Make Up Over Makeup

The premise of e.l.f.’s latest content series “Make Up Over Makeup” was to get two people with a public falling out to come together and apply each other’s makeup – an activity that is naturally disarming. Can these two people actually make up while applying each other’s makeup? We set to find out in our inaugural episode starring famous TikTok exes Chris Olsen and Ian Paget, a pair we knew our fans would go crazy for.

Chris and Ian skyrocketed to TikTok fame during the pandemic thanks to their viral videos that documented their relationship. But when Gen Z’s favorite “comfort couple” broke up, it left their millions of fans devastated and searching for answers. We saw a huge opportunity for e.l.f. to demonstrate our values and give our fans the closure they craved.

The reunion was exactly what you’d expect from two exes who hadn’t seen each other in a year: awkward, funny, juicy, yet deeply healing. Chris and Ian brought their signature sparkle and banter that their fans know and love, and reflected on their relationship. All the while, e.l.f. skincare and makeup products were there as a tool to facilitate conversation and connection between the two.

And it worked. Fans flocked to the full episode on YouTube in droves. They even went off-platform from TikTok to YouTube and back to TikTok again to talk about it! With $0 in paid media, Episode 1 had a social reach of 72.1M and an Instagram engagement rate of +2300%. The full YouTube episode even shot to #16 on a global list of trending videos. Fans sang our praises in the comments and even wished the episode was longer! It’s all thanks to us having a strong understanding of our audience and the kind of talent that would resonate with them. The success of Episode 1 lead to "Make Up Over Makeup" being greenlit into a series, with another successful episode under our belt starring Vanderpump Rules frenemies, Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay.

Stay tuned for Episode 3, because we’re just getting started.