Dive Brief: 

• E.l.f. Cosmetics has launched a beauty shopping app for the just-released Apple Vision Pro, according to a press release. The app, called “your best e.l.f.,” makes E.l.f. one of the first beauty brands to launch an experience on the mixed-reality headset. 
• The experience encourages users to unwind through relaxing activities like guided meditations and an interactive paint-by-numbers game. The app also includes three distinct environments modeled after popular E.l.f. “holy grail” products. 
• To promote the launch, E.l.f. will host a sweepstakes offering consumers the chance to win an Apple Vision Pro. The experience, which users can purchase from via Apple Pay, was made with immersive shopping platform and visionOS developer Obsess.

Dive Insight: 

Apple’s long-anticipated Vision Pro mixed-reality headset hit the market Feb. 2 and has already managed to drum up excitement from both consumers and brands alike. The tech giant reportedly sold between 160,000 to 180,000 units just days after the headset became available for presale in mid-January. Meanwhile, the headset at launch comes packed with 600 apps and games, among those being experiences from brands ranging from Zillow to J.Crew.

The move by E.l.f. to launch on the Vision Pro represents what Chief Digital Officer Ekta Chopra described as an evolution for the digitally-led brand. 

“The decision to launch on Apple Vision Pro is not only natural for us; it is critical to continue to meet our community – and entertain them – wherever they are,” Chopra said in release details. 

The “your best e.l.f.” app on visionOS (the Vision Pro’s operating system) is intended to help users relax and “explore the best versions of themselves” through activities like guided meditations, stretching exercises and an interactive paint-by-numbers game. Users additionally can explore three environments — Camo Cove, Big Mood and Halo Glow — inspired by E.l.f. products that can be shopped within the app. 

The in-app products and scenes within “your best e.l.f.” were modeled in 3D and rendered at a 4K display from each eye of the Vision Pro device, per release details. The experience was designed to take advantage of the Vision Pro’s 3D user interface, which can be controlled by users through hand and eye movements. Consumers can also access a version of the experience online via a microsite. To promote the app, E.l.f. plans to host a sweepstakes to offer consumers the chance to win an Apple Vision Pro. Consumers can learn more about how to enter via the brand’s social channels.

Aside from E.l.f., additional brands who have created an experience on the Vision Pro include Snickers, which launched a Super Bowl-themed experience, and Lowe’s, which launched a Style Studio home-improvement experience. 

Apple is expected to ship up to 400,000 Vision Pro units this year, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. However, only time will tell if the company is able to thrive in a space that has historically been slow to gain traction, especially among younger consumers — a key demographic for E.l.f. Among teens, 29% reported owning a VR device, though only 4% of headset owners used it daily, per a 2023 Piper Sandler survey.

For E.l.f., the Apple Vision Pro activation follows a slew of other moves by the marketer focused around innovation. For instance, the brand in November launched a Roblox experience designed to teach financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills to the platform’s users. In 2019, the brand was behind TikTok’s first branded hashtag challenge featuring an original song. This year, E.l.f. will run its first national Super Bowl commercial.