Blending high-octane action with glamor, beauty has become a driving force in sport—particularly motor racing. Sponsorships, including product placement, branded vehicles, and driver-specific campaigns, have allowed beauty businesses to capitalize on the sport's high visibility, promoting cosmetics as an essential component to a life of speed and style.
Until recently, beauty and motorsport partnerships were few and far between, and those that did occur had a particularly male-focused agenda. These partnerships were also commonly off-track. Notable examples include Formula One (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton, who was the face of L'Oréal Men Expert, and his opponent Carlos Sainz, who was a brand ambassador for Shiseido. However, this all began to change at the start of the year when Charlotte Tilbury saw an opportunity to switch gears and introduce a more female-facing, track-focused plan for beauty in motorsport.
In February, Charlotte Tilbury became the first female-founded beauty brand to be an official sponsor of the all-female F1 Academy, marking its debut in sport. The collaboration—built on a common goal of empowering, instilling confidence, and motivating young women to pursue their aspirations—included a Charlotte Tilbury branded race car, suit, and helmet decorated with the brand's classic lip pout mark, accompanied by the messages "Makeup Your Destiny" and "Dare to Dream."
Following closely behind, in April of this year, e.l.f cosmetics expanded its partnership with professional race car driver Katherine Legge, becoming the first-ever beauty brand to serve as a primary sponsor of an entry in the Indianapolis 500—said to be the largest single-day sporting event in the world. Similarly to Charlotte Tilbury's partnership with F1 Academy, the e.l.f x Indy 500 sponsorship had a focus on female empowerment, working towards pushing boundaries in sport and giving young girls confidence and a "path towards realizing their dreams, whatever they may be."
Both brands seized the potential of the growing female audience of motorsport—interestingly, despite all F1 drivers being male, 40% of global fans are now women, marking an increase of 8% since 2017. Women are actively engaging in discussions about drivers on platforms like TikTok and Tumblr, as well as delving into podcasts that explore the technical aspects of cars and the dynamics of the racing world. The growing popularity of Netflix's Formula 1: Drive to Survive, a documentary series that offers a behind-the-scenes look at F1 and the Grand Prix circuit, has also fueled women's interest in the sport. Charlotte Tilbury referenced this rising audience of female motorsport fans when announcing its partnership with F1 Academy, stating that the collaboration aimed to encourage young women to view motorsport in a different light, as there are "currently many female fans but a lack of attention from those seriously considering entering the sport."
"Motorsport now has a huge female following, and the drivers of F1 Academy are already increasing representation and diversity in the sport," Susie Wolff MBE, Managing Director of F1 Academy, said at the time of the announcement. "With this partnership, we will use our global platform to elevate this new generation of fearless young female drivers and open up the traditionally male-dominated world of motorsport to even more talented young women."
The latest beauty-related name to take to the track is LVMH, which currently owns a plethora of beauty brands, including Benefit Cosmetics, Fresh, and Fenty Beauty, as well as retailer Sephora. The multinational holding company has signed a $1 billion, 10-year global partnership with Formula One, set to begin in 2025, after outbidding Rolex, the previous sponsor since 2013. As part of the deal, many of LVMH's iconic brands will be involved in the sport, with Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, and Tag Heuer announced as participating brands so far. LVMH is sure to reap the monetary benefits of this partnership, after F1 revenue climbed 20% year over year from 2023, rising to $871 million in Q2 of 2024.
In a statement, LVMH referenced the competition as "the pinnacle of motorsport" with "incredible ongoing popularity, cultural relevance, and overall excitement, which bridges the gap between global sport and entertainment." The partnership is set to bring together stand-out offerings from the two worlds through hospitality, limited-edition merchandising, and advertising content. Further details of the deal are expected to be announced early next year for the 2025 season, which will begin in March.
"In recent years, Formula 1 has truly become one of the most desirable sports in the world. It's a vibrant discipline that echoes a number of values that are very important to us, such as innovation, team spirit, and performance," says Frédéric Arnault, CEO of LVMH Watches. "With our Maisons and the expertise of our Group, we want to further grow this experiential dimension that Formula 1 provides all over the world. We are only at the very beginning of this partnership, but the seasons that await us promise to be extraordinary."
Although there has not yet been an official announcement of any beauty involvement following the LVMH x F1 partnership, as beauty has a typically female-facing audience, the rise in female motorsports fans provides the perfect opportunity for LVMH-owned industry players to expand their reach. That said, the roles also work in reverse, with beauty entering a traditionally male-dominated sport at a time where the male beauty community is rapidly growing, bringing something to the table for both genders.
The news comes shortly after LVMH was a featured partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics with a large focus on beauty. Sephora was the official sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays, and its campaign spanned across all 46 stores located in the cities covered by the relay. The retailer's employees, including Guillaume Motte, CEO of Sephora, were among the torchbearers. During the games, in-shop activations included sport-themed makeovers, as well as opportunities for customers to win beauty products and tickets for the games. Sephora makeup artists also decorated the medalists who took to the podium at the Trocadéro each evening.
LVMH's promising involvement in the 2024 Olympics signals exciting potential for its presence in F1 this next decade. By leveraging global beauty influence during the Olympics, LVMH heightened beauty's presence and brand visibility in sports, which signals promising creative synergy as the Group explores the motor racing category. Alongside this, the $364 billion company also owns duty-free retailer DFS Group, allowing it to connect with fans traveling to the 21 different countries across the globe where F1 races take place.
As beauty and motorsport increasingly intertwine, collaborations such as Charlotte Tilbury and F1 Academy, as well as e.l.f and Indy 500, signal a new era where female empowerment and brand visibility come together to thrive on the global stage of high-speed competition. LVMH's billion-dollar partnership with F1 further cements the fusion of luxury, beauty, and sport, providing new possibilities for audience engagement and thoughtful branding, as well as opening the door for a beauty presence in the sport that covers all genders. Although the details of the partnership are not yet set in stone, it is clear that the next decade of motorsport provides an opportunity for both industries to transform how fans experience speed and self-expression, and it's likely that many will lap it up.
