The Toronto Tempo Is Ushering In a New Era of Beauty with Sephora Canada

As I step onto Toronto Tempo’s home court at Coca-Cola Coliseum, I can immediately feel a surge of electric energy—even though I’m one of the only people here.

Just days before another game in the team’s inaugural WNBA season, the arena is mostly quiet. The stands are empty, but the lights are bright and the Tempo’s head coach, Sandy Brondello, is waiting courtside to greet me with a warm smile.

We’re meeting to discuss her team’s new partnership with Sephora Canada, and it quickly becomes clear why the collaboration feels so natural. After all, the central idea behind the new “Pretty Badass” campaign is one Brondello has long embraced—that women don’t have to choose between strength and self-expression when doing what they love.

“Beauty and sport, they’re not two separate things. They go together,” she says. “You can be a professional athlete and still enjoy the beauty part of it as well.”

That’s the philosophy that sits at the heart of this new partnership platform. Featuring Brondello alongside players Isabelle Harrison, Marina Mabrey, Kiki Rice, Nyara Sabally and Temi Fágbénlé, “Pretty Badass” pushes back against the outdated notion that women must be either athletic or feminine, competitive or stylish, tough or beautiful. Instead, it celebrates the reality that they can be all of those things (and more) at once.

As Canada’s first WNBA franchise, the birth of the Toronto Tempo represents a landmark moment for women’s sports in this country. But according to Brondello, visibility isn’t just about basketball. It’s also about giving young girls the opportunity to see themselves reflected in athletes who embrace every part of themselves.

“We were all young girls at some stage, and somebody impacted us in our journey,” she says. “Now these young girls can dare to dream because they can see these amazing women out here doing what they love.”

That message resonates deeply with Tempo forward Isabelle Harrison, one of the faces of the campaign.

“For a long time, there was this expectation for professional athletes that you have to choose between being a fierce competitor or embracing personal style,” Harrison says. “But the truth is, we all contain multitudes.”

When it comes to Harrison’s personal relationship with beauty, she doesn’t define herself by appearance alone. Instead, she focuses on feeling comfortable in her own skin and embracing the individuality that shapes who she is on and off the court.

“I love the grit and physicality of basketball, and I also love beauty and fashion as a means of self-expression,” she says. “We should never be made to feel like we have to leave any part of ourselves in the locker room.”

Days after speaking with Brondello, I watch the Toronto Tempo hit the court and I see those beliefs take form in real time.

Up close, the action of the game is striking, but so is the camaraderie between the women. Players celebrate and support one another as they talk through quick decisions or help someone up after a fall. Between plays, Brondello’s voice cuts through fan cheers with an authoritative blend of intensity and reassurance. As I observe each of the players display their unique blends of style and athleticism, Brondello’s words come to mind—strength does not need to sit apart from beauty, it simply exists alongside it.

In many ways, that’s what makes this partnership feel so timely. As women’s sports continue to command more attention than ever before, athletes are increasingly being celebrated not only for what they accomplish, but for who they are.

In tandem with the launch, Sephora Canada is also inviting Canadians to nominate women in their own lives who embody the “Pretty Badass” spirit. The initiative reflects the belief that individuality, confidence and self-expression are not solely reserved for elite athletes, but are part of a wider cultural shift in how women are seen and celebrated. On now until June 11, winners will be featured in a national social campaign and receive courtside access to a Toronto Tempo game to experience that game-day magic up close themselves.

“We’re changing the landscape of beauty and athletics,” Brondello says. “You don’t have to be put into a box and be one thing. You can be everything.”

For the next generation of Canadian girls growing up with a WNBA team in their own backyard, that might be the most powerful message of all.