💄 “Makeup King” — Elf Beauty CEO Tarang Amin’s Interview with TBOY
The Best One Yet
Nick & Jack Studios
4.6 • 9.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The CEO of e.l.f. Beauty says charging $38 for lip oil is "immoral."
In this fun exclusive interview, e.l.f.’s CEO Tarang Amin explains why he thinks big profit margins are unethical and how his biz creates "dupes" better than the lux originals… for a fraction of the price.
So we glammed up with Tarang to break down the economics of the $3 lipstick, how e.l.f. legally copies rivals like Dior, and why he shares the company's "nuclear codes" with every employee.
Of course we got all the details on his acquisition of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Skin for $1B, the fastest-growing beauty brand in America (spoiler: It all went down over a dinner in LA).
And there’s even an investment angle: Wall Street fell in love with $ELF stock as it rose 800% in just a few years. While tariff fears recently cooled the price, Tarang explains what investors are missing in the mirror… And why that epic Hailey Bieber’s Rhode deal was a true makeover.
(Plus, Tarang helped Jack add another cream to his 42-step skincare routine)
Some of the Takeaways & Insights:
- "It's Immoral": Tarang’s controversial take on why charging $40 for lip oil is a scam.
- The $38 vs. $8 Math: How e.l.f. beats luxury brands at their own game
- The Crash vs. The Opp: Why the stock is down 60% and why Tar
- The $1B Rhode Deal: The inside story of buying Hailey Bieber’s company.
- S&: Why "Scrolling & Development" (reading TikTok comments) beats traditional innovation.
- Where there’s Mystery, there’s Margin: Why cosmetics are so expensive in the first place.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro: E.L.F. Beauty Explained
4:38 - Why E.L.F. Stock Is Up 800%
5:31 - How to Keep Prices at $3 (Inflation Hack)
13:38 - The $1 Billion Bet on Hailey Bieber & Rhode
29:24 - The "Dupe" Strategy Explained
29:55 - The Dior Lip Oil Story ($38 vs $8)
33:28 - CEO: "It's Immoral To Charge You $38"
37:16 - "Scrolling & Development": Using TikTok to Invent Products
40:30 - The "Nuclear Codes": Sharing Secrets with Employees
53:43 - The Takeaway on E.L.F.
Buy tickets to The IPO Tour (our In-Person Offering) TODAY
Austin, TX (2/25): https://tickets.austintheatre.org/13274/13275 (SOLD OUT!)
Arlington, VA (3/11): https://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/shows/341317
New York, NY (4/8): https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0000637AE43ED0C2
Los Angeles, CA (6/3): https://www.squadup.com/events/the-best-one-yet-live (SOLD OUT!)
Get your TBOY Yeti Doll gift here: https://tboypod.com/shop/product/economic-support-yeti-doll
NEWSLETTER: https://tboypod.com/newsletter
OUR 2ND SHOW: Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/
NEW LISTENERS: Fill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6
GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts
SOCIALS:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod
Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/
Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/
Anything else: https://tboypod.com/
About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Yetis, get ready to get doing. |
| 0:03.0 | Because today's interview is a glow-up masterclass for your life, your career, maybe even your lashes. |
| 0:10.0 | Because we're hanging out with Terang Amin, the iconic 12-year CEO of Elf Beauty. |
| 0:15.0 | Elf stands for eyes, lips, and face, and it's sold enough blush to make you blush. |
| 0:20.0 | Elf, it's Gen Z's favorite beauty brand. It's Gen Alpha's top-selling beauty brand. |
| 0:25.2 | Gen Beta isn't even born yet, but they're probably prepping their elf mascara. |
| 0:29.7 | Because Elf Beauty basically invented the dupe, 80% of the value for 20% of the price. |
| 0:34.9 | Because, as Tereng will tell you,uping is actually the moral thing to do. |
| 0:39.8 | Oh, by the way, Elf also bought Haley Bieber's Road Beauty for one billion bucks last year. |
| 0:45.2 | Because Terang can spot what's hot faster than a Kardashian can. No company has democratized |
| 0:50.5 | an industry like Elf has for your face. Because Terang here has figured out how to sell a $3 lipstick profitably, even during peak inflation. |
| 0:59.4 | Jack, I'm going to sprinkle on some context. |
| 1:01.1 | For two and a half years, Elf grew at least 30% every quarter for 10 straight quarters. |
| 1:06.5 | Even Costco got jealous. |
| 1:07.9 | True. |
| 1:08.3 | But according to Terang, Elf Beauty isn't in the beauty industry. No, no, no, no. Elf is actually in the entertainment industry. Besties, please welcome the maestro of makeup, the Baron of Bronzer. The Lord of the Lip Liner, Terang Amin, is the CEO of Elf Beauty. And today's interview with Terang is the best one yet. Hey, |
| 1:28.5 | Sephora, you're going to want to put down the mirror for this one. Durang, welcome to the show, |
| 1:33.2 | man. Thank you so much for coming on Teaboy. Well, thank you for the most gracious introduction |
| 1:38.5 | I think I've ever had, or at least the most hyped up one. I'm digging it. You're glowing, Jack's glowing. We're feeling it. We were so excited to be here with you. So, Tarrang, we did a bunch of research on you. And we saw that you have a career that really has spanned the consumer package goods world. At one point, you sold kitty litter, laundry detergent, pantine ProV. I have a quick question about Panteen ProV. |
| 2:01.4 | Oh, this has been pent up. |
| 2:02.6 | Jack has been waiting to ask you as an executive this for, I'm going to say years. |
| 2:06.4 | After you're done cleansing your hair and rinsing it off, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Nick & Jack Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Nick & Jack Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.