We analyzed 57.1k pieces of influencer content sponsored by e.l.f. Cosmetics over the last 12 months.
This report breaks down where & how e.l.f. Cosmetics invests in influencer marketing, which social platforms they prioritize, top geographical markets, and more.
The data in this report comes from Modash's Brand Collaborations API.
P.S. for a simple list of influencers who have collaborated with e.l.f. Cosmetics, see here: e.l.f. Cosmetics influencers.
e.l.f. Cosmetics's influencer campaigns are active year-round with notable month-to-month fluctuation. The chart below shows month-by-month data for total sponsored posts tracked.
Number of sponsored posts
e.l.f. Cosmetics's sponsored post volume peaks in December with 8k posts, 68% higher than the monthly average of 4.8k. March recorded the lowest activity at 664 posts, 86% below average.
In our dataset (which only includes Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok), this is how the volume of e.l.f. Cosmetics's sponsored influencer collaborations break down by social platform:
Share of sponsored content by social network
TikTok influencer marketing is a clear focus for e.l.f. Cosmetics.
Here are 2 examples of e.l.f. Cosmetics's recent sponsored collaborations (one each for Instagram, TikTok).
Influencer bio
Don’t be scared. It's just a better-for-you beverage company. #MurderYourThirst #DeathToPlasticBottles
Collaboration metrics
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Influencer bio
Mom Life 👧🏾 | Beauty | Lifestyle 📧: Irene@themak.agency
Collaboration metrics
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If you break this down further by content type on TikTok, this is what it looks like:
💡 Related resource: How To Find TikTok Influencers.
For their top social platform (TikTok), here is a breakdown of the type of influencers e.l.f. Cosmetics are collaborating with, by audience size.
Note: this breakdown is based on each influencer's average views (not follower/subscriber count), because views typically correlate more closely with influencer pricing and impact.
Based on each influencer's average views per post
With 40.6% of partnerships featuring creators averaging <1K views, e.l.f. Cosmetics's strategy suggests niche targeting and authenticity, likely leveraging collaboration models like gifting and affiliates to work with smaller creators.
Here is an example of a sponsored collaboration with a larger-audience creator on TikTok (10.4M avg views/post):
Influencer bio
💖✨🎀🫧🛍️💒💫👱🏼♀️🌷☀️💝 📩 jennakollmannbusiness@gmail.com @Stëvo🌟
Collaboration metrics
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And here is another example with a smaller creator on TikTok (10.0k avg views/post):
Influencer bio
📍toronto rishega.s@gmail.com
Collaboration metrics
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Out of 29.1k unique influencers in our dataset, 1.9k of them (7%) posted content for e.l.f. Cosmetics in 3 or more separate calendar months. The most consistent partner is @aimee.makeupxx, who has collaborated across 11 months with 70 total posts.
Here are 3 examples of e.l.f. Cosmetics's repeat influencer partnerships, with links to the sponsored content.
💡 Related resource: Long-Term Influencer Partnerships: Pros, Cons & How The Pros Manage Them.
In our dataset, United States is where e.l.f. Cosmetics had the most influencer activity. 51.1% of their live influencer content in the last 12 months was posted by American influencers.
Based on the percentage of influencer content per market, other important markets include:
Here is another example of e.l.f. Cosmetics collaborating with an influencer in United States.
e.l.f. Cosmetics competes in affordable, trend-forward mass makeup that is strongly driven by TikTok and creator reviews. COVERGIRL and Milani Cosmetics are close price-point and channel peers, making them natural comparisons for influencer strategy and product virality.
Total sponsored posts tracked (last 12 months)
e.l.f. Cosmetics leads with 57.1k sponsored posts, significantly outpacing COVERGIRL (8.7k posts) and Milani Cosmetics (7.9k posts). Across all three brands, the average volume is 24.6k posts, indicating mature, scaled influencer programs. e.l.f. Cosmetics has several times more total posts than COVERGIRL and Milani Cosmetics.
Sponsored posts by platform
e.l.f. Cosmetics leads on Instagram and TikTok, while COVERGIRL leads on YouTube. The gap is most notable on TikTok, with e.l.f. Cosmetics at 46.5k, Milani Cosmetics at 5.8k, COVERGIRL at 5.5k posts. e.l.f. Cosmetics's activity is particularly concentrated on TikTok. On TikTok, e.l.f. Cosmetics has several times more posts than COVERGIRL and Milani Cosmetics.
Estimated sponsored posts in e.l.f. Cosmetics's top markets
e.l.f. Cosmetics has the highest estimated sponsored-post volume in United States (29k posts, 51.1%), India (5.1k posts, 8.9%), United Kingdom (4.7k posts, 8.2%), while COVERGIRL leads in Canada with 367 posts (4.2%). Looking at United States specifically, the split is e.l.f. Cosmetics at 29k posts (51.1%), COVERGIRL at 5.8k posts (65.9%), Milani Cosmetics at 4.8k posts (60.2%). e.l.f. Cosmetics's strength in United States and United Kingdom may indicate a home-market focus, while COVERGIRL shows broader regional investment.
Looking for more like this? Here are 5 similar influencer marketing strategy breakdowns for other brands:
Or, if you want to access data like this for your own software or processes, take a look at Modash's API products:
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