When e.l.f. Beauty set out to establish a new Los Angeles home, the fast‑growing cosmetics company wasn’t looking for just another office. It wanted a space with the city's star power in mind, designed for pop‑up parties and social media-ready events that align with its celebrity-backed brand portfolio.
To that end, the Oakland, California-based company has converted a former ground-floor restaurant at Lincoln Property Co.’s 959 Seward St. in Hollywood into a two-level, 20,000-square-foot creative hub, featuring a hospitality-style lobby and event space connected by a sculptural staircase to its second-floor offices.
E.l.f. — short for eye, lip and face — sells beauty and skin care products from its namesake line in addition to other brands including Rhode, founded by social media star Hailey Bieber; Alicia Keys' Soulcare; and Naturium, created by YouTube influencer Susan Yara.
It joins a nationwide wave of employers investing in upgraded offices as companies compete to lure workers back with design-forward spaces that feel more like destinations than desk farms.
The office is designed to serve as a workplace, showroom and gathering space that "allows for events, product testing and a sense of community,” said a statement from Kevin Marth, superintendent at JTM Construction Group, which oversaw the buildout.
At the same time, retailers with Los Angeles offices are adding social media– and influencer-friendly spaces to appeal to the celebrities who pass through town or call Hollywood home. Skims, Puma and Alo Yoga are among firms using office space to boost their customer reach through events.
Retail energy, workplace function
E.l.f. Beauty got its start in 2004 as an Oakland startup behind affordable cosmetics; it has since grown into a publicly traded company with more than $1 billion in annual sales and distribution in major chains including Target, Walmart and Ulta Beauty.
E.l.f. Beauty leases its headquarters in Oakland and also maintains an office in New York City. The Hollywood hub marks an expansion for the company; it previously operated out of a smaller office in West Hollywood.
The lower level of E.l.f.'s new Hollywood hub has an open floor plan, a bar and an indoor-outdoor patio, creating a set for launch parties, influencer meet-ups and livestreamed makeup tutorials.
Upstairs, light-filled work areas blend with dedicated product testing rooms. Moss walls, warm wood and sculptural staircases lend the space a gallery-like feel suited for social media content, Marth said.
The design reflects how brands increasingly treat their offices as experiential extensions of their retail presence, Marth said.
E.l.f.'s new office could prove particularly valuable for Rhode, the skin care and hybrid makeup brand founded by social media star Hailey Bieber that E.l.f. agreed to acquire last year in a deal valued at up to $1 billion: Bieber, a Los Angeles resident who remains involved as Rhode's chief creative officer and head of innovation, is known for hosting tightly curated pop-ups and viral product drops that blur the line between celebrity appearance and retail event.
Rhode has previously staged high-profile launch parties in Los Angeles and New York that encourage influencers, editors and fans to post videos and pictures from branded backdrops.
The Hollywood office can serve as a new setting for those events without the need to rent outside venues.
For the record
JTM CGI served as construction manager for the tenant improvement. Revel Architecture & Design provided architecture and design services, while CKC Structural Engineers and AlfaTech handled structural and MEP engineering. Cushman & Wakefield provided project management services for e.l.f. Beauty.