When the time came for MAC Cosmetics to roll out its long-awaited Sephora launch campaign, the brand eschewed tried-and-true beauty influencers — or any of its A-list ambassadors — in favor of a shirtless reality-TV hunk.
Indeed on March 2, MAC uploaded an Instagram photo of 27-year-old Rob Rausch, fresh off his “The Traitors” Season Four win one week prior, posing in front of a mirror which read, “MAC is at Sephora” in Ruby Woo red lipstick.
It was a smart move: Within three days, MAC content featuring Rausch, who also previously appeared on “Love Island USA,” delivered nearly 8 million impressions across global social channels. That same mirror selfie also went live on a billboard in Times Square, which Rausch later posed in front of wearing his signature cowboy hat, though this one in MAC black with the logo to match.
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The buzzy partnership followed a number of others wherein beauty brands have enlisted male ambassadors — heartthrobs, you could say — to market to their core demographic of women consumers.
At the Golden Globes in January, Milk Makeup teased its then-unreleased Hydro Grip Gel Concealer on “Heated Rivalry” breakout star Connor Storrie. Before that, Ulta Beauty’s holiday strategy included multiple Instagram carousels depicting Gen-Z male celebrities like Tyriq Withers (of Jordan Peele’s “Him”) and Jeremiah Brown (another “Love Island” alum) walking and lounging around with Ulta shopping bags.
In June 2025, Rhode tapped British “It” boy and “Babygirl” star Harris Dickinson as the face of its $30 Glazing Mist, and earlier that year, L’Oréal Paris named Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz as the global ambassador for its Elvive hair care range.
“It makes a lot of sense that beauty brands are leaning into heartthrob ambassadors right now: it’s about flipping the script and tapping into the female gaze,” said brand strategist Jemma Wu. (To that point: “Heated Rivalry” drew a majority-female viewership even though the storyline was a romance between two men). “You get this mix of entertainment, fandom and social media virality all in one: people want to talk about it, share it and meme it.”
Many of these campaigns lean into levity. For instance Gorgie, the clean energy drink brand Alix Earle recently took a stake in, tapped actor KJ Apa (or more specifically, his musician alter-ego, Mr. Fantasy) to help launch a new Mr. Fantasy’s Sexy Fizzle Punch in March with a similarly suggestive campaign.
“There are so many internet-famous guys trending all the time, and with beauty content becoming more snackable and entertaining, this strategy just hits the sweet spot for driving engagement,” Wu said.
