Key Takeaways:
e.l.f. Beauty is deepening its presence in gaming and virtual culture with the launch of Glow Up!, a new makeup-focused game and beauty experience on Roblox designed to center creativity, community, and authentic self-expression. With an average of 97.8 million users a day visiting the platform to play, Roblox is now beauty’s newest and coolest platform for engaging Gen Zs.
Built with custom technology and some of the platform’s most advanced character models to date, Glow Up! reimagines how beauty can be explored in digital spaces. Designed for players aged 13 and up, Glow Up! places users in the role of makeup artists preparing characters for major life moments. Players select themes, apply virtual cosmetics using realistic controls, and create looks that range from natural and aspirational to imaginative and experimental. A standout feature is the game’s “livestream” mode, which allows players to evaluate each other’s’s creations based on theme relevance, creativity, and overall vibe, encouraging friendly competition while fostering community connection.
The experience launched with four characters, each aligned with the brand’s broader mission to make the world a better place for every eye, lip, and face. One character champions women’s sport, another is designed to advance equity in the boardroom, and two of the characters support underserved voices in music and entertainment. The character choices position gaming as a powerful form of self-expression and a host for empowering users no matter their passion.
From a technical standpoint, Glow Up! reflects Roblox users’ growing appetite for realism and detail. The game features a newly engineered, layered makeup system capable of generating millions of unique looks, alongside high-fidelity finishes and textures that mirror real-life application. New characters will be released monthly, inspired by the insight that 55% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha players believe their virtual avatar represents them better than their physical self.
“Our community doesn’t want to be marketed to—they want to be invited in to play, create, and express themselves,” said Patrick O’Keefe, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, in a press release. “With Glow Up!, we’ve built an experience rooted in co-creation and belonging. Self-expression isn’t a feature—it’s essential.”
While Fenty, Sol de Janeiro, Fenty, and Fine’ry have all experimented in the space, e.l.f. continues to harness the power of the platform's users. Glow Up! joins e.l.f.’s expanding Roblox ecosystem, which includes e.l.f. UP!, focused on empowering young entrepreneurs, and Fortune Island, which introduces financial literacy through play. Together, these experiences reflect the brand’s broader ambition to improve community in the digital space using innovation to prioritize access, creativity, and representation. The experience was developed in collaboration with longtime partners eGen and Exclusible, marking e.l.f.’s first partnership with the studio known for high-end, gameplay-first virtual worlds.
Ultimately, Glow Up! signals how beauty brands can move beyond surface-level activations to build participatory ecosystems that resonate with the values of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. By centering realism, inclusivity, and co-creation within a gaming-first environment, e.l.f. Beauty positions Roblox as more than a marketing channel; it creates instead a space where identity, creativity, and community work together. As beauty continues to evolve alongside virtual worlds, Glow Up! demonstrates that the future of brand engagement lies not in selling products, but in empowering self-expression.
