The holidays have officially arrived, and once again, Mariah Carey is the one ringing the bell. The undisputed Queen of Christmas has teamed up with Sephora for a glimmering new holiday collaboration that reimagines her annual “It’s Time” moment through the lens of beauty, glamour, and seasonal joy.
As the clock struck midnight, Carey debuted her highly anticipated It’s Time video, which was created this year in partnership with Sephora. Directed by Joseph Kahn, the cinematic spot premiered across Carey’s and Sephora’s Instagram channels and lit up Sephora’s Times Square billboard, marking the cultural handoff from Halloween to the holidays for fans around the world.
Set inside a Sephora-branded glam room, the film opens with a mischievous elf played by Billy Eichner attempting to sabotage the festivities by stealing Carey’s beauty essentials. In true Mariah fashion, she quickly reclaims control, declares “It’s Time,” and takes flight in a dazzling sleigh through a Sephora inspired winter wonderland glowing with holiday magic.
“The holidays are a time to celebrate and spread joy, I’m so excited to kick off the season with Sephora,” said Carey. “It’s all about creating those magical moments that make you feel glamorous from the inside out.” Watch below:
The campaign aligns with Sephora’s broader holiday platform centered on the idea of “glimmers,” those small, joyful moments sparked by the gift of beauty.
“Our holiday campaign this year celebrates the notion of ‘glimmers’ – those small moments of joy that a gift of beauty brings – and there is no one who better embodies that sentiment than Mariah Carey during the holiday season,” said Zena Arnold, Chief Marketing Officer at Sephora. “Mariah’s ‘It’s Time’ video is a cultural phenomenon that reaches consumers in a joyful, creative, and highly shareable way, and this partnership enables us to amplify the festive spirit and be at the center of celebration and fun.”
Not Everyone Was Merry for Mariah’s Video
The video quickly sparked conversation on social media, with reactions ranging from delighted approval to pointed criticism. Some fans were fully on board. After watching the spot on Carey’s Instagram page, one user summed up the mood succinctly. “Mariah, you deserve every last bit of this check, baby !!” Another called the campaign “so iconic,” embracing the spectacle and Carey’s unapologetic holiday dominance.
Others, however, were far less charmed, particularly given the economic climate the campaign is landing in.
TikTok user @njml5 argued that the ad mocked working-class consumers who are choosing to opt out of Black Friday and holiday spending altogether. “The commercial is corny, period. But they are definitely mocking the people, working-class people, who have decided, ‘You know what? I’m not fueling this economy. I’m not spending all this money on Black Friday. I’m not spending all this money on Christmas fueling the economy when the economy is not fueling us,’” she said in a video.
TikTok user @millennial.mia went further, calling the campaign “one of the most tone deaf advertisements we have seen in this entire year.” In her critique, she pointed to broader economic pressures facing Americans. “At a time right now where 42 million Americans aren’t able to put food on the table. People who are working for the federal government are not being paid. You want to post about Mariah saving Christmas? Well, how about Mariah, actually do something about, oh I don’t know, saving Christmas? Or how about you, Sephora, why don’t you step in and do something charitable instead of profitable for a change?” she said.
Another line of criticism focused on the use of Carey’s most famous holiday song itself. TikTok user @nathanramospark noted that All I Want for Christmas Is You is fundamentally an anti-consumerist message. “But then you have a company use this song to somehow, because it has an emotional connection, they strip it of its meaning so that they can sell literal makeup,” he said, encouraging viewers to revisit the original intent of the song. “Just go back to the original meaning of the song. The original intent, that is what Christmas is about. Christmas is about sharing love and tidings of good cheer.”
Some viewers were also unsettled by a specific visual moment in the video, in which a worker wants to strike but is unable to do so. One Instagram commenter summed up the discomfort bluntly. “So the message here is ‘working class on strike for being overworked and underpaid gets turned into snowman and is forced to work anyway’?”
It is worth noting that the pairing of Carey and Billy Eichner is not new. Eichner previously appeared in Carey’s 2020 Apple TV special Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special. In a trailer for that project, he also appeared dressed as an elf in an outfit similar, though not identical, to the one featured in the 2025 “It’s Time” video.
As with many modern holiday campaigns, the spot has proven that cultural ubiquity cuts both ways. For some, it is festive escapism. For others, it is a reminder that even Christmas magic does not land the same way for everyone anymore.
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