Despite debates over "football" vs. "soccer," one thing is certain: the world is watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with an estimated 6 billion viewers worldwide. This year's tournament is the biggest in FIFA history, with 48 teams and 104 matches, giving almost everyone a team (or teams) to root for.
As women's viewership continues to climb, making up an estimated 40% of the last World Cup’s viewers, and male interest in beauty grows in tandem, with the men’s personal care market projected to exceed $115 billion by 2028, sporting events have become a prime stage for beauty and personal care brands looking to reach broad, diverse audiences. From Sephora's partnership with F1 Academy this season and its role as an official partner of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays, to P&G brands' athlete collaborations during the 2024 Olympic Games, beauty saturation is evident across sports, and this year's World Cup is no exception.
Whether celebrating girls' participation in soccer, tapping into match-day rituals, or encouraging fans to look, smell, and feel their best, beauty brands are showing up for the World Cup’s marketing frenzy. From celebrity partnerships and limited-edition product launches to retail takeovers, fan activations, and social media campaigns, here’s what caught our editorial team’s attention.
The conglomerate, which serves as the Official Personal Care Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, activated across its portfolio with a range of creator-led campaigns and fan experiences. The company debuted House of Fresh, an in-person creator hub in Mexico, New York, and Miami designed to generate social-first content and capture the excitement of the tournament. It also launched The Locker Room, a 24/7 social media hub where TikTok and YouTube users can access real-time content from football strategists, Unilever community experts, creators, and other contributors throughout the competition.
Dove: As part of the personal care and beauty brand's Self-Esteem Project, Dove continues to champion girls by supporting body confidence and encouraging participation in sports through its campaign. The brand premiered a 30-second commercial, The Game Is Ours, featuring girls playing a variety of sports, from soccer to karate and volleyball, with the authentic sounds of play serving as the soundtrack. Centered on the idea that joy is louder than criticism, the spot celebrates girls' confidence in sport. As one of the tournament's official sponsors, Dove also introduced activations including the Dove Joy Cam, created in partnership with Getty Images to capture candid moments of girls enjoying the matches. Soccer icon Mia Hamm and US Women's National Team player Alyssa Thompson, both members of the Dove Body Confident Collective, also supported the campaign.
Dove Men+Care: Celebrating the passion of soccer fans worldwide, the brand launched Care for Your Skin As You Care for the Game. Centered on American fans, the campaign spot featured the popular stadium anthem “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes to encourage supporters to adopt skincare routines that keep them fresh and comfortable throughout the tournament. From chanting in the stands to lathering on body paint, the video highlighted the lengths fans will go to in support of their teams while showcasing Dove Men+Care's limited-edition body washes and deodorants, including the All-Star Comfort scent and USA-inspired packaging. The brand also enlisted a roster of creators, including football icon Marshawn Lynch, model Jordyn Woods, influencer Matt King, and USWNT star Trinity Rodman, to share their personal match-day rituals and skincare routines. On the ground, Dove Men+Care presented activations across host cities, including Ritual House in Kansas City, where interactive experiences explored how being part of a fandom affects skin and body health while promoting the brand's grooming products.
Axe: The men's grooming brand, known for its fragrance sprays, deodorants, and body washes, rolled out seven country-specific films as part of its Smell Your Best When You Look Your Worst campaign, with each short following a superfan who supports a different nation. The first film, "Airplane," follows a Mexican fan who builds a golden World Cup trophy costume and wears it on his flight to the match. Other spots celebrate each country's unique soccer culture, featuring an Argentine supporter dressed as Maradona's Hand of God goal, a French fan in a Le Coq costume, and a German supporter sporting a hot dog costume. As the brand continues to build on its Power of Fragrance platform, the campaign reinforces how Axe products keep fans smelling fresh beneath even the most elaborate costumes. Alongside the films, Axe unveiled limited-edition gold cans across the US, UK, France, Germany, Argentina, and Mexico, giving fans multiple ways to enter for a chance to win World Cup tickets. The brand also partnered with Panini, maker of the iconic World Cup sticker albums, to create a scratch-and-sniff sticker featuring a limited-edition Axe fragrance.
Clear Men: As the tournament's official haircare sponsor, Clear Men launched its Make Your World Cup Legendary campaign, shifting the spotlight from players to fans by celebrating football rituals and superstitions. Rolling out in more than 40 markets, the campaign includes limited-edition product packaging featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinícius Júnior, and Kenan Yıldız, as well as the collectible Golden Bottle, which can only be unlocked through the promotional campaign for a chance to win World Cup tickets.
Paula’s Choice: The prestige skincare brand was named the Official Skincare Sponsor of both the 2026 and 2027 men’s and women’s World Cups, launching Proud Supporter of Your Skin, designed to showcase its range of products that perform under high-pressure environments like sports games. The campaign emphasizes skin resilience and grit rather than unattainable ideals of perfection through a short promotional film, The Beautiful Game, which features both fans and players amid intense action. Additionally, Paula’s Choice launched a limited-edition skincare bundle, The Starting Lineup Kit (£29), featuring travel-sized versions of the 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, Peptide Booster Moisturizer, and Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50. The brand also hosted flagship activations in Los Angeles during the tournament to reinforce its message with in-person fans.
Degree: The personal care brand specializing in odor protection products celebrates the preparation and perseverance of athletes competing in the World Cup with Here for Sweat, a campaign that puts sweat front and center rather than trying to hide it. Teaming up with Christian Pulisic, the captain of the USMNT, Degree showcased behind-the-scenes content and storytelling of how the soccer star trains to be ready for some of the biggest matches in the world through digital videos and media moments with the tagline “Dreams are just dreams until you sweat for them.” Fans can join by sharing their own “no sweat” moments for a chance to win a variety of experiences, including tournament tickets. Degree also featured Advanced Antiperspirant FIFA-exclusive packs for purchase. The brand, also known as Sure in the UK, unveiled three limited-edition designs across its Nonstop aerosol range featuring rotating World Cup–themed artwork in the UK. Timed to the start of the tournament, Sure (in the UK) introduced a new cooling range in both aerosol and roll-on formats. Former England and current Chelsea star Cole Palmer, part of the “Sure Quad” of brand ambassadors,teased the activation with a social media countdown during the 100 days leading up to the World Cup.
NYX Professional Makeup: The cosmetics brand has launched Pasión Proof, highlighting the varying emotions fans endure throughout a soccer match. At its center, the campaign features Katia Itzel García, a female Mexican referee recognized for helping expand Latina representation in global soccer conversations. The campaign features Latina talent, models, and extras to highlight their participation in sports culture. NYX Professional Makeup has also introduced activations across Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Dallas with watch parties, sampling, and OOH marketing to celebrate game-day fan energy.
Bevel: The grooming brand for Black men and consumers with coily hair and melanin-rich skin tied its Father's Day marketing to the FIFA World Cup by featuring Atlanta-based father-and-son creators Obi and Tobenna Uchendu in its Faces of Atlanta campaign, an ongoing digital portrait and lifestyle series. Highlighting the connection between soccer and family, the campaign celebrates Atlanta's Black community while reinforcing Bevel's messaging around confidence, culture, and elite performance on and off the field. The two were invited to an in-person match to celebrate their love of the sport.
Cymbiotika: The wellness brand, known for its dietary supplements, joined forces with Latin music star Peso Pluma and Target for 90 Minutes. And All Summer Long, a campaign that blends music, culture, and wellness. Running throughout the tournament, it followed Pluma during his US and Mexico tour as he used the Liposomal Vitamin C immune support supplement. Positioning wellness and recovery as part of match-day culture, the campaign also included digital content, QR-enabled sampling, in-store Target integrations, and giveaways.
Kings Domain Melbourne: To mark its recent US launch, Australian grooming brand Kings Domain Melbourne hosted The World Cut, a three-day series of New York City pop-up events offering free soccer-inspired haircuts. The events featured co-founders and celebrity hairstylists Joey Scandizzo and Aaron Chan, who recreated popular player-inspired styles, including Martin Ødegaard’s quiff, Julián Álvarez’s modern mullet, Enzo Fernández’s cropped fringe crew cut, Gio Reyna’s textured medium-length cut, and Phil Foden’s textured curls. The brand took over the Australian Old Mates Pub, the SoHo barbershop Cartel Hair Studio, and the Aussie BBQ NYC Music Festival, with guests including players from the New York Magpies, a US Australian Football League Member Club, along with familiar faces like Adam Sandler and Marcus Stoinis.
Not Your Mother’s: During the Miami-hosted match between Colombia and Portugal, the haircare brand will connect creators and consumers through a branded suite designed to generate real-time content throughout the event. Hosting a giveaway, two winners will receive a trip to the game and all the festivities. To enter, fans must create an original video featuring their personal hair story and how it reflects who they are, their culture, and their memories.
Dial: As part of Henkel's ongoing partnership with US Soccer, Dial participated in the Winning Starts at Home campaign, which featured US Soccer legend Alex Morgan. The brand introduced a collection of co-branded personal care products that launched in time for the World Cup, including body wash, antibacterial hand soap, and bar soap with US Soccer–themed packaging, as well as a limited-edition Dial x U.S. Soccer Victory Shower Kit featuring products from the collection alongside Dial shower essentials such as Antibacterial Defense Bar Soap, 3-in-1 Body, Hair & Face Wash, Body Wash, and Antibacterial Defense Liquid Hand Soap.
Dr. Squatch: The men’s grooming brand dropped a limited-edition bar soap, Golden Glory. The zero-grit brick features gold clay with a scent that blends top notes of bergamot, fresh cotton, and mandarin; a heart of coconut, leather, and galbanum; followed by a base of vanilla, white musk, and fresh woods, inspired by the “smell of victory.” Dr. Squatch also launched a FIFA World Cup 2026 sweepstakes, giving customers and fans the chance to win tickets to the final match, a four-night hotel stay, and a travel stipend, among other rewards.
Fazit: The facial glitter brand partnered with the United States Soccer Federation to introduce a limited-edition collection of temporary face apparel for fans. Inspired by traditional face paint worn by athletes and fans alike to demonstrate their team loyalty and competitive spirit, the line includes three SKUs: U.S. Soccer Speckles, glitter freckles that combine dots and stars in a red, white, and blue blend; U.S. Soccer Crest, an interpretation of the iconic team emblem; and U.S. Soccer Stripes, a modernized take on traditional eye black, instead featuring the federation’s official logo. Fazit also dropped its Team Soccer Collection, which features speckles in the team colors of various participating countries, including Argentina, Spain, England, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and Portugal. The patches all use a “pat, press, peel to reveal” technology and can each be purchased in a six-pack retailing for $17.99. The brand also partnered with Blushington, the luxury beauty lounge, to launch “Get Match Day Ready," a World Cup–themed in-lounge experience available in New York City, Boca Raton, and Houston locations. During the collaboration, Blushington exclusively offered Fazit's Team Soccer Collection patches for both retail purchase and professional application from Blushington Pro Artists as a $15 add-on to makeup, blowout, or styling services.
Patchology: The skincare brand known for its eye patches and face masks has launched limited-edition Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Team USA 4-Pack Eye Patches ($20), said to be soothing, hydrating, cooling, and depuffing. The hydrogel patch technology infuses caffeine, vitamin B8, and chamomile with a no-slip grip to keep patches in place. The product features an American flag design with soccer balls, stars, and the World Cup trophy, inspired by pre-game prep or post-match recovery.
