How beauty brands are popping up around World Cup festivities

Experiential Marketing // June 29, 2026 How beauty brands are popping up around World Cup festivities By Gabriela Barkho Fazit Just when brand marketing seemed to have reached a fever pitch at the 2026 World Cup, more companies are finding their niche at the global event.

Beauty and skin care in particular have taken a bigger spotlight this year, exemplifying just how closely beauty and sports have become intertwined. Paula’s Choice, for example, was named the official 2026 World Cup skin-care sponsor, and Unilever’s personal care brands, including Dove and Rexona, are some of the major sponsors of the tournament.

But it’s not just official FIFA sponsors capitalizing on the sport’s growth among women. As brands look to jump on cross-cultural moments across North America, companies like Not Your Mother’s, NYX and Fazit are trying to bring fans together in person and drumming up brand awareness during the tournament.

But these activations are part of a bigger trend of beauty brands trying to expand beyond standard marketing channels to capture female audiences. Beauty’s infiltration of traditionally male-dominated sporting events has been on the rise in recent years.

“More than ever, beauty and sports are coming together,” Amit Sarin, head of partnerships and collaborations at beauty brand Fazit, said in an interview with Modern Retail. Fazit is a beauty brand that sells glitter freckles makeup and game-day face patches, and is an official U. S. Soccer Partner.

“We’re seeing big companies like Sephora getting behind teams with major sports partnerships,” Sarin added. “That has been validating for those of us trying to serve the fans expressing themselves through beauty.”

Naturally, many beauty brands have started supporting women’s leagues, with Urban Decay and Ipsy recently becoming official beauty partners of WNBA teams.

This year, clean makeup brand Saie became the official beauty sponsor of the New York Knicks, which resulted in a major marketing moment when the team won its first NBA championship in 53 years earlier this month. But for many beauty brands, the impetus for participating in World Cup activations is simple: It’s a cultural moment that is too big to ignore.

World Cup mania A number of brands are using the World Cup to create beauty moments with their soccer-loving customers. Hair-care brand Not Your Mother’s took a number of lucky customers and influencer partners to watch Colombia versus Portugal in Miami on June 27. The sponsored event is part of the brand’s bigger experiential World Cup campaign in Miami.

Charlene Patten, CMO of Not Your Mother’s, said that in the past few years, beauty marketing in sports has evolved to highlight how women want to look at an event, whether it’s at a watch party or the game itself. “The World Cup in particular is a complete cultural event, and as part of our latest strategy, we want to be at the edge of culture,” Patten said.

“Even if you aren’t a sports person, there is so much excitement and curiosity around it.” The heavy investment in sports marketing also follows the company’s rebranding last year. Not Your Mother’s, founded in Tampa in 2010, was inspired to activate in the host city of Miami and represent its diverse population.

For the match-day activities, about 40 influencers and customers attended a pre-game party before heading to see Colombia face off against Portugal, where the group watched from a branded suite while creating real-time content on behalf of the brand.

The company chose a number of Florida-based influencers from different cultural backgrounds to represent the participating nations, including Latinas and Europeans. Patten said the brand chose three customers and their plus-ones to attend the event as part of the giveaway, selecting them based on video submissions.

“We didn’t want this just for influencers, which is what happens at big events like Coachella,” Patten said. The pre-party offered hairstyling and customizable Not Your Mother’s branded jerseys. Patten said the muggy Florida summer is also a chance for attendees to put the brand’s products to the test.

“We have a lot of empathy for curly girls who fight with humidity,” Patten said. Fazit has also been running promotions throughout the tournament, including discounts celebrating the U. S. wins. But it’s also doing IRL activations in close proximity to the games.

Fazit launched in 2022 with acne patches and silicone scar patches, but it exploded in popularity after being worn by Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game in late 2024. Since then, Fazit has expanded its team spirit collections to lean further into game-day makeup, following the sales spike Swift delivered.

This year, the company wants to keep that sports-focused momentum going. For the World Cup, the company wanted to build on the popular fan exper