Dive Brief:
- E.l.f Cosmetics and Liquid Death have brought their seemingly incongruous brands together again, this time for a line of limited-edition lip balm products, according to a press release.
- The products, e.l.f. x Liquid Death Lip Embalms, are available through the cosmetic brand’s website and TikTok Shop. Each is inspired by a Liquid Death flavor, from Severed Lime to Sweet Reaper, and comes packaged in a mini replica of a Liquid Death can.
- To promote the offering, the companies have revived their death-metal spokescharacter, Glothar. E.l.f. also added a Liquid Death-themed portal to its E.l.f. Up! Roblox experience, inviting players to navigate an obstacle course of levels inspired by the beverage's flavors.
Dive Insight:
If at first you succeed, do it again. In 2024, E.l.f. and Liquid Death teamed to create Corpse Paint, a makeup collection packaged in a mini coffin. That limited-edition product reportedly sold out in 45 minutes and racked up millions of social media views. Moreover, 68% of the purchasers of that collection were new to E.l.f.’s brand, according to the company.
Liquid Death and E.l.f. are no doubt eyeing similar success with their latest collaboration. The limited-edition Lip Embalms are available in limited quantities on elfcosmetics.com and TikTok Shop. E.l.f. also updated its longstanding E.l.f. Up! Roblox experience to include a Liquid Death-themed portal featuring a multilevel obstacle course.
“This collaboration isn’t new, it is a continuation of what the people have been clamoring for at the intersection of our two brands- bold, bizarre and bonkers,” said E.l.f. Beauty CMO Kory Marchisotto, in release details.
That ethos is depicted in the promotional video for the new Lip Embalms, which continues the story of Glothar, a death-metal rocker who previously helped two teens prepare for a concert using Corpse Paint makeup. In the new spot, Glothar sings a cheerfully macabre song about how chapped lips can cause dryness throughout one’s face with dire consequences.
While the partnership reflects both brands’ personalities, the promotional aspect skews heavily toward Liquid Death, which has built its brand on humorous depictions of kids seemingly drunk off of its zero-alcohol water and promotions including a partnership with Ozzy Osbourne around its electrolyte drink mix.
In 2024, Liquid Death’s Vice President of Creative Andy Pearson noted that such collaborations enable other brands to “open up and expand what they would typically do,” while “inject[ing] our form of Liquid Death chaos into whatever corner of pop culture where the brand or celebrity exists.”
