How did E.L.F. come from such humble beginnings to become one of the top selling makeup brands? Kory Marchrisotto, E.L.F.’s Chief Marketing Officer, maybe? Could all their success be credited to a chance meeting between Marchrisotto and her nephew’s girlfriend? I once read that after chatting it up with her nephew’s girlfriend, who told her that Instagram was the social media platform she goes to feel bad about herself and TikTok was where she would go to be herself, prompted Marchrisotto to commission the #eyelipsface anthem that took TikTok by storm back in 2019. She leaned into GenZ and made E.L.F. a part of their community. And since the #eyelipsface campaign E.L.F. Beauty has created a constant drumbeat of thumb-stopping creatives to keep that community constantly engaged, connecting the physical with digital. I think as a brand, they understand that they can offer quality products at affordable prices. Target was the first retailer to carry E.L.F. in their stores and was about the only place you could find E.L.F. Now it’s everywhere, and if none of the above is impressive to you, how about E.L.F. is one of only four publicly traded companies in the U.S. with a board of directors comprised of at least two-thirds women and one-third minority representation; and its workforce of 330 is over 75 percent women, over 60 percent Gen Z and Millennials, and over 40 percent diverse. E.l.F reformulated its entire line to be vegan and cruelty free and clean and was the first beauty manufacturer in the U.S. to achieve fair trade certification for a manufacturing facility. It has issued an annual Impact Report detailing its environmental, social and governance initiatives and was named one of Fortune’s best places to work in 2021. So the next time you’re in Target or your local drug store, try one of their products. I have a few favorites in my makeup bag and they have plans to create more skin care products and I can’t wait to review those right here on Itopea.
Some of my favorite E.I.F. finds:
