The Basics: While makeup seemed to take a backseat to skincare products during the pandemic, e.l.f. Cosmetics bucked the beauty trend, releasing 17 new products since January and maintaining a steady pace with its launch events and other signature experiences. In November, the company reported its seventh consecutive quarter of net sales growth with Q2 net sales of $72 million, making it the only mass cosmetics brand to post growth during the quarter. (The e.l.f. Cosmetics brand is under the e.l.f. Beauty umbrella, which acquired clean beauty brand W3LL People in February 2020 and recently launched lifestyle beauty brand Keys Soulcare with Alicia Keys.)
In February 2020, to introduce its newest products, the beauty brand threw a playful "Party of Two" event at Empire Diner in New York.Photo: Cambridge Studio
Most Innovative Event: For 2020, Beautyscape, the brand’s annual competition—where aspiring makeup artists create cosmetics and skincare collections for e.l.f. Cosmetics—went virtual and was renamed Beautyscape: The Remix. “Together, with Universal Music Group and Brands (UMGB) and Girls Inc., we were able to create a new concept that blended the worlds of music and beauty,” explained Patrick O'Keefe, vice president of integrated marketing communications for e.l.f. Cosmetics.
To enter the contest, beauty enthusiasts had to create a look inspired by music and post it to Instagram. Then, nine semifinalists were chosen by a judging panel and a majority vote on Instagram determined the top three winners. The three winners won a $10,000 cash prize and are working with a UMGB music artist to assist in creating a makeup collection inspired by the artist's personal sound and style. The collections are expected to launch in 2021.
The Brand’s Event Evolution: “If 2019 was the year of connecting with our community in person, 2020 has become the year of strengthening those bonds virtually,” O'Keefe says. Since March, the brand has worked with influencer and experiential marketing agency Duncan Channon to launch an Instagram Live series with the e.l.f. community. “The idea was to create small moments for our followers to learn tips, tricks, and hacks from sought-after beauty influencers, but it evolved into a safe place where our community wanted to spend their time and connect during an otherwise difficult time,” he explained.
What’s Next: “Brands need to be flexible and have the ability to pivot quickly—we call it moving at ‘e.l.f. speed’—in the way that they use events to connect with consumers. ... Press walls and DJs were replaced with branded face masks and plenty of hand sanitizer, but what stayed the same was e.l.f. 's commitment to meaningful connections with our community,” O'Keefe explained. Adding that, the brand is looking toward a hybrid event model come spring.
To launch its new holiday kits, e.l.f. Cosmetics hosted an interactive virtual class with Lil Jon and makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan.Photo: Courtesy of e.l.f. Cosmetics
