E.l.f., Wendy’s and Gap lean into original music
Beauty products by e.l.f. cosmetics are seen on display at a Target store in Union Square on April 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Watch out Sony, a new music producer is in town. And this time it’s the same brand that makes your favorite lip gloss.
E.l.f. Beauty announced late last month the release of “Mirror Mix,” an original album featuring music from seven rising artists. The album comes as the makeup company ramps up its marketing spend, fueled in part by tariff refunds.
E.l.f.’s pursuit of music is part of a growing wave of retailers blending shopping with entertainment.
The album features artists including a WNBA player and a Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter. It’s available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Roblox, according to a press release.
In addition to elevating the voices of independent artists, the new music is intended to help E.l.f. better connect with its customers, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer Patrick O’Keefe told CNBC in an interview.
“When you put community at the center of everything … programs and campaigns and building music, which evokes emotion … when you do that, it changes the conversation. And we want to be top of mind with our community,” O’Keefe said.
“Mirror Mix” is E.l.f.’s second album, following the company’s 2024 release of “Get Ready With Music, The Album.” Its first venture into music, the song “eyes.lips.face.,” debuted in 2019.
“We were one of the first movers on TikTok, and we created an original song around eyes, lips, face, and it went viral. It propelled the brand into new dimensions,” O’Keefe said. “People didn’t know what eyes, lips, face — what E.l.f. — stood for, and we created the song to embrace what it stands for and what it means for us as a brand.”
E.l.f. Beauty released its “Mirror Mix” album as part of a growing marketing strategy.
Photo by Jess Albano
The E.l.f.-released music is part of the company’s strategy in “disruptive marketing,” or marketing that aims to create moments consumers will pay attention to.
E.l.f. has also launched a TikTok reality show and became one of the first brands to launch a channel on Twitch and offer live shopping on the platform.
“Our marketing works best when you start seeing that virality on innovation, our ability to feed that and be able to sustain that demand and build growing franchises,” CEO Tarang Amin said at the Deutsche Bank dbAccess Global Consumer Conference in early June.
“We’re an entertainment company that happens to sell beauty products,” Amin joked.
Where retail meets entertainment
E.l.f. is not alone in its foray into entertainment.
Days before E.l.f.’s album debut, Gap announced a multiyear partnership with boy band Just Your Type, or JYT. The clothing retailer will be responsible for developing a multi-episode docuseries, national mall tour and a clothing collection with the rising pop stars, according to a press release.
The venture is the company’s first collaboration under…