Roblox has become a hub for beauty metaverse activations. In the past two years, several brands have produced campaigns that took place in the digital space, from the House of NYX Professional Makeup to Urban Decay and Ulta Beauty's metaverse makeup party, as well as Fenty Beauty's fragrance maze. As reports state, there are 202 million active monthly users on Roblox, making it no suprise many brands are building out campaigns on the platform to engage with their audiences and reach potential new consumers.

Maybelline New York is another beauty business that plunged into the pool of marketing in the metaverse. The brand previously revealed its digital ambassador, a virtual character called May, who features alongside global ambassador Gigi Hadid across campaigns. In China, the company took over Tmall with a virtual universe to celebrate Singles' Day.

Hoping to once again see success in the virtual realm, Maybelline New York has made its debut on Roblox with the Makeup Your Mix campaign. The activation invites users to immerse themselves in experiences such as the Maybelline New York lounge and Graffiti Room. Within these spaces, visitors can showcase their creativity by experimenting with branded products, using SKUs such as the Vinyl Ink Mascara to paint graffiti and change their avatar's appearances. The campaign introduces six makeup looks, featuring popular Maybelline offerings such as Super Stay Vinyl Ink Lip, Super Stay Matte Ink Lip, the Falsies Surreal Mascara, and Color Tattoo Eye Stix.

Alongside these activities, the Makeup Your Mix campaign also explores music, with another element being a collaboration with the popular Roblox DJ game Splash. Users can instruct their avatars to create or remix songs within the game. As part of the partnership, gamers are encouraged to dress their avatar using the new makeup looks before playing the game.

"As the leading makeup brand in the digital space, Maybelline is committed to providing consumers with new and exciting experiences that promote self-expression," says Emily Arkells, Vice President of Digital for Maybelline New York. "Our partnership with Splash on Roblox allows us to integrate our products into an interactive world seamlessly. This collaboration perfectly aligns with Maybelline New York's core values of self-expression, play, and empowerment, making self-expression accessible to all, wherever they engage with our brand."

To further promote not only its own brand but also musicians, Maybelline New York collaborated with DJ Kai on the release of her latest track, Fantasy. Within the Splash game, consumers have the opportunity to remix the song and participate in DJ Kai's listening party, where they can win and collect a variety of Maybelline New York merchandise and clothing. The collaboration is not the first time brands have come together for listening parties in the gaming space; in 2020, rapper Travis Scott hosted a concert on Fortnite, in which 12.3 million users logged on to participate.

"The team all brought their A-game to the table for this activation. I am really proud of what we've accomplished together, and our community absolutely loves it! Splash players, who are creative young people, are highly engaged, and we would love to work with more brands trying to reach this audience, not just on Roblox but across our other products as well," adds Richard Slatter, Head of Partnerships at Splash.

Makeup Your Mix comes at a time when the metaverse is a heavily debated topic. On one side, several argue that the metaverse has already died, after brands including Disney appointed metaverse-specific roles in its company just last year, only for the entire team to be laid off just a year after its formation. On the other end of the scale, other groups suggest that the only way is up for the metaverse because its market value is predicted to increase from $65.1 billion in 2023 to a surging $936.6 billion in 2030.

Regardless of opinions, metaverse experiences in beauty continue to commence, with L'Oréal also engaging in Roblox recently, live streaming Paris Fashion Week runways at which  its team created the beauty looks—a first for the business. As the story unfolds, the industry will continue to engage in activations and, most importantly, learn the do's and don'ts for successful marketing.