The Hailey Bieber Effect: Beauty, Branding, and a Billion Dollar Bag

Where were you when the news broke?

When E.l.f. Beauty bought Rhode, that is. The second the $1 billion deal hit headlines, the internet exploded. Group chats? Popping off. Instagram stories? Full. Marketing girlies? Already drafting LinkedIn takes. That’s the Hailey Bieber effect.

This was way beyond a ‘trending beauty topic’. This was brand strategy meets pop culture meets "She really did that." Everyone was talking, from the skincare girlies on TikTok, to finance bros in glass offices.

But what made this deal so newsworthy? 

Let’s rewind.

Aside from the massive price tag on the deal, the real story is how Rhode got here. The brand launched three years ago, people were immediately obsessed. It was clean, minimal, and that ‘cool girl’vibe everyone was after. In just a few years, Rhode became fastest growing beauty brand, and the #1 skincare brand in Earned Media Value, with 367% YoY growth in 2024 alone. Hailey didn’t just sell the idea dewy skin. She sold taste. And everyone wanted a piece. 

E.l.f. isn’t new to this. They’ve been quietly dominating the beauty aisle for years with low price points, fast product cycles, viral launches, and a number of brands under their ownership. They rank as the number one cosmetics brand in the U.S. in unit sales and number two in dollar share.

But Rhode? That’s a different kind of win for E.l.f. It’s premium. It’s small. It’s niche. 

It needs to go global, and E.l.f. can get it there.

The best part of this deal? Hailey’s not stepping back. She’s stepping further in.

She’ll stay on as Founder, now with the titles of Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation. 

In other words: same brand, same vision, just with way more fuel behind it.

We can’t wait to see what’s next.