As you may or may not know, Jeffree Star, beauty mogul and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, paired up with Shane Dawson, a well-known youtuber who’s been part of the community for over 10 years now. The two content creators came together early 2019 to start a series together, which was released in episodes on Youtube on October 1st. The episodes observe a lot of Jeffree’s beauty company, along with the manufacturing, sales and planning process for makeup launches. However, the main focal point of the Youtube series is about the collaboration launch of Shane and Jeffree’s makeup collection.
The episodes’ views averaged between 15 and 20 million, so the amount of customers for this launch significantly increased with new and current consumers interested in the coveted products. This increase is verified by the fact that Jeffree’s company sold a whopping order of 1 million palettes the day it launched, opposed to a typical 100,000 unit launch, like the Blood Sugar palette. Surely this increase in customers was seen the second the products launched on Jeffree Star Cosmetics, Morphe and Beautylish; all of the sites quickly crashed by an overwhelming amount of customers. In the final episode of the series, “The Beautiful World of Shane Dawson,” Jeffree’s associates revealed the sites had a collective of 2.5 million people trying to check out at the same time.
Luckily, I was able to get into the checkout queue and purchase the Conspiracy eyeshadow palette- it did take me two anxious hours of waiting, but I think it was definitely worth it.
The most significant piece of the collection that was discussed in depth in the episodes was the Conspiracy palette. This 18-shade eyeshadow palette features three separate formulas: matte, metallic and foil; among those shades are wearable neutrals, bright neons, and gorgeous shimmers. The eyeshadow palette’s price is $52, typical of all Jeffree Star Cosmetics palettes. What makes this product unlike Jeffree’s other palettes is that it’s geared towards customers who enjoy neutral toned looks and who explore unique and playful eyeshadows.
Photo by Emma Camacho
I’ll start by discussing the packaging. The actual component of this palette is so gorgeous and unique. I love the outside design of the black and white altering matte and shiny layers on the swirl. This gives the outside some dimension and the illusion of a 3D format. The layout surrounding the word “Conspiracy” really reminds the consumer of the supernatural or mysterious theme. Additionally, the Shane Dawson logo is filled with a nice lacquer, which gives the palette a higher quality and appears as though they put a lot of effort into giving the user a luxurious experience.
Photo by Emma Camacho
Also, the latches are very secure and well-made. In comparison to the Blue Blood palette’s latches, you can actually hear them click when you open and close it, which I absolutely love.
Photo by Emma Camacho
The inside of the palette features 18 shades in a 3 x 6 fashion. The addition of a large mirror was a fantastic element that makes me love a palette even more. Also, their decision to include many new and different embossments on the shades with pigs, a tea cup, and others was brilliant.
I really admire how they kept color themes together and didn’t randomly mix like brands tend to do. I’d say the top row is meant for an everyday look, the second is for a night out or for a wild makeup day, while the third is for those days you want something more sultry.
Photo by Emma Camacho
The quality of the shadows themselves is extremely pigmented and very easy to blend. However, keep in mind that certain shadows, due to the type of eyeshadow it is, require different techniques in order to best be applied. For example, my experience was that the shades “Trisha,” “Diet Cola” and “Illuminatea” are best applied with your finger. They don’t work as easily with a brush and need that extra pressure to adhere to your eyelid. In contrast, the shades “Sleep Paralysis” and “Spiraling” need to be dealt with carefully since they’re less compacted formulas, so the embossing gets destroyed when you run your finger across the top of the shadow.
I took swatches to put on my arm in order to show how the shadows apply on the skin. Be mindful that with a brush, certain shadows will not show up as intensely. Here is the first two layers swatched on my arm.
Photo by Emma Camacho.
Shades left to right: Ranch, My Pills, Tanacon, Diet Root Beer, Not a Theory, Spiraling, Conspiracy, Pig-ment, Food Videos, Trisha, Cheese Dust, and Flaming Hot
Photo by Emma Camacho.
Shades left to right: What’s the Tea?, Diet Cola, Not a Fact, Sleep Paralysis, Illuminatea, My Ride’s Here
My favorite shades from the palette is “Illuminatea,” (I’d say it’s the star of the show) “Tanacon,” “Diet Root Beer,” “Not a Fact,” “My Ride’s Here” and “What’s the Tea?”
“Illuminatea” is this beautiful iridescent emerald green with an interesting silver and brown undertone mixed together. It applies gorgeously to the lid and has not once disappointed me with any look I’ve created. “My Ride’s Here” is a wonderful black shade, if you’re wondering. True black shades are hard to achieve for many brands, but Jeffree Star Cosmetics did a fantastic job creating a deep and highly pigmented black that’s very easy to work with.
Photo by Emma Camacho
“Tanacon” and “Diet Root Beer” are the best transition crease shades I’ve ever used. They work wonderfully together and I put these on my crease and lower brow bone first before any of my looks.
Photo by Emma Camacho
But I will have to say, I have some critiques about this palette. I am very disappointed with the payoff of the shade “Food Videos.” I expected it to be as vibrant as it appears in the pan, considering my “Jawbreaker” and “Blue Blood” palettes have very bright colors that transfer equally to the eye with various techniques. However, “Food Videos” is very hard to work with due to its powdery consistency. Regardless of using my finger, a wet brush, dry brush, packing or blending, the color just doesn’t reach that full neon potential. It’s still a pretty shade to incorporate and it still shows up on the skin, but I was expecting more. Another critique I have for this palette is the shade “My Pills.” I haven’t been able to really take advantage of the shade since it’s an odd color and powdery consistency to work with.
Overall, I love this eyeshadow palette and I am so excited to do more fun and neutral looks with this product. If I were to give a grade, I’d deem this palette an A-.
So, when Shane and Jeffree launch their restock in early 2020, make sure to snag this gorgeous piece and have some serious conspiracy fun.