Inspired by the success of 99-cent stores, Eyes Lips Face Cosmetics (e.l.f.) set out to create beauty products that were stylish yet affordable. In no time at all, the company had settled on a strategic price point for its products (a buck-a-piece), garnered celebrity endorsements from Hilary Duff and desperate housewife Eva Longoria, and gained distribution through Target stores. Today, the New York-based cosmetics maker is on its way to becoming the low-price leader in beauty.

Keeping a finger on the pulse of latest trends is the next hurdle for e.l.f. Aware of the market's push for customization, e.l.f. recently launched "Elements," a customized compact line containing four different shades of color for eyes, cheeks, and lips. Joey Shamah, the company's CEO, expressed a simple goal for the product line: "We want it to be fun for women to buy makeup, even if they are on a budget."

So far, the American beauty industry, with its $30 million annual jackpot, appears to be warming up to the idea of a low-price cosmetics maker with prestige-brand quality. E.l.f. generates $5 million in sales annually, and the Elements line is expected to reap an additional $2 million by mid-2007. The success of e.l.f's beauty-for-a-buck proposition is remarkable, especially in light of the glitterati's unwavering devotion to prestige brands.

Yet Shamah's vision goes beyond makeup. The e.l.f. chief is particularly excited about inexpensive organic and natural skin-care products: "We hope to launch something comparable at our price point…skin care is a long-term goal for us." Shamah adds, "We are gearing toward a lifestyle brand, and not just color." With such talk, e.l.f seems determined to prove that its brand, while cheap, is never chintzy.