Cosmetic formulations are cheap; packaging determines $1 makeup viability, says Shamah
Joey Shamah · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · Jun 29, 2026 · at 8:31
Joey Shamah, co-founder of e.l.f. Cosmetics, describes the manufacturing economics behind producing ultra-low-cost makeup in the early 2000s.
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“Basically what we learned really early on is when you break down the cosmetics to formulations and componentry, formulations, yes, you can hit that price point. The real artistry, if you may, is in the componentry, where we couldn't afford metal, we had to go plastic, or we couldn't afford things that were multi-parts, and it needed to be one part or one mold extrusion. So we needed to really figure that part out, but the actual cosmetics, we were able to hit that dollar price point.”
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