Eric Lyon
Scorpion Agency LLCTop Member
- Impact
- 33,342
Today, I'll be analyzing the .makeup gTLD to see if I can dig up any helpful data points that could be stacked with someone elses research into the .makeup extension.
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Note: At the time of this analysis there was a 1-charactert minimum to register a .makeup domain. There were also several 1-character .makeup domains available to register, but with a high-4-figure premium registration cost.
With the above in mind, lets dive right in...
.makeup domain registration costs
According to Tldes.com the .makeup domain registration cost ranges from $1.20 to $2.07+..makeup domains registered today
According to DNS.Coffee there are 111,578 .makeup domains registered today.Public .makeup domain sales reports
It's hard to find .makeup domain sales reports online, indicating most might be privately sold.Note: NameBio.com shows 1 .makeup domain sales report for $151.
The notable sale was:
- eth.makeup for $151
5-year .makeup domain growth summary
The .makeup gTLD has experienced explosive growth over the last 5 years, exploding from just 1,099 registrations during its initial relaunch phase in 2021 to 111,578 active domains in August 2026. According to historical data tracked on DNS.Coffee, the extension has achieved an astronomical total 5-year growth rate of 10,052.68%, fueled primarily by aggressive retail promotions and registrar adoption cycles.
Year-Over-Year (YoY) Growth Timeline
The trajectory of the extension can be broken down into three distinct phases: initial corporate transition, steady retail adoption, and the massive 2025β2026 breakout.
| Timeline Milestone | Active Registrations | Net Domain Increase | YoY Growth (%) | Phase & Market Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2021 | 1,099 | β | β | Registry Transition: XYZ Registry acquired and relaunched the TLD from L'OrΓ©al, kickstarting early enrollment. |
| August 2022 | 3,221 | +2,122 | +193.08% | Early Access: Steady onboarding of early adopter brands and beauty influencers. |
| August 2023 | 14,163 | +10,942 | +339.71% | Retail Rollout: Major registrars began listing the extension with introductory discount pricing. |
| August 2024 | 28,727 | +14,564 | +102.83% | Sustained Scale: Healthy organic expansion as a go-to niche extension for lifestyle creators. |
| August 2025 | 36,090 | +7,363 | +25.63% | Growth Plateau: A temporary stabilization period as early promo cycles matured into standard renewals. |
| August 2026 | 111,578 | +75,488 | +209.17% | Mass Market Breakout: An exponential surge driven by deep first-year registry discounts across global budget platforms. |
Key Growth Drivers & Observations
- The 2026 Surge: The largest absolute expansion occurred between 2025 and 2026, when the registry added 75,488 net new domains. This massive jump represents nearly 68% of all existing .makeup registrations, which aligns with extreme promotional sales pushing first-year registration costs down to the $1.00β$2.00 range.
- Secondary Market Disconnect: Despite adding over 110,000 domains to the ledger since 2021, this explosive growth has not trickled into secondary trading. As recorded on NameBio.com, the secondary market remains practically silent with just 1 public sale (eth.makeup for $151), confirming that users are registering these names to build active sites or hold brand assets rather than flip them for profit.
8 niches for .makeup domains
1. Freelance Makeup Artists (MUAs) & Bridal Services- Why it works: The most organic fit for the extension. Independent MUAs use it as a digital business card to showcase portfolios for weddings, prom seasons, and special events.
- Usage: Swapping out long, clunky .com URLs or generic social links for clean, memorable branding like [YourName].makeup.
- Why it works: Bloggers, YouTubers, and TikTok creators leverage the TLD to centralize their digital footprints.
- Usage: Serving as a "Link in Bio" landing page where creators host product affiliate links, tutorial archives, and media kits for brand collaborations.
- Why it works: Private beauty schools, certification programs, and online tutorial academies use it to separate their educational tracks from standard corporate sites.
- Usage: Hosting enrollment landing pages, virtual masterclasses, and specialized training programs (e.g., contouring.makeup or bridalclass.makeup).
- Why it works: Micro-brands, vegan cosmetics lines, and local product creators use it to bypass crowded .com spaces and establish immediate product authority.
- Usage: Launching targeted micro-sites, seasonal product line extensions, or direct e-commerce storefronts for specific formulations.
- Why it works: Backed by the historical sale of eth.makeup for $151, there is a clear sub-niche of digital identity platforms bridging the gap between blockchain names and standard DNS infrastructure.
- Usage: Creating traditional website entry points for decentralized beauty communities, NFT-based cosmetic projects, or individual digital identity profiles.
- Why it works: High-end entertainment MUAs working in film, television, theater, and cosplaying require highly visual, distinct portfolios that separate them from standard retail or bridal beauty.
- Usage: Hosting heavily visual galleries of prosthetic work, monster designs, and cinematic character transformations.
- Why it works: Hair and nail salons that want to aggressively expand and market their dedicated cosmetics and facial departments use the extension for tactical local SEO.
- Usage: Creating specific booking pipelines or localized sub-pages (e.g., houston.makeup or dallas.makeup) to capture regional search intent.
- Why it works: Niche marketers build content-heavy authority sites to review popular cosmetic products, publish shade-matching guides, and generate passive income through retail affiliate programs.
- Usage: Creating exact-match keyword domains focused on product categories (e.g., clean.makeup or waterproof.makeup) to capture organic search traffic.
What a playful .makeup domain hack might look like
A "domain hack" occurs when a word before the dot combines seamlessly with the extension after the dot to spell out a complete word, phrase, or actionable sentence. Because .makeup is a longer, highly descriptive word, it doesn't function like traditional short-extension hacks (such as deliciou.s or amzn.to). Instead, a .makeup domain hack relies on using the word "makeup" as the root verb, noun, or object of a complete phrase.Phrasal Verbs (The "Action" Hack)
In English, "makeup" is frequently paired with helper words to create active phrases. By putting the action word before the dot, the domain reads like a continuous command or statement:
- kissand.makeup (Kiss and makeup)
- never.makeup (Never make up)
- lets.makeup (Let's make up)
- timeTo.makeup (Time to make up)
You can use the word before the dot to form a complete conceptual sentence or identity statement, making the entire URL read like a punchline or title:
- ididyour.makeup (I did your makeup)
- cantwith.makeup (Can't without makeup)
- bornwith.makeup (Born with makeup)
- obsessedwith.makeup (Obsessed with makeup)
If an e-commerce brand or review site specializes in a highly specific type of cosmetic product, the word before the dot categorizes the exact inventory, turning the domain into a single fluid description:
- allnatural.makeup (All-natural makeup)
- permanent.makeup (Permanent makeup)
- thebest.makeup (The best makeup)
- glowing.makeup (Glowing makeup)
Because you own all subdomains once you purchase a root domain, you can create a multi-layered hack that reads like a perfect sentence across the entire URL bar:
- please.kissand.makeup
10 lead sources for .makeup domain outbound campaigns
1. Instagram (Via Niche Hashtag Scraping)- The Target: Independent Makeup Artists (MUAs), bridal stylists, and beauty micro-influencers.
- Why it works: Instagram is the primary digital portfolio for visual beauty artists. Many rely entirely on a long Instagram handle or a generic "Linktree" link in their bio.
- How to source: Scraping email addresses or direct messaging leads using targeted tags like #HoustonMUA, #BridalMakeupArtist, or #FreelanceMUA.
- The Target: Rising beauty creators, product reviewers, and cosmetic tutorial accounts.
- Why it works: TikTok creators are hyper-focused on digital branding. A significant percentage of creators with 10kβ100k followers are using unbranded links or third-party landing pages that could be replaced by a clean [Username].makeup link.
- How to source: Search for trending sound bites or challenges in the beauty space and filter creators who have a business email listed in their profile.
- The Target: Founders, Brand Managers, and Marketing Directors at Indie Cosmetics brands.
- Why it works: B2B outbound targeting allows you to pitch directly to the decision-makers who manage corporate domain portfolios or seasonal product launch micro-sites.
- How to source: Filter by companies in the "Cosmetics" or "Consumer Goods" industries with 1β50 employees, searching for titles like "Founder," "Brand Manager," or "Head of Marketing."
- The Target: Brick-and-mortar permanent makeup clinics, local beauty salons, and day spas.
- Why it works: Local service businesses often have outdated websites with long, unmemorable domain names (e.g., ://cityname-beauty-and-makeup-salon.com). Pitching them a localized domain shortcut (e.g., [City].makeup) offers immense local marketing value.
- How to source: Search "[City] Permanent Makeup" or "[City] Bridal Salon" across major metropolitan areas and pull contact info from businesses sitting on pages 2 through 5 of search results.
- The Target: Artisanal, vegan, or handmade cosmetics creators.
- Why it works: Thousands of indie makeup sellers launch on platforms like Etsy but eventually want to transition to their own independent storefront to avoid platform transaction fees.
- How to source: Browse the "Bath & Beauty > Makeup" categories on Etsy. Identify successful shops that lack a standalone, branded domain name.
- The Target: Professional freelance makeup artists bidding on commercial film, TV, and theater gigs.
- Why it works: These professionals strictly need a high-end portfolio to secure contract work. Offering them a professional domain hack elevates their credibility over freelancers using free portfolio hosting sites.
- How to source: Search directory talent listings under "Special Effects Makeup" or "Cosmetics Consulting."
- The Target: Domain investors or beauty businesses that just lost out on a premium .com domain.
- Why it works: When a high-value beauty .com expires or goes to a high-priced auction, the losing bidders or original owners are highly receptive to affordable, exact-match alternatives.
- How to source: Monitor closeout lists on GoDaddy Auctions or NameJet for domains containing the word "makeup."
- The Target: Local micro-businesses, wedding venues with in-house stylists, and mobile cosmetic services.
- Why it works: Businesses listed here are actively paying for visibility or aggressively looking for local clients, meaning they have a marketing budget.
- How to source: Use automated scrapers to pull websites and contact forms from the "Cosmetics & Beauty Supply" categories.
- The Target: Owners of beauty review blogs and product comparison websites.
- Why it works: These marketers rely heavily on organic search traffic (SEO). Offering them a keyword-rich .makeup domain can help them build highly targeted niche sites for specific review categories.
- How to source: Look through public affiliate directories or search for blogs publishing cosmetic product reviews and rank check their current domain strength.
- The Target: Micro-entrepreneurs, direct sales representatives (e.g., Avon, Mary Kay, Sephora squad members), and beauty hobbyists.
- Why it works: These groups are packed with individuals looking for ways to stand out from thousands of other representatives selling the exact same products. A custom domain gives them an immediate professional edge.
- How to source: Join active geographic or niche-specific beauty networking groups and identify highly active members promoting their services.
Legal considerations when selling a domain to an existing business
Approaching a business that holds an existing trademark to sell them a domain name is a high-risk strategy. In the domain industry, this is a legal minefield that frequently triggers accusations of cybersquating. If a brand believes you registered a domain specifically to profit from their established trademark, they do not have to buy it from you. Instead, they can use legal frameworks to seize the domain from you for free and potentially sue you for damages.Cybersquating and the ACPA (U.S. Law)
In the United States, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) makes it illegal to register, traffic in, or use a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a distinctive trademark, if done with a "bad faith intent to profit."
- The Danger: Unsolicited outbound emails offering to sell a domain name to the trademark holder are frequently used in court as the primary, smoking-gun evidence of "bad faith intent to profit."
- The Penalty: Under the ACPA, a court can order you to forfeit or transfer the domain name to the trademark owner and hit you with statutory damages ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 per domain name.
The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) is an international framework established by ICANN. All domain registrars require you to agree to this policy when you buy a domain. If a trademark holder files a UDRP case against you (often through WIPO), a panel will review three things:
- Is your domain name identical or confusingly similar to their trademark?
- Do you have any legitimate rights or interests in the domain name? (e.g., Are you actually using it for a real makeup business?)
- Was the domain registered and used in bad faith?
- The Outcome: If the panel finds bad faith (which, again, an unsolicited sales email directly targeting them heavily implies), they will forcibly transfer the domain to the trademark holder. While there are no monetary damages in a UDRP, you lose your asset and your registration fees.
On the flip side, if you legitimately registered a generic word or phrase (e.g., natural.makeup), and a massive corporate brand tries to bully you into giving it to them just because they own a trademark for "Natural Makeup," they can be cited for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking. This is an abuse of the administrative process where a trademark holder attempts to seize a domain from a legitimate owner who registered a generic term fairly.
How to Potentially Protect Yourself in Outbound Campaigns
If you choose to market domains that overlap with business names, you must strictly follow these rules to avoid legal action:
- Focus on Generic Value, Not the Brand: Your sales pitch must emphasize the generic, descriptive, or categorical market value of the domain name (e.g., "This is a great generic category domain for the beauty space"), rather than targeting their specific brand identity.
- Avoid Famous Marks Completely: Never, under any circumstances, register or attempt to pitch domains containing famous, household trademarks (e.g., sephora.makeup or maccosmetics.makeup). You will lose these domains immediately, and you risk severe corporate lawsuits.
- Target Non-Competing Verticals: If you own a domain that shares a name with a company, it is safer if that company operates in a completely unrelated industry (e.g., pitching a domain to a construction company when the domain is clearly intended for cosmetics). However, because .makeup is so industry-specific, any overlap with a beauty trademark is automatically high-risk.
- Set a Fixed Public Price: Instead of sending direct, high-pressure outbound emails to trademark holders, list the domain on a public aftermarket platform (like Sedo or Afternic) with a clear "Buy It Now" price. Let buyers find you organically to avoid generating paper trails of targeted "bad faith" solicitation.
Potential .makeup domain investing strategy
Based on the data, market metrics, and legal constraints we have mapped out for the .makeup gTLD, here is a comprehensive analysis and strategic investment blueprint.The Data-Driven Reality Check
Before deploying capital, an investor must look at how the data points intersect:
- High Volume / Low Speculation: According to DNS.Coffee, there are 111,578 active domains, proving massive retail adoption. However, NameBio.com reports only 1 single public aftermarket sale (eth.makeup for $151).
- Aggressive Promo Churn: The massive registration leap between 2025 (36,090) and 2026 (111,578) indicates the registry is using deep first-year discounts ($1.04 on Platforms like Spaceship) to drive volume.
- The Legal Wall: Because .makeup is an industry-specific extension, outbound marketing targeting existing beauty brands heavily risks triggering ACPA/UDRP lawsuits or forced asset forfeitures for "bad-faith intent to profit."
Traditional "domain flipping" (buying a name and waiting for an end-user to buy it at a massive premium) does not work for the .makeup gTLD. The secondary market liquidity isn't there. Instead, the highest-viability strategy is a "Build-to-Rent" or "Lease-to-Own" Hyper-Local SEO Model. Here is how to execute it step-by-step:
Target Exact-Match Local Verticals (Geographic Hacks)
Do not buy generic keywords like mascara.makeup (the registry likely holds these as high-priced premiums). Instead, buy Geographic + Keyword combinations for major metropolitan areas where local businesses actively spend money on marketing.
- Examples: houstonbridal.makeup, miamifreelance.makeup, chicagosfx.makeup, la-permanent.makeup.
- Cost: Secure these during registry promo cycles for $1.04 to $2.00 each.
Instead of parking the domain on an empty landing page, build a simple, single-page Webflow or WordPress site template.
- Optimize the page for local SEO (e.g., "Best Bridal Makeup Artists in Miami").
- Add a simple contact form or a booking plugin placeholder.
When you approach local salons or independent MUAs on Instagram or Google Maps, do not offer to sell them the domain for thousands of dollars. This eliminates the "bad faith" UDRP trap. Instead, pitch a monthly leasing digital marketing model:
- The Pitch: "We built a localized lead-generation portal at MiamiBridal.makeup. We are looking for one exclusive local stylist to forward all of our inbound traffic and bridal client inquiries to for $29/month."
- The Math: If you secure a domain for $1.04 and renew it at Porkbun's standard rate of $12.40, your annual cost is roughly $13.50. Securing just one local stylist to lease the domain or forward the traffic for $25/month yields $300/year in passive revenue, a massive return on capital.
Leaning into the single recorded NameBio sale (eth.makeup), keep a small, speculative allocation (5% of your budget) for Web3/crypto cosmetic identity terms. Target names that bridge decentralized communities with traditional beauty terminology (e.g., daos.makeup, nft.makeup, metaverse.makeup). List these exclusively on OpenSea or standard domain marketplaces with fixed "Buy It Now" prices to capture organic tech-buyer interest.
Critical Guardrails to Protect Your Capital
- Watch the Renewal Cliff: Do not register hundreds of domains at the $1.04 introductory rate unless you have a clear plan to monetize or drop them before the $12.40+ standard renewal fee kicks in next year. Unused portfolio renewals will quickly wipe out your profits.
- Steer Clear of Trademarks: Completely avoid any domain containing an existing cosmeti
