Remember when celebrities were just the faces of cosmetics campaigns? (me too..good times) So it seems now that almost every celebrity, pop star, fashion house and influencer wants to have a cosmetics line. But does the world need more pointless platform based make-up? The answer is no, not if its not the best that can be offered!
I am often asked how I feel about and do I support all these new celebrity based lines, for the most part the answer is no. If someone is just slapping their name on a random product with zero interest in how it is made, what it stands for and what it supports- no. Quack on. For a line to merit respect it not only has to be of the upmost quality, but needs to stand for something. What some stars are choosing to do with their cosmetics lines does deserve to be appreciated as they're moving the industry in a positive direction.
Take Rihanna and her Fenty line. This was one of the first modern make ups to provide a realistic shade range to ensure that most everyone can find a shade. Espeically for the darker skin tones, this was a game changer. Often times the shade range is limited to the more fair tones and usually would have just one deeper shade named "dark".... which in itself is problematic... but having just one deeper shade is the real problem. Shade ranges usually didn't feature a variety of colors to address the beautiful depth and spectrum of deeper skin tones. Rihanna changed off of that and set a new standard for cosmetics lines going forward. Fenty also makes luxury products in which the profits are donated to charity. AMAZING
Lady Gaga has her new HAUS LABS showcasing the gender revolution. Which is fantastic that so many millions of people will see due to her wondrous platform. However this brands message is much like my line ADVEKET, the creator or the original Genderfluid Beauty and Beyond Binary Skincare. This brings up a different issue when someone with an ultra platform produces something that an indie line is already doing. How can the indie business even compete? Bottom line- I am happy that the message is being spread, which was the whole reason why ADVEKET was created.
Then you have those that just put out cosmetics collections just to profit. These are often the lines plagued by controversy and quality control issues. These are the lines where a "celebrity/influencer" just says "ok" to whatever contract is thrown in front of them, picks a few colors and promotes it. These "collaborations" had an especially bad year in 2019 with some having been pulled from shelves over poisons being found in their ingredient compilation and others having hairs found in their lipsticks. While most all of these issues have been addressed and fixed, it doesn't change the fact that so little thought went into the creation of something meant to touch your face should be reason enough to look past the platform when choosing your products.
One interesting point to make about these collaborations and many celebrity owned or represented is that very few actually support a charity or have any philanthropic mission whatsoever. Again selfishly bringing it back to ADVEKET, which donates money from every single product sold to the charity I Wore Lipstick. If a cosmetics line doesn't support a charity that means that its a strictly FOR PROFIT company. Which to me is a bit greedy. If a line doesn't make a positive difference in the world, then I won't entertain the idea of using it (unless its the absolute best quality). In 2019 having a cause to support is no longer a gimmick. It is a requirement! It's unacceptable to not have YOUR precious shopping dollars not go to benefit something other than a famous person's pockets!
I find this is also an issue when fashion lines produce cosmetics lines. When you look at the house of Chanel or Tom Ford, you see formulas and collections that are top quality. They're the quality that all lines should hope to achieve. The products has been formulated and gone through so much research and development that what you're putting on your face is of royal quality. Then you have lines like Burberry, that have been subpar since day one and don't seem to care about it.
At the end of the day it's up to you what products you choose. We have all fallen victim to becoming starry eyed when our favorite person or designer produces a product. But what's important to remember is to always do your research. Find out WHO actually owns the line, where does the money go? Who does the money support? Are you ok with where it goes? Is the product quality? Or is this just a cheap product with a nice sticker? You as an educated consumer must take it upon yourself to investigate and be informed.
