e.l.f. takes Power Grip beauty into ZEPETO's avatar culture
e.l.f. brings Power Grip-inspired beauty into ZEPETO, turning avatar makeovers into a shareable social experience.
An avatar makeover can be as much about identity as appearance. On ZEPETO, where people build digital versions of themselves and regularly change their looks, a new hairstyle or makeup effect is something to try, photograph and show friends.
That behavior is the starting point for e.l.f. Cosmetics, which has brought its Power Grip beauty line into the avatar-based platform through a virtual styling experience called Express Your e.l.f. The official announcement describes a collection of digital makeup, hairstyles, bags, jewelry and special effects that players can combine into full looks.
The appeal is not simply wearing a branded item in a game. ZEPETO's avatar culture makes personal style an ongoing activity, and e.l.f. is trying to become part of that process rather than interrupt it with a conventional ad.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- A beauty counter built for avatars
- Why e.l.f. keeps showing up in gaming
- What the ZEPETO experiment tells marketers
A beauty counter built for avatars
The experience takes inspiration from e.l.f.'s Power Grip family, translating its colors and textures into digital makeup and accessories. Players can put together head-to-toe looks, take photos or videos against custom e.l.f. backgrounds, and share their creations directly to ZEPETO's feed.
The choice of platform matters. ZEPETO describes its community as predominantly female and approximately 70% Gen Z, with 15 million to 20 million monthly active users and more than 400 million registered accounts. Those are figures supplied by the platform and cited by e.l.f., not evidence of how many people have used the new beauty experience.
According to the launch announcement, ZEPETO users change their avatars more than 14 times a week. That gives a beauty brand a natural reason to offer new looks: experimentation is already part of the social routine.
Why e.l.f. keeps showing up in gaming
ZEPETO is not e.l.f.'s first attempt to make beauty interactive. The company has built a makeup game called Glow Up! on Roblox and has pursued a presence on Twitch. Its latest move extends that approach to a platform where creating a digital identity is central to the experience.
Patrick O'Keefe, chief integrated marketing officer at e.l.f. Brands, explained the approach in the launch announcement: “We meet our community where they like to play and give them a platform to fuel discovery, empowerment and self-expression.”
The difference between these environments is useful. Roblox can support a game built around beauty activities, while ZEPETO lets a makeup-inspired look become part of someone's everyday avatar. The campaign is less about finishing a branded challenge and more about having items people might choose to wear repeatedly.
The approach also fits e.l.f.'s broader entertainment activity. Its Mirror Mix music project, for example, puts the brand into listening and artist-discovery moments rather than relying only on beauty advertising. In each case, the brand adapts its role to an existing audience behavior.
What the ZEPETO experiment tells marketers
The wider metaverse conversation has cooled, but avatar platforms still offer brands a way to participate in communities that already create and share digital identities. Walmart has also experimented with commerce on ZEPETO, although its shopping-led proposition differs from e.l.f.'s styling-led approach.
For e.l.f., the immediate opportunity is to make recognizable product cues part of a creative activity. Power Grip colors and textures become the raw material for looks that players assemble themselves. The brand supplies the pieces, but the user chooses the final appearance.
That distinction matters to marketers considering gaming partnerships. An interactive campaign has a stronger reason to exist when its mechanics match what people already do on the platform. On ZEPETO, dressing an avatar and sharing a photo are familiar actions. The branded beauty items fit inside that behavior.
Whether this translates into product discovery or sales remains unproven. e.l.f. has not disclosed campaign participation, conversion or sales figures for Express Your e.l.f. The measurable story for now is the brand's continuing investment in spaces where beauty, play and digital identity overlap.
