This Is How E.l.f Became One Of The Most In-Demand — & Affordable — Beauty Brands

E.l.f. Cosmetics is the needle in the beauty haystack: a brand that barely advertises and has never done celebrity endorsements, yet has an enormous and devoted fanbase; that makes high quality products packed with pigment and secret features, yet charges only a couple of bucks for 'em.

In the 13 years that the brand has been around, it's grown from a tiny e-commerce site to a major player in Target, CVS, and 19 brick-and-mortar stores. How? We tapped Achelle Richards, E.l.f.'s Global Artistic Director, and Mara McCune, the brand's V.P. of Brand & Marketing, to spill the secrets behind the evolution.

"E.l.f. was founded by father-son duo Joey and Alan Shamah," says Richards. "Joey's wife came home one day with five new makeup products and the bill was something like $200. Joey thought that was ridiculous and wanted to find another solution." So Shamah set out to fill a gap in the market — a lack of affordable and pro-quality products — and we're all better for it.

Ahead, we're highlighting the company's biggest milestones. (Oh, and PS: The name stands for "eyes, lips, face.")