Social Rocket
Ulta Beauty launches its holiday campaign "The Magic Starts with You" with Selena Gomez and Tate McRae on October 31 2026. What makes the casting interesting: both stars are not simply advertising a retailer, they bring their own products along. Celebrity reach becomes a campaign where content, assortment and purchase fit together directly.
Two stars – and two products you can get directly at Ulta
Gomez presents a set from her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty, McRae her fragrance TATE 01, launched in October. The commercials are set in a Christmas workshop with Mrs. Claus; alongside television and streaming, digital ads, social media and in-store activations are planned. The campaign was developed by Tamara Group and directed by Nema Vand. Details of the launch are described by Adweek.
The assortment makes the partnership especially relevant: Rare Beauty has only been sold at Ulta since February 2026, after the brand had previously been closely tied to Sephora in US retail. Ulta already showcased the launch in its own video community. McRae's first perfume was presented in early October and arrived in Ulta's US stores on October 25. The holiday advertising thus works at the same time as a showcase for two new, commercially important brand relationships.
Customers follow their favourites – the retailer delivers the shopping basket
Ulta ties the holiday story to its "Pink Bag Energy", known from Instagram. Fandom and a recognisable shopping bag create visuals that can be repeated across Reels, ads and stores. The message is not only "buy a gift" but also: treat yourself. That takes the purely functional tone out of gift shopping.
The official Holiday Gift Guide carries the motto further and places both Rare Beauty Selena's Lash & Brow Duo and TATE 01 among Mrs. Claus's recommendations. This connection between a creative guiding idea and a concrete product discovery is crucial: social content creates interest, and the retailer immediately shows the matching offer.
What German beauty brands can take away from this
The strongest form of creator marketing does not end at the post. It leads from a credible person, through a specific product story, to a clear place to buy. A related model is shown by Sephora's TikTok Shop strategy with creator livestreams; in Germany, Rossmann combines K-beauty, creators and TikTok Shop.
The principle can be transferred even without a pop star: choose creators with a genuine product connection, play the story out on social, and make the same products immediately findable on the landing page, in the shop and on the shelf. For the holiday season, Meta's holiday marketing recommendations2026 also provide the platform context. Ulta turns its prominent casting into the starting point of an end-to-end retail funnel – rather than treating it as an isolated advertising space.