The makeup and beauty industry, valued at an astounding $500 billion and projected to grow at 5% in the coming years, is a promising niche for affiliate marketers.
The “Lipstick Effect” highlights the industry’s resilience to economic downturns and social unrest, ensuring its consistent growth and stability.
Entering this lucrative market with the right makeup affiliate programs is crucial for success.
As experienced members of The Affiliate Lab, we have collaborated with top-performing affiliates in this niche to bring you a curated list of the best makeup affiliate programs to kickstart your success.
Leveraging our combined expertise, we aim to help you capitalize on the thriving makeup and beauty industry and maximize your earning potential.
Table Of Contents
The Best Makeup Affiliate Programs
1. Olive Young
Olive Young is a leading name in beauty products in Korea but they now ship their products internationally.
Their products are ideal for a beauty blogger who wants to tap into the current, ongoing, cultural phenomenon this is “K Beauty” products.
For the uninitiated out there, the K Beauty scene revolves around beauty, hair care, and skincare products from Korea that have become massively popular in Western countries, leading to rise of affiliate programs.
Why?
Because their cosmetic products combine Western manufacturing with traditional Asian ingredients.
That’s what makes the range of face, lip, nail care, and eye beauty offerings from Olive Young so popular.
So how do they shape up against the other beauty affiliate programs listed here?
The pay a 10% commission rate and combined with an AoV (Average Order Value) of $63 should earn you $6 per successful referral, meaning that each affiliate link is lucrative.
K Beauty has a consistent Google search trend spanning at least the last 5 years, and Olive Young provides you with the exact type of products to capitalize on that market interest.
Commission: 10% per sale- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Korean beauty
Commission: 10% per sale
2. Market Health
Market Health is a beauty affiliate program that also produces its own products.
This allows you to cut out the issue of dealing with intermediaries like affiliate managers and deal direct.
While their product line has an overall focus on health, they also manufacture a range of cosmetic goods.
These include eyelash enhancers, tanning products, eye creams, and products to give your visitors that Hollywood pout.
So why should affiliate marketers pitch Market Health products to their audience?
Because their commission rates are way above the industry average, with up to $75 CPA and 60% CPS. As a result, this makeup affiliate program allows you to earn a whole load of money.
They have a great range of quality products to work with that can convert well when presented to the right audience and pay excellent commission rates.
- Commission rate: Up to 60% or $75
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Bank, check, wire, and Skrill
- Products: Cosmeceuticals
3. M.A.C Cosmetics
M.A.C (Make-up Art Cosmetics) is a Canadian company that opened for business in 1984.
Since then, the business expanded to cover the rest of North America and over 120 countries worldwide, offering affiliate programs in most of them.
Now an Estée Lauder company, M.A.C releases around 50 collections of makeup each year, designed for everyone from a celebrity makeup artist to the average woman getting ready for a night out.
Their online store contains pretty much everything your visitors will need, from lipstick to foundation, concealer, brushes, primers, and more.
They also offer free shipping on all orders over $25.
M.A.C Cosmetics might have an in-house beauty affiliate program, but as of right now, their only public program is available via Flex Offers.
Their commission rate is at the lower end of the scale at just 3.2%, so make sure you only send warm traffic to their landing pages.
They’re a household name in North America for studio-quality cosmetics that aren’t ridiculously expensive. As a result, getting yourself involved with their affiliate programs should net you a nice income.
- Commission: 3.2% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 7 days
- Payment Methods: Check, PayPal, direct deposit, wire transfer
- Products: Cosmetics
4. Spencer Barnes
All products developed and sold under the Spencer Barnes LA (SBLA) brand are either endorsed by or used by some of the most beautiful female celebrities in the world.
What’s very effective about celebrity endorsement is that they provide a product with a lot of social proof. This then builds trust and popularity for a given brand, with the net result being higher conversions for assoicated affiliate programs.
Each treatment is designed to target a specific part of the upper body, such as the nose, chin, and jawline.
And while these products aren’t cheap, they’re often sold out.
So that’s one angle for beauty bloggers to take – “Get them while you can”.
What makes this skincare affiliate program immediately attractive (no pun intended) is its 15% conversion rate.
So 1-in-6 of your visitors will result in you making $14 in commission based on an average order of $145.
That makes it one of the best beauty affiliate programs in this roundup by earnings potential.
It’s far easier to promote a makeup or skincare line that’s backed up by celebrity social proof, and Spencer Barnes’ product line has that by the bucketload.
- Commission: 8% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
5. Elizabeth Arden
Before beauty brands were a thing, Elizabeth Arden was the beauty brand, opening for business back in 1910.
Since then, they’ve grown from a single location to Elizabeth Arden makeup and other products being sold in thousands of online and offline stores worldwide, with one of the most robust beauty affiliate programs available.
They offer a complete line of cosmetics for the eyes, face, and lips, and makeup kits as well as collections, such as their Ceramide products, for example.
Elizabeth Arden also has a huge level of brand recognition in the market, so your pre-sell will be more about positioning than anything else.
Their affiliate program offers an 8% commission rate, which while low for an affiliate program of this kind, also has a pretty high EPC, so that’s worth considering.
As an affiliate, you will earn commission from every single order placed by a new referral within the first 30 days of them clicking on your affiliate link.
They’re an established brand in the makeup industry, so that should make your pre-sell that bit more straightforward.
- Commission: 8% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, or Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
6. Yves Rocher
The next beauty affiliate program in our roundup is Yves Rocher.
Again, this is another established makeup brand that’s now a household name around the world and not just in the United States.
What sets them apart from other similar companies is they only use natural ingredients in their makeup, hair care, and skincare products to ensure they are chemical-free.
But they’ve also made a conscious effort to not overcharge for their products, so they’re accessible to more people.
That allows you to tap into multiple audiences using just a single affiliate program.
So, as an affiliate marketer, is their program worth promoting?
Yes, because they pay an above-average commission rate of 15% on every sale referred through your affiliate link, and you get lots of support, including a product data feed.
The above makes them one of the best beauty affiliate programs in this roundup.
They’re a leading brand name in the cosmetics industry, with a range of environmentally friendly products to promote via their affiliate program.
- Commission: 15% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, bank transfer, and Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
7. BabeBox
BabeBox is – as the name suggests – a subscription box for makeup.
The premise is simple – your visitors pay a subscription fee of as little as $24 per month and receive at least $100 in cosmetics products delivered to their doorstep.
Each monthly box contains 4 – 5 high-quality cosmetic products that are handpicked for you.
These are full-size products, though, and not just samples.
But you can also send visitors directly to the Babebox online store where they can buy whatever they choose instead – you’ll still earn commission from those purchases.
What does this program offer the average affiliate marketer vs. the other beauty affiliate programs listed here?
You get a flat $5 commission rate on all product sales regardless of order value, making it a very streamlined affiliate program.
It should be pretty easy for you to pitch an offer where the consumer gets $100 worth of makeup products but only spends $29.
- Commission: $5 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: PayPal, direct deposit
- Products: Cosmetics
8. Sephora
Sephora is a cosmetics and beauty brand that’s been in business since the 1970s and currently operates almost 3,000 stores in 35 different countries.
They offer a curated range of makeup, skincare, and body products from the very best brand names but all under one digital roof.
13,000 of them at last count.
But they also stock beauty products from smaller independent creators, so you’ll find products on Sephora that you won’t find anywhere else.
That’s the kind of exclusivity you can use in your presell.
This makeup affiliate program pays a 14% commission rate, so that’s above average for the makeup and beauty niche.
They also commission on all products, without restrictions, so that’s a nice touch that is often absent in other beauty brands.
They have decades of experience in the makeup industry, offer a curated selection of the best products in their niche, and appear to be very aware of changes in the market.
- Commission: 14% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, PayPal
- Products: Cosmetics
9. BK Beauty
BK Beauty is a cosmetic accessory brand created by influencers and designed to appeal to a very specific part of the makeup niche.
Instead of trying to appeal to everyone at once, they instead focused on creating vegan-friendly, cruelty-free makeup brushes.
These brushes are designed to provide the same luxurious feel as a real hair makeup brush and have pricing to match.
Simply put, people are willing to pay more for cruelty-free cosmetic products.
A typical set of BK Beauty brushes can cost upwards of $195, and you get a 15% cut of that sale, which comes to almost $30.
That’s almost as much as you’d earn from some financial affiliate programs.
They offer a specialized range of makeup brushes that will appeal to a specific market and potential for repeat sales.
- Commission: 15% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
10. Clarins
Clarins is a French cosmetics brand that is one of the most easily recognized in the cosmetics industry.
They’ve served this market since the 1950s with products that are manufactured without harsh chemicals and are some of the most sought-after cruelty-free cosmetics on the market today.
The Clarins name carries an air of exclusivity with it, and many of their products are priced to reflect that, including their foundations, concealers, lip gloss, lipstick, and eye makeup lines.
Only send traffic to Clarins’ landing pages that possess the disposable income to actually purchase their products.
They do offer free shipping on all orders over $50, though.
You’ll need an account with Pepperjam to promote Clarins products.
Once approved, you’ll receive a 6% commission on all referred sales.
They’re a best-in-class manufacturer of makeup, beauty, and skincare products. Consumers who love Clarins products do so for life.
- Commission: 6% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 7 days
- Payment Methods: PayPal, Direct deposit
- Products: Cosmetics
11. NARS Cosmetics
NARS Cosmetics is the brainchild of Francois Nars, a photographer and makeup artist who believes that “…beauty lies within our character”.
So, in 1994 he set about creating his range of total beauty products designed to bring out the inner beauty inside everyone, looking to become a disruptor in the cosmetics industry.
What started as 12 lipsticks, launched at an event in New York City, has grown to a brand featuring hundreds of products for every imaginable skin tone, skin type, and specific look or feel.
NARS products are in roughly the same price bracket as Clarins, so again there’s an element of exclusivity there.
And that means making sure that your visitors are aware that a NARS matte primer and concealer bundle can cost almost $100, for example.
This makeup affiliate program pays an 8% commission rate on all referred sales.
So, based on an average product price of $60, you can expect to earn around $5 per sale.
Their marketing is excellent, painting Nars himself as a reclusive genius sharing his creations with the world. But their products also receive excellent reviews, so that’s another plus.
- Commission: 8%
- Cookie Duration: 7 days
- Payment Methods: PayPal, Direct deposit
- Products: Cosmetics
12. DermStore
All makeup stores online tend to look the same, and you typically have no idea who formulated their products.
That’s not the case with Dermstore, as their skincare and makeup products are the creation of an actual dermatologist or have been vetted by the same expert.
But they do also sell a range of hair and body care products for both men and women.
Their online store contains a full range of cosmetic makeup products from brand names your visitors will know and love like Stila Cosmetics, Colorscience, jane iredale, Estée Lauder, and at prices they can afford.
Orders over $50 qualify for free shipping, so that’s worth mentioning in your pre-sell.
This makeup and skincare affiliate program pays a 2% commission rate or $5 per sale, placing it at the lower end of the scale in terms of earnings potential.
They’ve been in business since 1999, offer an extensive range of products, and have award-winning customer service.
- Commission: 2% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, or Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
13. NYX Cosmetics
NYX Cosmetics was founded in 1999 and is named after a Greek goddess.
They sell a large range of vegan-friendly cosmetics that have not been tested on animals.
This brand views itself more as a community than just a company, putting a special focus on fairness and equality for all, so they have amazing products for all skin tones.
Their products are bright and eclectic with retro styling and packaging, making them stand out from the crowd.
Your visitors will also find they stock a complete range of products, from lip gloss to brushes and more.
You’ll have to sign up with the ShareASale affiliate network before you start promoting this offer.
Once approved, you’ll receive a 2% commission on all sales, so you’ll have to promote other offers alongside this one to generate worthwhile revenue.
They’re an ideal brand to promote to a younger and more socially aware audience – their products are very much for late Millennials or Gen Z.
- Commission: 2% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 15 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Cosmetics
Do We Recommend Makeup Niche?
With a variety of makeup affiliate programs on the market, it can be quite challenging to determine which one brings the highest commission and benefits.
Olive Young has stood out as the best option for affiliates, as it offers the widest range of products and the best earning. This platform gathers all Korean beauty products in one place and is one of the leading Korean shops in this niche, making capitalizing much easier.
Olive Young offers multiple payment options and a set of products for everyone, so if you are looking or a makeup affiliate program that can help you earn significantly, you should give a try to this one.
Our #1 Recommendation: Olive Young
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