Okay kids, let’s talk makeup. I have been “makeup obsessed” since my junior year of high school. I own hundreds, if not a thousand dollars, worth of makeup. One time, my mother and I weighed all the makeup I was bringing to college with me and it weighed 50 pounds. I will never live that down. I am known as the “makeup lover” of all my friends. Even though I own so much of it, I barely even wear makeup.
I’ve been watching Beauty Gurus/Influencers (whatever you want to call them) on YouTube for years. I first started watching Makeup Geek (Marlena Stell), Tanya Burr, and Zoella. I then branched out and started watching MannyMUA, Tati Westbrook, and LustreLux (@katy on instagram). Now, all of those people (except for one) have their own beauty line.
Tanya Burr started Tanya Burr Cosmetics and Zoella now has a line of bath and body products, like bath bombs and lotions. Makeup Geek started a makeup brand under the same name around 8 years ago. I’ve purchased from Makeup Geek brand personally numerous and it is very good. I have not tried the other because they are UK based, and when they were first released did not come to America. Also, I was never too into Tanya Burr’s brand. I support her 100 percent, but I am just not into her products and don’t want to wait forever to get it in the mail.
Now, Tati, Manny, Christine Dominique, Lauralee, Jaclyn Hill, and many, many other beauty influencers are coming out (or came out) with their own cosmetics line. All of these brands are launching soon or just launched in the last year. It seems that every day, I hear about a new person launching their own “very special” cosmetics line. Although, Tati did come out with a product different than everyone else, but she is getting a lot of backlash for creating her own beauty supplements.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for them. Get your coin! Usually, they state that they had no investors and put in all the money, time, and effort toward their brand themselves, which I respect. Of course, they also say they are “making it for you guys” and I am pretty sure no one asked for it. I haven’t been amazed with the products. Lauralee, Christine Dominique, and Manny are all coming out with a beautiful eyeshadow palette for their first product. It just annoys me that it is one item. The influencers should come out with a whole collection, not just one item. I follow Lauralee on Snapchat, and she posted the other day stating that she is releasing a collection, but not at the same time. She is releasing yet ANOTHER eyeshadow palette then weeks later coming out with the second product (which I believe is going to be a lip product). What’s the point? Just wait until the whole collection is ready and make it for sale all at once. It just seems to be so predictable what these brands are coming out with. Take Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, for example. Rihanna did not just drop one item for her first launch, but she basically launched her whole brand at once. Fenty Beauty came out with a foundation line, contour/blush/highlight sticks, concealer sticks, powder highlights, and a lip gloss. Not just a lip gloss. They’ve even released more products since their launch not even six months ago.
Jaclyn Hill announced that she would be coming out with a cosmetic line YEARS AGO. I heard about it when I was starting college I am pretty sure, now I am a senior about to graduate and still nothing has been released. I get that things take time, but stop hyping up your brand because now I am over it. She has come out with collaborations with other brands in the meantime that have taken the makeup community by storm. Personally, I am not a fan of her. Nothing against her, I just never got into her videos on YouTube. Every few months though, the makeup community gets another “update” from her, saying that she is “working on it”. Is she though?
Since it’s cool to have a makeup brand, Kim Kardashian West jumped on the bandwagon, too. Kylie Jenner coming out with her own makeup brand was fine, let her do her own thing. KKW hopped on because she noticed how much money Jenner was making (Kylie Cosmetics is on the way to becoming a billion dollar company). Typical Kimmy, stealing other people’s thunder and letting her sisters know who the top dog is. What annoys me about Kardashian’s line is she is cashing out on makeup techniques her makeup artist used on her. Kardashian’s makeup artist perfected the contour, the undereye concealer brightening, and lipsticks, but KKW is the one making money off of it. Even though she did come out with a “collaboration” with Mario (an eyeshadow, two lip glosses, and a lipstick), I believe Mario deserves a part of the money. Without his makeup skills, KKW would not be known for her makeup and she would not have her makeup line today.
I just can’t keep up with all these new releases and new brands popping up. There is so much going on, and so much being released, that now I am just not interested. I haven’t really seen a product that has amazed me in a while.