After teasing a new addition to its Hydro-Star collection this year, at both New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, Starface is finally unveiling the product: Its hero product, the Earth Star pimple patch, is now being offered in four neutral colors: shell, clay, pebble and moonstone.
To bring the campaign to life on social media, Starface tapped “it” girl Devon Lee Carlson (1.5 million Instagram followers), who is a fashion influencer, a model and the co-founder of iPhone accessories brand Wildflower Cases. As explained by Erika Priestley, CMO at Starface, the campaign features Carlson playing the role of an otherworldly being who delivers Earth Star to planet Earth.
“Devin is an authentic voice for Gen Z, and she’s been a consumer of the brand for quite some time, so it felt natural,” Priestley said.
On Wednesday, both Starface and Carlson kicked off the launch by posting a series of images from the campaign on their social media platforms.
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“I got to work with an amazing team, creating an otherworldly version of myself and completely transform,” Carlson told Glossy in a statement about the campaign. “It was fun to be silly and play with this new character we made.”
The campaign will also include a takeover on starface.world, along with other social assets on the brand’s platforms. Additionally, consumers can expect to see dedicated billboards in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as retail support from Starface’s current retail partners. They include Walmart, Target, CVS and Walgreens. Starface will also be seeding the collection to its go-to list of influencers, Carlson’s close friends and some of its most engaged customers. In short, Starface will focus on “showcasing and merchandising [the Earth Star collection] across all of our touchpoints,” said Priestley.
With this new launch and campaign, the primary objective is to fill a gap in the brand’s assortment, Priestley said. Though Starface is known for its bright and trendy pimple patch designs, consumers were asking for an option that wasn’t as bold for those days when “the vibe isn’t to be super bold.” The launch of this new collection also reflects consumers’ growing demand for beauty and fashion brands to expand their color palettes to include more inclusive shades.
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Since launching in 2019, Starface has prioritized building a deep connection with its Gen-Z demographic by appearing within relevant cultural spaces such as NYFW and, most recently, PFW. In addition, it has continued to engage with influential talent that resonates with younger consumers. According to previous Glossy reporting, in 2023, the company grew its revenue by 200%. Starface raised $2 million in outside capital in 2020, led by BBG Ventures.
“For the last several years, we’ve been playing in the fashion space,” said Priestley. Prior to appearing in Luar’s and Kiko Kostadinov’s runway shows during fashion month, the brand was worn on Puppets and Puppets’ NYFW runway in September 2022. Starface claims that its first fashion week appearance — in 2022, to tease the rollout of Black Star — marked the first pimple patches to appear on New York Fashion Week runways. The following fall, to promote the final launch of the Hydro-Star + Tea Tree, the brand collaborated with viral music star PinkPantheress.
The rise in acne positivity and self-expression among Gen Z continues to help propel Starface’s growth and expansion, Priestley said. As such, the brand is committed to catering to the needs of its consumers through thoughtful product launches and authentic storytelling.
“We’re a startup, … but we have ambitious goals. And we’re looking across [all measurements of growth], in terms of making progress and continuing to build our business and connect deeply with our consumer base,” Priestley said. “But we always stay true to our brand’s voice and tonality, which is different from other brands in many ways.”
