In case you haven’t already heard, Shane Dawson, a YouTube star most famous for his conspiracy videos, has teamed up with his makeup mogal YouTube bestie, Jeffree Star, to create a one-of-a-kind and completely unexpected makeup collection.
Jeffree has had his own line of cosmetics, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, for some time now and the brand has been a raging success. He’s dropped over 5 of his own collections and has collabed with Morphe on various occasions. Jeffree’s brand is built around delivering high quality, eccentric makeup that tells a story, making his and Shane’s partnership a masterpiece of creativity and whimsy. Jeffree and Shane’s bold makeup move will forever change the business of cosmetics, not only because of how incredibly iconic it is, but also because they’ve completely paved a new path for marketing strategy and set the bar for what consumers should expect from their favorite makeup brands.
The Drop
The Conspiracy Collection dropped on November 1 at midnight, literally “breaking the internet” as consumers flooded the website, itching to get their hands on the collection. After the website was brought back up, the entire collection was completely sold out in under 24 hours.
The dynamic duo came out with a full size palette housing 18 different shades, a mini palette containing 9 other unique shades, 6 brand new liquid lipsticks, a clear lip gloss, lip balm, and a plethora of fun accessories such as monogrammed makeup cases. Hand-held mirrors are marked with Shane’s iconic pig logo, and there’s even a pillow with Jeffree’s boyfriend’s face on it.
How Shane and Jeffree Did it Differently
What made this collection blow up so astronomically was the documentary series that Shane produced; filming the ins-and-outs of the whole process–drama included. The series is composed of 6 very long episodes, all about an hour in length. Throughout the documentary series, Shane and Jeffree expose truths about the makeup industry that nobody dares to talk about. The pair are completely transparent about how much it costs to make the palette, how much revenue they are expected to make, the facilities the makeup is being produced in, where the ingredients are sourced from, and the “dark side” of the makeup industry. Jeffree valiantly calls out name brand competitors such as Too Faced for overpricing their goods while skimping on quality materials and ingredients. The documentary takes an unexpected twist when Jeffree starts to open up even more about the dark and unseen side of the makeup industry. In the process of filming, Jeffree’s entire stock of unreleased concealer is stolen and shipped to Mexico to be sold illegally–risking the leak of his custom formula, pushing back release dates to catch up stock, and losing a detrimental amount of money in revenue. The series captures many emotions through the rawness and transparency of the content: Shane crying over how he’s been scammed his whole life in the business world, Jeffree alluding to his unseen soft and sympathetic side, and the pure shade that is thrown in all directions. Nobody’s safe. The documentary makes you feel like you’re a part of the experience of making the collection, making it feel necessary to complete the experience by buying the products. This is where Shane and Jeffree changed the makeup game forever.
Why This Collection Hits Different
Although the palette sold out before I could get my hands on it, I’ve still been able to experiment with it and I can honestly say that it feels completely different from other eyeshadows I have used in the past. Knowing that every shade has a story behind it makes doing your makeup feel like you’re a part of the story, or at least carrying on the aesthetic. I think that this collab is going to get consumers to start demanding more from their favorite makeup brands–to be more elusive, up front with their quality, and to deliver a more memorable experience.
So, what do you think? Are you gonna stock up on goodies when the collection restocks? From the looks of this first brilliant collection, I’m hoping for more collabs with Jeffree and other YouTubers soon.