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E.l.f. Cosmetics has come a long way since it launched as a $1 cruelty-free beauty brand. Founded in June 2004, the company (which stands for “eyes, lips, face”) disrupted the industry with its affordable price point, 100 percent vegan formulas and and only-only sales approach — and since then, it’s become a best-selling affordable alternative to pricier names.
Known for taking risks with upstart names, Target unsurprisingly was one of the first major retailers to stock e.l.f. in March 2005 as it expanded its beauty department. By the fall of 2009, e.l.f. was a permanent fixture at Target stores. The Leaping Bunny-certified company is now preparing to enter Germany after reporting 50 percent growth in its net sales in the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year.
In a word, business is booming for e.l.f., which doesn’t use parabens, phthalates, triclosan, triclocarban, hydroquinone and nonylphenol ethoxylates in its beauty and skin-care products. All skin products are free from sulfates, and e.l.f. manufacturers all of its products in a Fair-Trade Certified factory.
This year, it launched partnerships with Tinder, Liquid Death and other tongue-in-cheek brands, and it has previously enlisted Hollywood stars in its campaigns: Emily in Paris star Ashley Park, Ziwe and Taylor Dome and Taylor Lautner filmed GRWM videos for e.l.f.’s Vanity Table Talk series on YouTube. And after tapping White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge to lead its 2022 Super Bowl ad, the beauty label aired a 30-second “Judge Beauty” spot during last year’s Taylor Swift-attended big game that featured Judge Judy Sheindlin; Suits stars Gina Torres, Rick Hoffman and Sarah Rafferty; singer Meghan Trainor; TikTok comedian Benito Skinner; RuPaul’s Drag Race queen HeidiNCloset; and more.
Curious about e.l.f.’s reputation as one of the best affordable beauty brands? Ahead, we’ve rounded up some of the company’s best-selling products that beauty buffs swear are worthy competitors to Sephora-stocked brands, including Charlotte Tilbury, Urban Decay, Clinique and others. And although the label is available at its website and brick-and-mortar stores, we’re highlighting products available specifically at Target, which is offering shoppers a generous $5 off purchases of $20 or more on e.l.f. and other beauty and personal care brands.
Ahead, check out the best e.l.f. makeup and skin-care products to shop on sale for a limited time at Target, and browse more beauty deals from the retailer online here.
e.l.f. Squeeze Me Lip Balm
Formulated with hydrating shea butter and moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid, e.l.f.’s sheer tinted Squeeze Me lip balm is often compared by reviewers to Laneige’s best-selling lip tints. “They are almost identical,” writes one buyer, while another says it “feels almost exactly the same” as the Laniege Glowy lip blam, which retails for $19.
e.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm
Formulated with hyaluronic acid, ceramides and peptides, e.l.f.’s Holy Hydration! Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm is a Target best-seller for its ability to clear away a full face of makeup while leaving the skin moisturized and feeling healthy. One reviewer compared it to Clinique’s Take the Day Off makeup revover “which is triple the price, [but] this product does the same thing and I couldn’t be more happier.”
e.l.f. Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand
Available in 5 buildable shades, e.l.f.’s Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand contains 2 percent squalane, a quick-absorbing skin-care ingredient known to smooth and soften the skin. Some reviewers compare it to Charlotte Tilbury’s popular Hollywod Contour Wand, which goes for $42.
e.l.f. Power Grip Primer
E.l.f.’s gel-based Power Grip primer helps to give all-day wear to makeup without clogging pores. It contains skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and boasts a translucent finish, and reviewers say it’s great for oily skin and hot and humid environments.
e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter
Often compared to Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter, e.l.f.’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter is available in 12 shades and formulated with squalane (to moisturize the skin), hyaluronic acid (to hydrate and plump) and pore-blurring ingredients.
e.l.f. Power Grip Dewy Setting Spray
This bi-phase setting spray contains 5 percent aloe, hyaluronic acid, squalane and green tea seed oil to hydrate, plump and soothe the skin. Shake the product to activate the “makeup-gripping” water phase and moisturizing oil phase to give your skin a glowy finish while extending makeup wear. Reviewers say e.l.f.’s Power Grip setting spray is a comparable “dupe” to Milk Makeup’s Hydro Grip Primer.
e.l.f. Camo CC Cream
Available in 25 shades, e.l.f.’s Camo CC Cream features a “multi-tasking” formula with niacinamide, peptides and collagen to nourish, hydrate, smooth and plump your skin, while broad spectrum SPF 30 coverage protects your face in the sun. This color-correcting foundation offers medium to full coverage and an airbrush-like satin finish, with buyers saying that it’s similar to long-wear formulas from It Cosmetics and Estee Lauder.
e.l.f. Camo Liquid Blush
Fans of e.l.f.’s Camo Liquid Blush (available in nine shades) say it’s comparable to Rare Beauty’s highly-pigmented Soft Pinch blush, which comes in 12 radiant and matte finishes.
e.l.f. Stay All Night Micro-Fine Setting Mist
One reviewer loved e.l.f.’s Stay All Night Micro-Fine Setting Mist so much that they dubbed it “better than [Urban Decay’s] All Nighter” setting spray. The lightweight mist has green tea, cucumber and aloe to leave your skin feeling refreshed, while the formula helps makeup stay put for up to 16 hours.
e.l.f. Skin Blemish Breakthrough Stick It to Zits Pimple Patches
E.l.f. Skin’s Stick It to Zits pimple patches contain hydrocolloid, the very same active ingredient that’s found in high-priced acne treatments. These sticky spots help to visibly reduce the appearance of pimples and extract impurities for faster healing. One mom who bought these patches “for my kiddo and myself” raved that “they’re much more effective than Starface and cheaper than Mighty, too!”
