The Very Best Beauty Collaborations of 2023
The 2023 Wrapped you’ve *actually* been waiting for.
Think match-made-in-heaven crossovers only happen in fashion and music? Think again. 2023 was not only the year of the – Girl Dinner, Barbie, Tube Girl, Tours etc etc- but also the year of beauty collaborations. Rhode! Charlotte Tilbury! Glossier! All the faves were in the mood for a situationship, partnering with brands like Disney through to the Louvre. (Yes, we’re talking about the one in Paris…) If you scrolled for even a second this year it seems like there was a new beauty collaboration on every internet corner, so to refresh your memories and provide reasoning for the 17th Sephora charge listed on your bank statement, we’ve listed some of the best and hottest beauty collaborations we’ve seen throughout 2023.
Rhode x Krispy Kreme
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Buttery, sugary, doughy… Lips? Well thanks to TikTok’s favorite glazed skin advocate, lips so good you’ll want to eat them became a reality. In celebration of the release of their Strawberry Peptide Lip Tint Treatment, Hailey Bieber’s Rhode combined forces with Krispy Kreme to create a limited run of strawberry glazed donuts in line with the product drop. Let them eat donuts!…or lip gloss!… ah, well, you get the picture. You might be wondering, so how much is it? And we hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s both sold out and scrubbed from the internet (404 Not Found anyone?!) So, we’ll save you the search.
Lancôme x Louvre Museum
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Sure, on the surface this collaboration feels kooky and off the cuff, but the more you think about fusing together the art and beauty world, especially when it comes to these two French staples. In 2023, Lancôme teamed up with the Louvre Museum for a makeup and skincare collection. The line is inspired by nine pieces from the museum’s sculpture department (for the greek mythology buffs think Venus de Milo, Victory of Samothrace, Corine, Diane of Gabies and Hermaphrodite), as well as the lights and color palette of the museum itself. The collection features four shades of L’Absolu Rouge Matte Lipstick ($35), the Advanced Génifique Serum ($88) with a new bottle design, and the five-pan Richelieu Wing Face and Eye Shadow Palette ($89). Can you say a match made in Elysium?
Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama
It takes a lot of (censored) to reimagine and reinterpret anything that has been made by a heritage fashion house like Louis Vuitton, but if we had to hedge our bets on anyone it would be Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The Japanese artist and the luxury brand released three newly imagined versions of Louis Vuitton’s signature fragrances this year, which were revealed in two distinctly themed drops and incorporated Kusama’s design motivations through the packaging and bottles. Attrape-Rêves ($280), which featured notes of peonies, raw cocoa powder, patchouli, and lychee. Spell On You ($265) for the girlies and guys like a scent on the sweet side of life. Rounded out with the ever fresh L’Immensité ($326) with a blend of ginger and bitter grapefruit. All three fragrances are decorated with bold dots painted in different colors for each: green, yellow, red, blue, and white dots applied on Attrape-Rêves; black, silver, gray, and white added to L’Immensité; and red and white for Spell On You. And Anyone who knows Ms Kusama‘s work knows that she loves her dots.
e.l.f. Cosmetics x Jennifer Coolidge
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Earlier this year when The White Lotus craze was in full swing, standout star Jennifer Coolidge partnered up with drugstore mainstay e.l.f. Cosmetics to release a pout enhancing lip kit — very on brand, no? The Dirty Pillows Lip Kit ($25) contained e.l.f. Cosmetics O Face Satin Lipstick in shades Dirty Pillows (deep pink) and Swollen (baby pink), a Cream Glide Lip Liner in the shade Fill Frontal (brown-pink). Alongside a circle-shaped compact mirror with the phrase “Lips are the mirror to your soul” stamped on it. Pillowy lips for all!
Proenza Schouler X Merit
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One of our personal fashion faves Proenza Schouler, also tried on beauty for size this year with their collaboration with clean girl beauty brand Merit. Following on from their February 2022 partnership and catwalk coupling – yes, Merit is responsible for all the dreamy makeup looks we’ve spotted at Proenza shows – the brands reunited for the release of the Runway Set. All too fitting right? The beauty collaboration includes a serum, the brand’s Clean Lash mascara, Merit’s clear lip oil is here, along with Flush Balm and blending brush. All packaged in an uber chic Proenza bag. What’s not to love?
Charlotte Tilbury x Disney
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The reigning Queen of magical beauty was of course front and center for celebrations of the most magical place on Earth’s 100 year anniversary. This year saw Charlotte Tilbury launch its own thematic makeup collection with Disney, coupled with an animated short film where Tilbury flies around London sprinkling rose gold pixie dust.The release featured a series of products including a Tinker Bell adorned Beauty Light Wand and Magic Cream, all of which were (of course) limited edition — darling!
Aveda X Iris van Herpen
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As if being internationally renowned for her avant-garde three-dimensional fashion designs that push the boundaries of creativity and innovation, wasn’t enough for Iris van Herpen, this year the dutch designer collaborated with the iconic haircare brand Aveda to craft a limited-edition collection of exclusive hair accessories that will be available just in time for the highly anticipated 2023 holiday season. Made for all hair textures and crafted from recyclable brass the Henosis Hair Pins, which draw inspiration from the Greek concept of oneness are the perfect way to do good and gift good this year.
Queen Charlotte X Elemis
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Ahead of its May 4 debut on Netflix, The Shondaland spinoff joined forces with Elemis to create an exclusive travel-friendly collection featuring the British skin-care brand’s Pro-Collagen Rose products. For $75, the five-piece Queen Charlotte x Elemis kit (which was valued at $95 and included the brand’s iconic new Pro-Collagen Rose) marine cream alongside the bestselling cleansing balm and facial oil. Plus, for the beauty lover who love a ‘gift with purchase’, the set also included two pearl-embellished hairpins and a petal-soft velvet pouch for carrying all of the essentials.
Glossier X Starface
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Glossier x Starface: it’s essentially the Marvel crossover of beauty tbh. The former is known for its skin-first approach to beauty; the latter strives to make acne a thing of the past with its aptly named Hydro-Stars that use hydrocolloid to treat pimples. You’ve likely seen the stars everywhere, but this batch of hydrocolloid stickers is a fun expansion pack (??) from the OG Starface options. Think light pink stars, cherries, and the beloved three-eyed smiley that along with other converted Glossier merch, once stood pride of place on every cool girl’s phone case and bags.
This article was written by Ata-Owaji Victor, a beauty and lifestyle writer with a keen eye for all things afro haircare (which she frequently samples on her 4C coils), beauty tech, innovation and dewy skin heroes.
