Why Beauty Loves Collabs

Beauty collaborations are having a big moment.

As diverse players — from E.l.f. Beauty to Augustinus Bader — increasingly invest in the space, co-branded beauty drops are driving record value for brands looking to capitalize on culture and generate buzz.

There are the seemingly left-field collaborations, such as E.l.f.’s recent Goth-punk makeup collection with the fast-growing canned water company Liquid Death, to the slew of “Bridgerton” tie-ins preluding the premiere of the show’s third season in May by brands including Lush, Pat McGrath Labs and Beekman 1802.

“Brands often see these collaborations as an opportunity to tap into established fan bases,” said CreatorIQ’s director of research and insights, Alex Rawitz, adding that because such limited-edition collections often entail eye-catching packaging and multiple products, “they’re a chance to put a stake in the ground across different product categories…and [they’re] one of the more effective things a brand can do in order to make a splash across social media.”

Myriad pop culture institutions, from TV shows to of-the-moment celebrities, can serve as mutually beneficial collaborators. Tan-Luxe opted for the latter with its new Paris Hilton collection, which was fronted and codeveloped by the socialite herself and has raked in $3 million in earned media value since launching in April, taking the number-one spot by EMV this year across beauty collaborations. Buzzy brands outside of the realm of beauty — for instance a podcast-host-loved water company — can drive sizable gains, too.

For example, 68 percent of consumers who shopped E.l.f.’s Liquid Death collaboration were first-time E.l.f. shoppers, reported the brand. The collection also sold out within 45 minutes.

“E.l.f. is a bit of an old pro at these collaborations in general, so part of the success of that collaboration is probably due to the brand having that existing infrastructure for these sorts of things,” said Rawitz, noting previous collabs include Dunkin’, Chipotle and American Eagle.

“It isn’t the case that beauty consumers solely exist in the beauty silo and don’t have other pop culture interests — there’s opportunity for that kind of cross-pollination,” said Rawitz, adding that such collaborations often open doors in influencer marketing, too. “They can generate a lot of organic enthusiasm from creators who are fans of whatever pop culture institution [you’re] partnering with, who never thought those two worlds would collide in that way.”

OIive & June looked to author Colleen Hoover — who is perhaps the most-discussed author among TikTok‘s niche reader community, or “BookTok” — for a limited-edition press-on nails collection inspired by her viral “It Ends With Us” series ahead of its upcoming August movie release featuring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Because both beauty and books dominate on TikTok — the categories even share trends on the platform, evidenced by January’s “silent reviews” trend — there’s potential opportunity for “more literary crossover” in beauty collabs, said Rawitz, also pointing to the success of Balenciaga’s Erewhon smoothie as a potential indicator that there is appetite for increased fashion-beauty crossover as well.

“I’d be curious to see if high fashion, with their collaborations, will go a little less highbrow and try to tap into the same momentum that beauty [collaborations] are showing,” said Rawitz.

The top 10 beauty collaborations by EMV driven in 2024, per creatorIQ.

1. Tan-Luxe x Paris Hilton

2. E.l.f. Beauty x Liquid Death

3. Glamlite x Rick and Morty

4. Olive & June x Colleen Hoover

5. MAC Cosmetics x Disney

6. Augustinus Bader x Sofia Coppola

7. Nails.Inc x McDonald’s

8. Sheglam x Harry Potter

9. Lush x Bridgerton

10. Humanrace x Golf Le Fleur