After more than two decades of operation, E.l.f. is making its first foray into fragrance with H&M.
In a new collaboration titled “Make It Make Scents,” the makeup and skin care brand is teaming up with the retailer to launch three long-lasting eau de parfums inspired by its bestselling product families: Power Grip, Halo Glow and Camo Blend. The trio of scents, each priced at $29.99, will be available to purchase online and at select H&M stores around the world for a limited time only starting Jan. 29.
This marks E.l.f.’s first global fashion collaboration, as well as H&M’s inaugural beauty partnership.
H&M and E.l.f.’s “Make It Make Scents” fragrance line.
H&M launched its own fragrance line in 2015, as part of its wider beauty strategy. “We are a 360 retailer today, selling from all categories — makeup, skin care, body care — within the private label, and we’re present in over 50 global markets,” said Catherine Wigzell, general manager of H&M beauty, noting that a beauty collaboration was the natural next step.
“We reached out and approached E.l.f., since we felt that our brand values are deeply aligned. I think creativity, accessibility and inclusivity is at the core of both brands and that’s, of course, extremely important when you’re entering a partnership like this,” Wigzell continued.
Model holding Camo Blend.
According to Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f. Beauty, the goal was to do “something unexpected.” She said: “We came together to create something that was curiously bizarre, genre-bending and something that warrants the question of ‘what is this?’ and ‘how do I see these two brands in a different light now?’”
Considering the natural connection between fashion and fragrance, they landed on a trio of scents that reimagined the gravity-defying moods, personas and textures of E.l.f.’s hero products through H&M’s style lens.
Like the glassy finish of the viral E.l.f. primer, Power Grip Salty Drip is a “crystalline scent” packaged in a teal bottle and bolstered by notes of eucalyptus, cedarwood and sea salts. Enclosed in a translucent pink bottle, Halo Glow Luminous Cloud is feminine and radiant, boasting notes of magnolia, vanilla and amber. Then, there’s Camo Blend Nude Canvas, the mysterious pick — a “forest in disguise,” per the press release — which fuses notes of vanilla, musk and palo santo.
Halo Glow Luminous Cloud
As for why E.l.f. decided to partner with H&M for its inaugural fragrance launch, Lam said, “It was more about finding a brand that is a kindred spirit. For us, this was such an important piece about craftsmanship and taking our community where they’ve already been sending us signals, and that’s where H&M comes in. We wanted to make sure we were democratizing access to premium craftsmanship around the storytelling.”
Both H&M and E.l.f. are confident “Make It Make Scents” will be the hot drop of 2026 and the start of what could potentially blossom into a multifaceted partnership. “This is going to be the intersection that bridges fashion, beauty and scent in a big way,” said Lam. “It’s a meeting point between fashion’s creative pulse and beauty’s power to connect and empower.”
This collaboration is just one example of how apparel retailers — Zara, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and Primark, to name a few — have tapped into beauty within the last few years. Gap Inc. joined the list of entrants in September, debuting an assortment of beauty and personal care brands in 150 Old Navy doors. The company also announced plans to scale the category in Gap this year, starting with fragrance.
As for H&M, the retailer opened two beauty flagships in Oslo in 2023, where more than 80 external brands were stocked alongside its own branded products spanning hair care, skin care, makeup tools and more. The concept store has now expanded to include two locations in Stockholm and one in Helsinki.
Not long after the Oslo openings, H&M debuted its 10-item body care line, Oh Hey Hero, but has since removed the collection from its beauty assorment.
