On her 2025 debut album, “Who’s the Clown?” 26-year-old Audrey Hobert sings about relatable topics like acne, Amazon Basics and pilates, which made her a Gen-Z favorite. And, with lyrics like, “Now I don’t sweat the acne / It’s a bitch, but it goes away,” she also found a fan — and partner — in the “clean” makeup brand Ilia.
On Wednesday, the brand released a $44 limited-edition makeup set curated by Hobert. It features its new Overglaze Hydrating Lip Gloss in a raspberry red called Studio, alongside the Lip Sketch Hydrating Crayon Shade in a cool cherry red called Blue Note. The kit also includes a tote bag featuring a beauty-related Hobert lyric: “I once read that some people’s beauty can’t be captured.”
The collaboration follows two musician-led partnerships from the brand last year: one with Clairo, timed to the launch of its Eye Stylus Shadow Stick, and another with Solange Knowles, based on her longtime use of Ilia’s hero product, the Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40.
“Ilia has always been inspired by art and architecture. … Music is just another form of art and self-expression, and it’s been a very natural area for us,” said CMO Liz Cebron.
As for partnering with Hobert, Cebron said, “Her relationship with beauty is deeply personal. She has sensitive skin, she [had] acne growing up, and she’s been open about the fact that she never thought her skin would get better — she even sings about it on her album. [Her experience] nicely mirrors Sasha’s [Plavsic, Ilia’s founder] story: Sasha started Ilia because she had the same struggles, and she couldn’t find makeup that didn’t compromise her skin. So there’s a really nice, emotional throughline there.”
To support the launch, Hobert filmed a video with Ilia in which she is seen getting ready for a day of songwriting, which includes applying her Ilia gloss. “I work from home, so I’ve found it helps with productivity to put a little effort into my appearance,” Hobert says in the video. The video will be posted on both Hobert’s Instagram (313,000 followers) and Ilia’s (1.2 million followers). The brand will also promote the partnership on its website and in emails.
Cebron said the goal of the partnership is audience expansion, rather than necessarily reaching a younger demo. Clairo’s edit sold out, she said, with 80% of customers new to Ilia.
“We’re a multi-generational brand, and our customer spans a very broad age range. We’ve found that the desire for products that actually work and don’t compromise your skin really transcends age,” she said. “So, it’s less about marketing to Gen Z and [more about] staying authentic [to the brand’s story].”
Lip is a growing category for Ilia. The brand launched its Overglaze lip glosses, featured in Hobert’s kit, on January 6, and the spring 2024 launch of Lip Sketch and subsequent shade extensions grew the brand’s lip business by 83%. A company spokesperson said approximately one unit of Lip Sketch is sold every 45 seconds, and the product has accumulated more than 2,000 five-star reviews across North America.
In 2022, Ilia was acquired by Famille C, the Courtin-Clarins family holding company, which also owns Clarins. It is sold at Sephora and Ulta Beauty. Last August, it was reported that the brand had closed 2024 just shy of $200 million in revenue and was looking to double that in the next three to five years.
