"TikTok is truly driving and shaping culture. People are expressing themselves and connecting in completely new ways. The lines become blurred between life inside and outside the medium, because the creation of content is so experiential. Is art imitating life or is life imitating art?"

– Ashley Rosebrook, Chief Creative Officer, e.l.f.

Cosmetics brand e.l.f. is no stranger to hashtag challenges—the brand launched its #eyeslipsfacechallenge in 2019. But its latest #GameUp initiative merged the worlds of makeup and gaming, a new space for the company and a way for it to create more space for women. "This was an empowerment story in a male-dominated sport,” Rosebrook says. “Our favorite part was how many diverse, women gamers got on board to express themselves. They felt empowered to be bold and creative with makeup to show up looking as fierce as they play.” Gamers took to the campaign immediately, generating 8.7 billion views in the first three days, and more than 17 billion overall. The brand also worked with its in-house gamer Anna Bynum and TikTok creators like Yoya Fabulosa, a queer, Latinx gamer and streamer. “I’m actually really excited to see how Gen Z and younger generations make changes to how we talk about gender, clothing, the environment, education,” they say. “And I’m happy to be able to be a role model for these up-and-coming content creators and gender nonconforming explorers!”

"I can create content on TikTok as myself, without worrying about being perfect. I feel like TikTok is a platform where I can be really silly and my audience loves it!"

– Yoya Fabulosa

Q&A with Ashley Rosebrook,

Chief Creative Officer, e.l.f. What drew you to the platform?

Any territory that’s new or uncharted—we like to be there eyes. lips. first. and be a voice in the cultural conversation. We knew Gen Z was there, and wherever Gen Z is, so is e.l.f.

How does your experience as a brand on TikTok differ from other channels?

We're a positive, inclusive, accessible brand with a badass spirit. Our products are made for creation and self-expression. We’re also known for reacting to trends with extreme speed. TikTok shares these same qualities, so it makes sense that we hang out together. TikTok allows us to express these attributes of our brand personality in a way that no other platform matches. It has also enabled us to venture into new facets of e.l.f.—most notably music.

Did you expect to have such a widespread impact on the community?

We knew we were creating something special that would have an impact—that our community would get behind it. What we didn’t expect was the number of women who were able to express themselves, in a TikTok format, about #GameUp, because they gamed-up! And they had a lot of e.l.f.ing fun doing it.

What superlative would you give to TikTok?

Game-Changer. Most Likely to Be Famous.

"TikTok allows us to express these attributes of our brand personality in a way that no other platform matches."

– Ashley Rosebrook, Chief Creative Officer, e.l.f.