Off Campus + Rare Beauty and other beauty campaigns that make us dream When beauty meets fandom: today’s pop culture stars are the new beauty ambassadors
If there's one planet orbiting in the same solar system as the beauty industry, it's undoubtedly marketing. The brightest star calling the shots isn't the sun, it's trends. We've already explored how the biggest names in cosmetics have embraced Gen Z's visual language to launch new products. We've seen the rise of blind-box-inspired packaging, turning makeup into a surprise experience, and watched a simple lip gloss evolve into a bag charm worthy of hanging from every designer handbag. Now it's time to add another entry to the modern marketer's glossary: Ambassador Culture. The latest beauty campaigns reveal an important shift. Product storytelling no longer has to begin with the product itself. Instead, brands borrow someone else's story, a character, an artist, or a celebrity audiences already know and love, bringing with them an entire emotional universe. In other words, beauty brands aren't simply hiring ambassadors anymore; they're tapping into existing fandoms. Let's take a closer look at five recent beauty campaigns to understand how brands are transforming the faces of pop culture into the stars of their advertising.
The rise of Beauty Ambassador culture
Rare Beauty x Ella Bright
Rare Beauty's Made You Blush campaign couldn't have been timed better. Not only does it embrace one of Gen Z's newest fictional obsessions, Hannah Wells from Off Campus, it fully immerses viewers in the world of the story. Actress Ella Bright is surrounded by boys dressed like everyone's favorite hockey players (and musicians), while she wears the character's signature red cardigan. Even the campaign title cleverly references the screenplay: in one memorable scene, Garrett teases Hannah for blushing every time he gets close to her. The most significant detail, however, is the brand positioning. Bright is Rare Beauty's first-ever celebrity ambassador. Since the brand launched in 2020, founder Selena Gomez had remained the only public face officially associated with Rare Beauty. Why the change? By introducing Bright, Rare Beauty speaks directly to a younger audience while capitalizing on the explosive popularity of BookTok and TV adaptations. Hannah Wells is an especially smart choice because flushed cheeks are part of her defining visual identity, making blush the obvious beauty product to recreate her look. Appropriately, the campaign spotlights Rare Beauty's cult-favorite Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. Even more fitting, Bright revealed in a recent interview that she'd already been using the shade Happy for years, long before becoming the campaign's face.
TRESemmé x Belmont Cameli
TRESemmé also stays firmly within the Off Campus universe, casting the hockey player who has completely taken over social media: Garrett Graham. Actor Belmont Cameli fronts the American professional haircare brand's Hot Curl Summer campaign, and the title says it all. The real stars aren't just the products, it's Cameli's now-iconic curls, which have become hair inspiration for thousands of fans online. It's no coincidence that Behind the Chair recently declared the bro flow, the hockey player's signature haircut, to be the hairstyle obsession of the moment, publishing a styling guide with celebrity groomer Aika Flores, who worked on the hair of the Off Campus cast, including Hudson Williams and Cameli himself. In the campaign, Cameli walks viewers through a step-by-step haircare routine using the Bouncy Curls Collection, while subtly recreating the now-famous shower scene from Off Campus. Rather than simply demonstrating styling products, the commercial recreates a fan-favorite moment, allowing viewers to relive the story through haircare.
Chanel Beauty x Gracie Abrams
Gracie Abrams' signature sad girl pop aesthetic has officially entered the world of luxury beauty. The singer-songwriter's free-spirited, emotionally transparent persona becomes the perfect embodiment of Coco Mademoiselle, Chanel's iconic citrus-floral fragrance. The timing is particularly strategic. Abrams is enjoying enormous momentum following the release of her third studio album, Daughter From Hell, while her deeply romantic, unfiltered image continues to resonate with fans. Rather than relying on elaborate storytelling, Chanel opts for simplicity: a sequence of timeless black-and-white portraits reminiscent of 1950s Hollywood screen legends. The result feels effortlessly elegant, blending Abrams' modern vulnerability with the enduring sophistication of one of fragrance's most iconic names.
Salt & Stone x Role Model
Rather than casting Role Model as himself, skincare brand Salt & Stone builds an entire fictional character around him. Meet Tucker Harrington, a laid-back alter ego who ignores work calls, texts from his mother, and daily responsibilities while lounging in a luxurious villa, diving into the pool, and playing rooftop golf. Amid all this carefree chaos, there's one thing he never forgets: applying Salt & Stone deodorant. The campaign arrives just as the singer announced his third studio album, Chuck Timely & The Hourglass, due for release on August 7, making the collaboration perfectly timed to capitalize on his current popularity. Its closing line captures the campaign's entire philosophy: "Reliable, so you don't have to be." In doing so, an everyday deodorant becomes something much bigger, a cultural artifact connected to the artist's personality and mythology.
Bath & Body Works x Hilary Duff
What happens when Y2K nostalgia meets body care? The answer is Bath & Body Works' collaboration with Hilary Duff. The millennial icon isn't just starring in the campaign, she also serves as its official creative partner. From body sprays and shower gels to fragrances, the launch of the new Fruit Fusion collection fully embraces early-2000s aesthetics. Duff lip-syncs while dancing beneath a waterfall, immediately evoking the music videos that defined the Britney Spears era. Currently on her The Lucky Me world tour, Duff continues to prove that her cultural appeal has hardly faded. Beauty brands understand that perfectly.
Urban Decay x Mika Abdalla
A few days ago, a new face from Off Campus joined the lineup. Urban Decay has tapped actress Mika Abdalla for her very first beauty campaign. We previously saw her starring in an ad for Quinn, the erotic audio story app, which was right in line with her acting trajectory. This time around, she's fronting the launch of the new Ghosting Trio (featuring the Ghosting paste, Ghosting powder, and Ghosting spray), a routine engineered to minimize pores, shine, and uneven texture. Mika effortlessly embodies the brand’s edgy yet effortless aesthetic, but that isn't the only reason she was chosen. You only need to look at how quickly Clinique’s Black Honey went completely sold out after she wore it in a single scene of the series to see that her transformation into an It Girl is complete, making her the ultimate ambassador to bet on.