This story was originally part of the 2023 Glossy 50 feature. Click here to see all of this year’s honorees.
In November, E.l.f. Beauty reported a net sales growth of 76% year-over-year, marking the brand’s 19th consecutive quarter of growth. At the time, CEO Tarang Amin said he expects the brand will soon reach $1 billion in annual sales.
Helming E.l.f.’s brand, which she described as being “at the heart of what pumps blood to every vital organ,” is Laurie Lam, who joined the company 16 months ago after spending two decades at L’Oréal. She has since co-led some of the company’s biggest moments of 2023. That includes its first-ever Super Bowl ad, starring Jennifer Coolidge, which it conceptualized and completed in just three weeks.
E.l.f.’s team prides itself on moving at the “speed of culture.” As such, Lam calls her marketing calendar “a living document.”
The Super Bowl ad was inspired by and centered on the brand’s Power Grip Primer. “[Our community] made it the No. 1 [selling] primer in America,” Lam said, referencing data from Circana. ”It has incredible entertainment value. It’s dewy, it’s grippy, it’s sticky, it’s glowy. And so we took all of those elements and we coupled it with the stickiest icon in culture, of course — the queen, Jennifer Coolidge. And it flew.”
While on set, Coolidge mused that, if given the opportunity to name lipstick shades, she would call them “Swollen” and “Dirty Pillows.” Taking the cue, “we decided to make a luxe, four-piece kit featuring products in the two shades and sell it for the affordable price of $25,” Lam said. “We brought it to life through episodic content with Jen herself. It raised $13.8 billion media impressions in 48 hours, our highest-ever for a product collaboration.” Also, the product sold out in two hours.
It’s been a busy year for E.l.f.: In March, the brand partnered with American Eagle on a denim-inspired capsule collection. In October, it released an original song, “Ojos. Labios. Cara,” with Colombian star Manuel Turizo. Its $8 Glow Reviver Lip Oil, released in October, became an instant hit. According to Glossy-exclusive Launchmetrics data, it was the No. 3 most-talked-about lip oil during its launch month. And in November, it launched on Roblox.
Of E.l.f.’s secret to success, Lam said, “We are big enough to dream big, but we’re also small enough to be able to pivot. If something is not feeling right, we’ll scrap it at the last minute.”
