Conservative beauty influencer Amanda Ensing has launched a new makeup brand, Elevate Beauty.
With the tagline “Beauty for the Outspoken”, this launch is considered Amanda’s response to her large-scale cancellation and exile from the beauty community in the past few years.
Among coming forward as a Trump supporter in 2020, supporting the Capitol Riots in 2021, and being exposed for liking homophobic and racist comments on social media, Amanda quickly got the boot from fans and fellow beauty influencers alike.
Homophobic/racist comments on her socials, is spreading DANGEROUS debunked Qanon conspiracy theories.
— Shae 🪩 (@ThatGirlShaeXo) January 30, 2021
When you CHOOSE to use your platform to spread Qanon propaganda, you choose your fate. You sealed your own destiny so don’t be shocked when brands no longer support you. pic.twitter.com/vSAWkiTyxc
Her controversial views also cost her a partnership with Sephora in 2021, after users on Reddit urged customers to use the hashtag #BoycottSephora “until they terminate their contractual relationship with open Trump supporter & racist Amanda Ensing”.
Sephora swiftly took note, confirming that Amanda’s views were “not aligned with Sephora’s values” and “made the decision to cease all programming with Amanda” vowing not to work with her again.
Amanda later filed a lawsuit against Sephora in May 2021 for defamation, saying this was “for every conservative who’s been discriminated against and defamed for their views”.
Since being effectively shunned from the mainstream beauty industry, Amanda has rebranded as an advocate for conservative values, speaking against cancel culture on conservative news outlets like Newsmax, and openly sharing her views on social media. Notably, comments on her Instagram posts have now been limited.
As early as February 2021, Amanda hinted that she would create her own makeup brand to “change the industry”. Elevate claims to be cruelty-free, vegan, clean, and made in the United States, however, their philosophy of rejecting PC culture seems to be their main point of difference.
So far, the launch of Elevate has made minimal splash, with the website inviting users to enter their email addresses to be notified when products are released. There are no product names or images on the website as of yet.