive and more vocal. We need to bring a discussion about family law back to a reality based on fact."
Batty was not paid to take part in the Love Your Age campaign. She requested all funds be directed to the Luke Batty Foundation to help women and children affected by family violence.