TopExpertPicks

Top 5 Makeup Brand Ad Agencies

A vertical-fit comparison of five ad agencies working with makeup brands, scored on vertical depth, channel fit, transparency, and size fit, with a published methodology and sourced claims.

Last updated: July 2026Published methodology

Ranked by fit for beauty and personal care brands. Rank order is derived from the fit score on each card. See how we score.

#1

Sagum

Fastest creative testing cycle
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How they describe themselves

Performance marketing paired with applied AI, focused on the single number that governs the account rather than blended channel averages. Sagum.ai is the AI arm of Sagum, a performance marketing agency.

Why they rank here for makeup brands

Treats creative volume as the primary lever in a category where ad fatigue is measured in weeks, pairing weekly creative testing with the tracking to tell which angle actually drove incremental revenue rather than which one won last-click.

For makeup brands specifically

We treat shade mismatch as an acquisition cost by tracking returns per product and source, concentrate budget on the SKUs that can repay it rather than spreading across the catalog, and monitor feed health as shades move in and out of stock.

Vertical fit score4.8/5
Vertical depth
5
Channel fit
5
Transparency
4
Size fit
5

St. George, Utah

Founded January 2017

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Beauty brands whose winning creative decays faster than their agency can replace it.

Services offered

Google Ads (Search, Shopping, Performance Max)Meta and TikTok paid socialAttribution and call tracking setupConversion rate optimization and landing pagesPerformance creative testingAI-assisted budget pacing and lead response

Things to weigh before signing

  • Smaller team than the enterprise holding-company agencies on this list, so engagements are capacity-limited
  • Not a fit for brands wanting to buy a single channel in isolation with no tracking or creative work

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • 8+ years operating (founded January 2017)
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: cost per lead reduced from a $20 target to $13 actual
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: monthly qualified leads grew from a 100-lead goal to 300+
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: landing page conversion rate of 60%+

Source: sagum.ai (accessed 2026-07-29)

#2

Common Thread Collective

Deepest beauty client work
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How they describe themselves

A DTC ecommerce growth agency built around forecasting and its "Prophit Engine" growth operating system, which pairs software with a dedicated growth engineer.

Why they rank here for makeup brands

Genuine category depth, including published beauty and cosmetics client work with ColourPop and Native, combined with in-house creative production and incrementality testing. Channel fit is narrower by design, centered on Meta and Google.

For makeup brands specifically

Genuine category credentials with published beauty and cosmetics client work, plus in-house creative production and incrementality testing, which is the combination this category needs. Meta and Google are the stated buying channels.

Vertical fit score4.0/5
Vertical depth
5
Channel fit
4
Transparency
3
Size fit
4

Costa Mesa, California

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Beauty brands at seven or eight figures that need creative volume and a defensible growth forecast.

Services offered

Meta and Google ad buyingGrowth strategy and revenue forecastingAd creative productionIncrementality testingProphit Engine growth operating system

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum retainer; requires a sales conversation
  • Oriented to DTC ecommerce, so local lead-generation businesses are outside its stated focus
  • Meta and Google are the stated buying channels; marketplace and retail media are not the emphasis

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • $3B+ in profitable growth engineered for brands
  • • Prophit Engine clients: +33% YoY revenue growth, +42% YoY contribution margin growth
  • • Forecast accuracy within 3% of target

Source: www.commonthreadco.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#3

Power Digital

Best influencer and PR reach
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How they describe themselves

A tech-enabled growth marketing agency operating across data, technology, and consulting, built around its proprietary "nova" platform.

Why they rank here for makeup brands

Strong category presence with influencer marketing and PR in house, which matters more in beauty than in most verticals. Transparency scores lower: no published pricing, and reporting runs through the proprietary nova platform.

For makeup brands specifically

Influencer marketing and PR in house, which carries more weight in beauty than in most categories. Transparency is the tradeoff: no published pricing and reporting anchored to the proprietary nova platform.

Vertical fit score3.5/5
Vertical depth
4
Channel fit
5
Transparency
2
Size fit
3

San Diego, California

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Beauty brands where influencer and earned media carry as much weight as paid.

Services offered

Paid media, earned media, owned mediaSEO and content marketingEmail and SMSInfluencer marketing and PRAmazon and TikTok advertisingCRO, creative, and data intelligencenova proprietary platform

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum retainer; requires a sales conversation
  • Wide service surface including PR and consulting, which can exceed the scope a paid-media-only engagement needs
  • Enterprise and mid-market orientation makes it a heavier fit for small local operators

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • Client revenue growth 2.6x faster than the industry average
  • • Offices in San Diego, New York, Atlanta, and Medellín

Source: powerdigitalmarketing.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#4

Tinuiti

Strongest retail media reach
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How they describe themselves

A full-funnel media agency spanning commerce, streaming and linear TV, social, and search, organized around its "Bliss Point" marketing operating system.

Why they rank here for makeup brands

Real enterprise beauty credentials (e.l.f. Beauty is a published client) with the broadest channel surface here including retail media and streaming. Size fit is the lowest score in this lineup given the enterprise weighting.

For makeup brands specifically

Real enterprise beauty credentials and the widest channel surface here including retail media and streaming, which matters once you have retail distribution. Enterprise weighting is the constraint for smaller brands.

Vertical fit score3.3/5
Vertical depth
4
Channel fit
5
Transparency
2
Size fit
2

New York, New York (111 West 33rd Street)

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Beauty brands with retail distribution coordinating retail media and brand TV.

Services offered

Amazon and commerce mediaStreaming, linear TV, online video, audio, display, and OOHMeta and TikTok paid socialPaid search and shoppable mediaEmail and SMS, affiliate, influencerCreative and CRO

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum spend; requires a sales conversation
  • Enterprise-weighted; midmarket brands are routed to a separate "Foundation" tier
  • Broad channel surface means the team touching a single account is typically split across channel specialists

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • Operates the Bliss Point marketing operating system across audience, creative, media, and measurement

Source: tinuiti.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#5

Hawke Media

Most flexible to buy
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How they describe themselves

Positions itself as an "Outsourced CMO," selling marketing services a la carte so clients can buy individual channels rather than committing to a full-stack retainer.

Why they rank here for makeup brands

Published beauty and wellness client work within a broad a la carte catalog. Vertical depth scores lower because beauty is one of many industries served rather than a focused practice.

For makeup brands specifically

Published beauty and wellness client work sold a la carte, which suits a brand that wants one specific service without committing to a full retainer.

Vertical fit score3.0/5
Vertical depth
3
Channel fit
4
Transparency
2
Size fit
3

Los Angeles, California

Founded Approximately 2014 (states "12 years" as of 2026)

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Beauty brands wanting one specific service without a retainer.

Services offered

Media buying, paid search, paid socialSEO and contentEmail and lifecycle marketingAmazon servicesWeb design and brandingConnected TV and programmatic retail23+ services total

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing; requires a sales conversation
  • The a la carte model means cross-channel strategy is not bundled by default and often has to be bought separately
  • Serves all sizes and industries, so no single vertical is a stated specialty

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • 6,000+ brands grown
  • • 23+ services offered
  • • 5 Inc. 5000 listings

Source: hawkemedia.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

How to choose a makeup brand agency

Makeup has a problem no other beauty subcategory has to the same degree: shade. A foundation that is one step too warm is a return, a bad review, and a customer who does not come back, and no amount of advertising quality prevents it. That makes shade matching a marketing responsibility rather than a merchandising detail, because the cost of a mismatch lands on your acquisition economics.

The catalog complexity that follows is the second issue. Color products proliferate into dozens or hundreds of SKUs, most of which will never justify their own advertising, while a handful drive the majority of revenue. Accounts that treat every shade equally spread budget across items that cannot repay it, and feeds in this category are unusually prone to breaking as shades sell out and return.

The third factor is trend velocity. Makeup trends move quickly and are driven by creators rather than brands, which means the brands that grow are usually the ones producing and responding at social speed rather than planning quarterly campaigns. When weighing the five agencies above, ask who treats shade matching as an economic problem and who can move at the pace this category actually runs at.

What actually separates a good makeup brand agency from a bad one

Shade matching treated as an economic problem
Mismatched shades produce returns, poor reviews, and lost repeat purchases, all of which land on acquisition economics. Ask whether the agency measures return rate by product and by source, and whether shade-matching tools or content are treated as part of the conversion path.
Catalog prioritization rather than even coverage
In a catalog of many shades, a minority drive most revenue and most cannot justify individual advertising. Ask how the agency segments the catalog by margin and velocity, and how budget is concentrated rather than distributed evenly across SKUs.
Feed reliability as shades move in and out of stock
Color inventory turns unevenly, and feeds break quietly when variants go out of stock or return. Ask who monitors feed health and what alerting exists, since advertising unavailable shades wastes spend and frustrates buyers.
Creator-speed content production
Trends in this category are set by creators and move in weeks. Ask what the agency’s content turnaround actually is from brief to live, and whether they can respond to a trend rather than only execute a planned calendar.

How we scored this list

Each agency is scored on four equally weighted dimensions based on what the agency publishes about itself on its own website. Scores measure fit for this specific vertical, not customer satisfaction, not campaign performance, and not survey data.

Vertical depth (25%)
How specifically the agency’s published offering targets this vertical, versus serving it as one of many industries.
Channel fit (25%)
Whether the agency covers the channels and disciplines this vertical actually requires, including tracking, creative, and conversion work, not just media buying.
Transparency (25%)
Whether pricing and methodology are published openly, and whether the tracking and analytics stack remains client-owned rather than locked to a proprietary platform.
Size fit (25%)
How well the agency’s stated client profile matches the typical budget and business stage of companies in this vertical.

What this list is not

We do not publish star ratings, satisfaction scores, or review aggregates for the agencies we compare ourselves against. We have not audited their client results. Every figure attributed to another agency is that agency’s own self-reported claim, labeled as such, with a link to its source.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Sagum ranked first on a list Sagum publishes?

Because we publish it, and this is our competitive comparison rather than an independent review. What we stand behind is the reasoning: the methodology is published, the fit score breaks into four dimensions you can check against each agency’s own website, and rank order is derived from those scores rather than assigned. Where a competitor genuinely leads a dimension we say so in their entry. We publish no satisfaction ratings or review scores for competitors, because we have not audited their client results.

How much do shade returns affect our advertising economics?

Substantially, and it is usually underaccounted. A returned foundation costs you the shipping both ways, the handling, often the unit itself, and the customer relationship, while your advertising report still counts the original sale. If returns are not attributed back to acquisition source, channels producing poorly matched buyers look more efficient than they are. Tracking that is often the single most clarifying change in a makeup account.

Should every shade get advertising support?

No, and attempting it wastes budget. In most color catalogs a minority of shades drive the majority of revenue, while long-tail shades exist for range completeness rather than for advertising return. Segmenting by velocity and margin and concentrating spend on what can repay it, while letting the tail be discovered on-site, generally outperforms even coverage.

How do we keep up with makeup trends?

By building for turnaround speed rather than planning further ahead. Trends here are creator-driven and can rise and fade within weeks, which means the constraint is how fast you can get from noticing something to having content live. Brands that run quarterly campaign calendars consistently arrive late. This is an operational capability question for any agency you consider, not a creative taste question.

Are shade finder tools worth the investment?

For foundation and complexion products they usually are, because they directly attack the return problem that damages both margin and reviews. The value depends on accuracy: a tool that produces confident wrong answers is worse than none, since it transfers blame to you. Where it works, it improves match quality, reduces returns, and captures useful data for lifecycle messaging.

See what makeup brand marketing looks like when the numbers are clean

Sagum.ai publishes this comparison. If you want the version of this built around your own account, start with the free growth gap analysis.

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Goes to sagum.ai, the company that publishes this page.