e.l.f Cosmetics has begun a phenomenon by taking the roads not travelled within its category. E.l.f., which stands for eyes, lips and face. Its founders, Joseph Shamah, then a 23-year-old New York University business student; beauty entrepreneur, Scott Vincent Borba, and Joey’s father, Alan, set out to fill a gap in the marketplace for inexpensive, high-quality cosmetics. There’s nothing unconventional about that. But its founders’ first bold step was to launch e.l.f. as an online only store. Its fame grew – and continues to grow, on TikTok and Instagram. It is a frequent, able and engaging communicator with its audience and creates powerful collaborations with top beauty influencers.
Among its many initiatives that nurtured the brand early in its development were the launch of Ask Achelle, a beauty blog and online advice column talking about celebrities and beauty tips, that quickly tripled website visits, and winning PETA’s Trailblazer Award for its scommitment to never testing on animals. E.l.f finally open its first freestanding studio store nearly a decade after launching in April 2013 – a 1,200-square foot site at 741 Broadway in Manhattan, NYC.
Then in 2013, it played at the Super Bowl, riffing off a viral clip of Jennifer Coolidge (during the peak of her White Lotus fame) at the 2023 Golden Globes saying that her dream role would be to play a dolphin. The bizarre commercial was followed by a second Super Bowl spot in 2024, that borrowed from a revival in Suits’ popularity.
The brand has aligned itself with range of ethical causes, including diversity, equality and animal rights, and is known to be a champion of women. It has supported the Every Body Campaign, for example, that aims to improve the reproductive lives of marginalised communities.
But its latest project is left-of-centre even for e.l.f., and far outside the norms of cosmetic advertising. The campaign, Women Taking Space, is a series of shorts created agency, Madwell, with production company, Starfish Projects, that profiles three women in the space program. They ponder topics such as whether there is life underneath the icy surface of the Europa moon. The scientists display curiosity and intelligence concerning their work surrounding the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft studying the surface of that moon – where life could potentially be discovered. If beauty is seen as something frivolous and the world of beauty insular, this says that women who care about beauty also have brains and occupy spaces that matter in the wider world.
The real-people campaign was edited by Bandit editor, Robin Burchill, an award-winning editor who specializes in films starring real people.
