Black Friday Email Examples: What 15 Beauty Brands Sent (526 Emails Analysed)

Between October and December 2024 we collected 526 emails sent by 15 beauty brands, Italian and international: November is the busiest month (224 emails), but many brands start in October and close the quarter in December with gifts and shipping deadlines. In this article you will find how many emails each brand sent month by month, how the choices differ between make-up, skincare and premium brands, the highest discounts they announced, and dozens of subject lines grouped by lever, ready to copy in structure and rewrite in your own voice. You can download the full research from this page, with the brand-by-brand analysis.

What we analysed, and what this research cannot tell you

We signed up research-only accounts to the newsletters of 15 beauty brands and kept everything that arrived in the fourth quarter of 2024, from 1 October to 31 December. Every email was read and assessed on five aspects: communication (tone, message, call to action), design, structure, context (when it arrives and why) and an overall verdict.

The brands come from three main markets:

• Italy: ClioMakeUp, Nabla, Mulac, Luce Beauty, Goovi.
• USA and global: e.l.f., Kylie Cosmetics, Glossier, Fenty Beauty, Supergoop, Happy V, Tatcha (USA and Japan), Huda Beauty (UAE).
• United Kingdom: Charlotte Tilbury, Refy.

Two limits need saying up front.

1. The picture is representative, not complete. Communications reserved for loyal customers or specific segments may not have reached our accounts. ClioMakeUp, for example, almost certainly sent more emails in December than we tracked: it probably left our profile out because it did not engage with promotions.
2. We know what the brands sent, not how much they sold. We have no open rates, clicks, orders or revenue. When we write "the strongest offer of the quarter" we mean the highest commercial lever communicated, not the email that earned the most.

With those limits in mind, the research is useful for one specific thing: seeing up close how brands with different budgets and positioning build the calendar for the busiest quarter of the year.

How many emails do beauty brands send around Black Friday?

Over three months the 15 brands sent 526 emails: 162 in October, 224 in November and 140 in December. The distance between brands is far bigger than the average: Tatcha sent 74, Charlotte Tilbury 10.

Three things stand out.

• Tatcha sends more emails in October (31) than in November (29). Its Black Friday starts long before Black Friday, with gifts, a 20% sitewide promotion tied to its support for education and, on 4 November, a one-day preview at 25% off.
• Luce Beauty and Supergoop go from 4 emails in October to 20 and 19 in November. October prepares the event, November makes use of it.
• Glossier hits the highest monthly count in the sample with 31 emails in a single month, in November: from 17 to 30 November there is an email every day, with new products alternating with promotions.

One calendar detail helps in reading the table: in 2024 Black Friday fell on 29 November and Cyber Monday on 2 December, so some of the Black Friday closing emails are counted in December. In 2026 Black Friday is on Friday 27 November and Cyber Monday on Monday 30 November: the whole event week stays inside November, and December is free for gifts and shipping.

When do they start, and what do they do? The three moments of the quarter

The research splits the quarter into three phases. In each of them the brands fall into recognisable groups.

Before Black Friday: October and early November

• Early access and VIP lists to warm up the audience: Huda Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Refy.
• Teasers and countdowns, with heavy social pressure and preview emails: Glossier, Fenty Beauty, e.l.f.
• A softer story about rituals and self-care: Tatcha, Luce Beauty, Goovi.

Intermediate occasions also appear in this phase: Halloween at the end of October and Singles' Day on 11 November, used by ClioMakeUp, Fenty Beauty, Huda Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, Supergoop, Mulac and Goovi.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: late November

• Mass market (e.l.f., Kylie Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, Glossier): strong percentage discounts, a lot of social noise, emails close together.
• Premium (Tatcha, Charlotte Tilbury, Huda Beauty): selective offers, VIP access, exclusive gift sets, luxury communication.
• Italian community-led brands (ClioMakeUp, Nabla, Mulac, Goovi): offers designed for their own fanbase, direct and close tone.
• Wellness and intimate care (Supergoop, Happy V, Luce Beauty): educational content and bundles built around a routine.

Christmas: December

• Luxury gifting with gift sets and limited editions: Charlotte Tilbury, Tatcha, Huda Beauty.
• Aggressive promotions on gift kits and last-minute campaigns: e.l.f., Fenty Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics.
• Christmas packaging and limited releases: Glossier.
• Emotional messages tied to wellbeing and family time: Goovi, Luce Beauty, Happy V.
• Affordable gift sets for the Italian community: ClioMakeUp, Nabla, Mulac.

Many brands close the year with emails that carry no promotion: Christmas greetings, a year-end message, a New Year wish.

Pop make-up, skincare and premium: three ways to do Black Friday

To compare the brands, the research groups them into three families. The differences are not only about discounts, but about the whole quarter.

The family does not decide the volume. Among the premium brands there is the one that sends the fewest emails of all (Charlotte Tilbury, 10) and the one that sends the most (Tatcha, 74). What they share is the manner: even when they discount, they do it with curated offers, gifts and an urgency the research calls "elegant", without changing tone.

How much do they discount? The highest offers, brand by brand

The table shows the highest discount each brand communicated in the quarter and the email the research identifies as its strongest offer. The percentages are the ones written in the emails: "up to" means the maximum discount applied to part of the catalogue.

Two observations. The highest percentages in the sample (Nabla, Mulac, Luce Beauty) belong to Italian brands. And for two brands the most important email of the quarter is not a discount: Goovi bets on a contest with a trip to Thailand as the prize, Happy V on a box at a special price.

Black Friday email subject lines, grouped by lever

Below are real subject lines, reported as in the research: in the language they were sent in and without emoji. Copy the structure, not the words: a subject line only works if it sounds like your brand. Where the original is in Italian, the meaning is given in brackets.

Early access

• "Black Friday Privé ACCEDI ORA" (ClioMakeUp, 22 Nov, password access; in Italian, "access now")
• "Your EXCLUSIVE Black Friday Early Access" (Refy, 18 Nov)
• "Your Black Friday Early Access is HERE" (Supergoop, 18 Nov)
• "Your EXCLUSIVE access to our Black Friday Sale" (Huda Beauty, 21 Nov)
• "1-Day Preview: -25% Off Sitewide" (Tatcha, 04 Nov)

Urgency

• "ULTIME 2 ORE Flash Sale Black Friday" (ClioMakeUp, 29 Nov; in Italian, "last 2 hours")
• "TERMINA QUESTA SERA! FINO AL -30% DI SCONTO!" (Charlotte Tilbury, 03 Dec; in Italian, "ends tonight, up to 30% off")
• "Green Friday: -50% fino a mezzanotte!" (Luce Beauty, 20 Nov; in Italian, "until midnight")
• "Hurry! Only 24 Hours Left to Shop our BIGGEST Sale" (Huda Beauty, 27 Nov)
• "Cyber Monday: ULTIME 24 ORE" (ClioMakeUp, 01 Dec; in Italian, "last 24 hours")

Teasers, including playful ones

• "NON comprare al mio Black Friday se…" (ClioMakeUp, 31 Oct; in Italian, "do NOT shop my Black Friday if…")
• "Sai tenere un segreto?" (ClioMakeUp, 14 Nov; in Italian, "can you keep a secret?")
• "WARNING: MAGIC INSIDE" (Nabla, 11 Nov)
• "Spoiler, scopri le prossime offerte!" (Goovi, 11 Nov; in Italian, "spoiler, discover the next offers")
• "It’s almost time… Black Friday starts soon!" (Glossier, 18 Nov)

Free gifts

• "Pick your FREE makeup or skincare gift!" (e.l.f., 11 Dec)
• "All six freebies disappear tonight" (Fenty Beauty, 02 Dec)
• "Free Tote & Lipstick Inside" (Nabla, 15 Nov)
• "Free gift with $150 purchase" (Tatcha, 23 Nov)
• "L’ICONICA CALZA MISTERIOSA DI CHARLOTTE E LA MYSTERY BOX SONO TORNATE!" (Charlotte Tilbury, 02 Dec; in Italian, "Charlotte's iconic mystery stocking and the mystery box are back")

December logistics

• "Last chance for guaranteed holiday delivery" (Glossier, 12 Dec)
• "Ultime ore per ricevere in tempo i tuoi regali" (Luce Beauty, 17 Dec; in Italian, "last hours to get your gifts in time")
• "Last shipping call for Christmas" (Tatcha, 18 Dec)
• "Last chance for Christmas delivery" (Fenty Beauty, 18 Dec)
• "Spedizione garantita per Natale" (Goovi and Mulac, 20 Dec; in Italian, "shipping guaranteed for Christmas")

Note the order: in November urgency is about the end of the discount, in December about the last useful shipping date. The message changes even when the lever is the same.

Italian and international brands: what changes

The five Italian brands in the research send fewer emails than the big American ones: Nabla sent 11 in the quarter, Mulac and ClioMakeUp 21, Luce Beauty 40, Goovi 45. The three most active brands in the sample are Tatcha (74), Glossier (65) and Fenty Beauty (48).

The most visible differences:

• Tone. The Italian brands talk to their own community, often through the founder or the person who gives the brand its name: Clio, Michelle for Goovi, Alessia for Luce Beauty. The American brands focus on launches, social, creator content and a high sending rhythm.
• Discounts. The Italian brands account for the highest percentages (up to -60% from Nabla, up to -50% from Mulac and Luce Beauty), inside promotions the research describes as targeted, less sweeping than those of the global brands. The US and global brands mostly stay between -20% and -30% sitewide, with peaks at -40% (Kylie Cosmetics, Huda Beauty), and add plenty of free gifts.
• Event name. Luce Beauty turns Black Friday into its own "Green Friday", Nabla into "Black Week", ClioMakeUp into "Black Friday Privé". Among the international brands Huda Beauty does the same with "Cyber Craze".
• Calendar. Happy V hooks into American occasions such as Thanksgiving and Small Business Saturday; Halloween, Singles' Day and the Advent calendar are common to Italian and international brands alike.

For Italy the research flags a risk (less international push) and an opportunity: the high trust of the brand's own audience. For an e-commerce business this means a small but loyal list can carry a strong offer, as long as it arrives in the right tone.

What to bring into your Black Friday 2026

These ideas come only from what the 15 brands sent. Adapt them to your store, your list and your margin.

1. Open earlier, but only for people who signed up. ClioMakeUp, Huda Beauty, Refy, Supergoop and Tatcha gave private access before the public launch. In 2026 early access can start on Monday 23 November, four days before Black Friday.
2. Write a sequence, not a single email. Teaser, opening, final hours and a possible extension: ClioMakeUp, Glossier and Supergoop paced Black Friday day by day, with a different subject line for each step.
3. If you are premium, work on gifts and gift sets before discounts. Tatcha with full-size gifts, Charlotte Tilbury with mystery boxes and gift sets, Huda Beauty with limited sets and loyalty points.
4. Give your promotion a name. Green Friday, Black Week, Cyber Craze: a name of its own makes the event recognisable among dozens of identical emails.
5. Use the in-between occasions to warm up the list. Halloween, Singles' Day (Wednesday 11 November 2026) and the Advent calendar appear in many sequences, before and after Black Friday.
6. In December, talk about shipping. Free shipping, guaranteed Christmas dates and a last call on gifts: e.l.f., Fenty Beauty, Glossier, Goovi, Mulac, Supergoop and Tatcha all do it.
7. After the peak, write without selling. Greetings, year-end, new year: Charlotte Tilbury, e.l.f., Fenty Beauty, Glossier, Happy V and Tatcha close this way.
8. Keep your own tone, even in urgency. Charlotte Tilbury, Huda Beauty and Tatcha close offers with elegance, ClioMakeUp stays playful, Glossier presses. Urgency should not change the brand's voice.

To put it all in the calendar, from the waiting list to the sequence of 23-30 November, follow the four-week plan for Black Friday emails.