Dive Brief:
- E.l.f. Cosmetics has released its second original music album, titled “Mirror Mix,” featuring seven rising artists, according to a company blog post. The album was created with the cosmetic brand’s entertainment arm, E.l.f. Made.
- “Mirror Mix” is available on streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music and features musicians in the pop, R&B, Latin and rock categories. E.l.f. will promote the effort through a tie-up with digital media platform Genius’ Open Mic content series.
- The tracks will also be available in E.l.f.’s existing Roblox space. The beauty purveyor’s latest move sees it continuing to utilize an entertainment-driven marketing strategy and comes as others, including Gap and Wendy’s, hone a similar focus.
Dive Insight:
Following promising results from its first album, E.l.f. is continuing to spotlight the next generation of musicians. The initial effort, titled “Get Ready With Music, The Album,” was released in 2024 and generated over 500,000 Spotify streams and 10 million views. The album was the first product to come from its entertainment marketing arm, E.l.f. Made, which is focused on creating content within the music, entertainment, sports and gaming spaces.
Entertainment-based marketing has been a focus for other brands, including Gap, which has long supported rising artists like Katseye and Sienna Spiro. Last week, the retailer announced a partnership with boy band Just Your Type, representing the first deal to come out of parent Gap Inc.’s Fashiontainment platform. Similar to E.l.f., Wendy’s recently announced its own album, “Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot,” with tracks featuring a roster of emo artists.
“Mirror Mix” features original tracks from musicians including Brasko, Flau'jae Johnson, Hello Sister, Joaquina, Mamii, Nezza and Sadie Rose Van. The songs span various genres and carry titles like “Girlhood is Forever,” “Kiss” and “What Can’t I Do” that pair nicely with E.l.f.’s brand ethos, which has long revolved around positivity and empowerment. The album was executive produced by Michelle Bell, founder of creative company Geo Massive.
To promote the effort, E.l.f. teamed with Genius, the song lyrics platform, and will bring the company’s Open Mic content series to a live audience on Sept. 30 and offer the musicians behind “Mirror Mix” a chance to perform. The tracks will also be available on the E.l.f. Up! Roblox experience, which launched in 2023. The creation of “Mirror Mix” was inspired by research indicating that one in three independent artists are challenged by lack of exposure, per blog post details.
Entertainment-focused marketing has been a focal point of E.l.f.’s playbook. In April, E.l.f. Cosmetics debuted a true crime mockumentary called “Vanity Vandals” that attributed cluttered bathroom counters to a surplus of its affordable beauty products. In 2024, parent E.l.f. Beauty released an Animal Planet-style ad to mark the rollout of its E.l.f. Skin Bronzing Drops.
The latest effort from E.l.f. comes as it continues its growth streak, achieving its 30th consecutive quarter of net sales gains during its fiscal first quarter of 2027 for the period ended June 30. In August, E.l.f. promoted longtime CMO Kory Marchisotto to president, tasking the executive to help the company expand across categories and geographies. In Marchisotto’s place, E.l.f. named Oshiya Savur as CMO of E.l.f. Brands.
