The beauty industry is no stranger to cross-category collaborations; it has extended its theoretical hand into nearly every sector, be it food, movies, fashion, celebrity, and everything in between. Over the last year, however, there's been a convergence of beauty and , which has been posited as antithetical in the past. That's because, up until now, it's been rare.
Typically, companies have only sponsored big-name athletes like Michael Jordan or large-scale events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl, but underreported sports like race car driving and never got the same amount of attention. Now, the tides are slowly turning. First came the beauty sponsorships, including and of the league, as well as NYX's partnership with the Angel City Football Club and Charlotte Tilbury's bid on Formula 1 Academy.
(Speaking of the latter, Elf Cosmetics also recently became the first beauty brand to sponsor the Indy 500.) Then Dove linked up with Nike to encourage girls to participate in sports. Even athletes like Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams, Lebron James, and created their own beauty companies.
And it seems this is only the beginning. Still, you have to wonder: what's behind this sudden boom — and does it really make the impact these brands are hoping for? We spoke to a few sports fans and beauty executives to find out. First, it's worth noting that beauty is big business.
In 2022 alone, the beauty market generated approximately $430 billion in revenue, and that number is projected to gr.