The Biggest Beauty Collaborators of 2023

Beauty collaborations happened throughout 2023, but certain businesses and IPs came out on top as the most active in the beauty collab market for the year. License Global breaks down these top performers and what brought them success.

e.l.f. Beauty

e.l.f. Beauty had multiple collaborations in 2023. Notably, the brand worked with actress, Jennifer Coolidge, on the “Dirty Pillows” lip kit, which includes a lip liner, lipstick, lip gloss and a branded mirror. The company also collaborated with apparel brand, American Eagle, on a branded collection complete with a lip balm, clay mask, beauty bag and eyeshadow palette.

“When you think about these two super brands, e.l.f. x American Eagle, we both uniquely shape culture, creating endless opportunity for self-expression through personal style, color, clothes and more,” says Kory Marchisotto, chief marketing officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “We knew that by bringing our super brands together, it was not only going to be magic but also a reflection of our combined vision for the best in denim, the best in beauty and the best in culture.”

American Eagle Cosmetics, e.l.f. Beauty

ColourPop Cosmetics

ColourPop boasted multiple collaborative releases in 2023, including a follow-up to its “Sailor Moon” collaboration, a “Winx Club” collection, a “Snow White” collection and a “Naruto” collab. Each collection included an eyeshadow palette and additional products for lips, face and body varied for each launch. This included lip glosses, body glitters, eyeliners and more. ColourPop is already off to a strong 2024 with the launch of its “Twilight” collab, which sold out in five minutes.

Related:An Introduction to The Beauty Industry and Fandom

Mad Beauty

The U.K.-based brand, known for its Disney collabs, has launched collections inspired by Disney’s 100th anniversary and individual properties, including “Lilo and Stitch.” In addition, Mad Beauty made headlines for its “Elf” collection that launched in time for the holidays in 2023. The Mad Beauty lines revolved around skin and body care, with face masks, hand creams and more taking center stage.

LUSH

Lush, Nickelodeon and Paramount Consumer Products announced a “SpongeBob SquarePants” collaboration last year, tied to SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change, a global ocean conservation and sustainability initiative. LUSH also launched a collaboration with Nintendo for the “Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Each collection included body care products such as bath bombs and shower steamers.

SpongeBob SquarePants cosmetics collection, LUSH

Revolution Beauty

Collaborations with the video game, “Fortnite,” Netflix hit, “Emily in Paris,” the new “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory,” “IT: Part II” and DC Super-Villains garnered Revolution press in 2023. Each collaboration came with a collection of beauty items such as eyeshadow palettes, makeup brushes and more.

Related:What’s Trending in Beauty?

SheGlam

SheGlam, the beauty arm of Shein, released multiple collaborations in 2023 with the likes of brands like Harry Potter, Care Bears and others. Collections inspired by the IP led to some creative takes on makeup, including lip glosses meant to look like potions and cauldron lip masks for the Harry Potter collab and fuzzy packaging and bear-shaped eyeshadow pans for the Care Bears.

Barbie

With the Oscar-nominated billion-dollar-generating “Barbie” movie dominating culture in 2023, it’s no surprise that Barbie made waves in the beauty industry. NYX Cosmetics released a cosmetics line inspired by the doll icon, and other beauty brands, like LUSH, O.P.I., CHI and others released haircare, nail polishes and more in celebration and anticipation of the film.

Crayola

Crayola dipped its toes into the beauty space in 2023, making memorable products with brands like Scent Theory for a rainbow of scented hand soaps and Sunshine & Glitter for a biodegradable glitter sunscreen. The last foray into beauty for the arts and crafts brand was in 2018 with its ASOS makeup line.

Disney

Disney’s 100th anniversary happened last year, and the brand celebrated with tons of licensed collaborations. Some beauty collabs included the aforementioned Mad Beauty and ColourPop lines, an Ulta line for the live-action “The Little Mermaid” (which also came out in 2023) and a collaboration with luxury makeup brand, Charlotte Tilbury, for highlighting wands, moisturizers and a makeup bag.

Cheetos

The power of cheesy snack foods has made its way to the beauty aisle. In 2023, Alamar Cosmetics and Dipwell collaborated with the snack IP for makeup and nail dip powders, respectively. Regular and Hot Cheeto flavors inspired the lines, giving Cheeto lovers an additional way to get cheesy.

Want to know what’s going to be big this year? Check out our upcoming trends predictions or our introduction to beauty and fandom!

Cheetos Nail Dip Powder Party Kit, Alamar Cosmetics, Dipwell