I like a little of everything OR I like focus on a single formula that’s amazing. I could be happy with a few lipsticks, a couple of glosses, quad or similar for eyes, and a few cheek products, but I also find that I dig collections that are a new formula (say a lipstick) in 10 shades.
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I like the way MAC did their Fruity Juicy and Jade Jagger collections so I’m using that as my formula: 2 or 3 eyeshadow quads, 2 or 3 cheek products, 3-5 lipsticks. I love holiday release(s), but I prefer a small, well edited release so it’s not so overwhelming.
I like special, non-seasonal launches for individual products like lipstick, eyeshadow, or foundation, but for seasonal launches—emphasis on the word seasonal—I prefer a well-edited, coordinated set of products that reflect the season as in glam holiday, carefree summer, etc. It’s not that I buy everything from the collection, but seeing the color story and how all the products work together can give me inspiration.
I like cheek products (blush, highlighter, cheek palettes, etc.) because they’re not something I go through very quickly. I hate when I find an LE item that I love because then I can’t buy it when I run out. (Tarte’s park ave princess amazonian butter lipstick wasn’t seasonal but it was discontinued and I’m still reeling over the loss of that lipstick and have yet to find a dupe).
Agreed on Parl Avenue Princess lipstick! I loved it , too!
Definitely a small collection that can give you a full face for whatever “look” they’re marketing for being on-trend for the season.
I love lipsticks, lipglosses, eyeshadow palettes and 2 or 3 nail polishes.
Preferably, just ONE well curated and formulated collection per season that has enough stock to cover everyone who wants it. That would be my personal ideal. The crazed, aimless churning out of continuous LE collections from Too Faced, Tarte and even MAC is just annoying and too difficult to keep up with! With half of TF’s ones falling flat on their face, with Tarte not far behind. ColourPop is guilty as sin, too! At least MAC and CP do a good job on quality most of the time. But seriously? Jeremy Scott Collection is shameful and nothing like what MAC usually dishes out!
I pretty much agree with your take, Christine; either a collection of all the same formula in different shades, or a wide variety of products/formulas. I really like the way Colourpop has often done their fall collections, especially when they themed it around colors (terracota, pink, peach, sand, berry, etc). They had like a half dozen eyeshadows, a couple face products, and 3-4 lip products in a few different formulas. I like a good, strong color story. The other (one formula in a variety of shades) is less exciting for me, and it doesn’t strike me very much as a seasonal collection then, but it can be really necessary. The only seasonal collections I like that are done that way are the ones from Bite. They do a really good job of curating around a theme (I SERIOUSLY regret not picking up anything from the Nearly Neon collection).
A small, specific, highly coordinated release of say 2-3 lip products (glosses, sticks), a blush or two and a few eyeshadows and liners, maybe a highlighter.
Honestly I don’t follow seasonal launches except for holidays, as I am turned off by the high volume, high noise, hyper-promoted LE release patterns of late. What I notice is if an item is interesting in its own right.
I liked the way Stila did it when Jeannine Lobell was boss–one or two shadows, a blush, and a lipstick, each in cool/warm/neutral shades, twice a year. That was it. They were expertly coordinated and great quality. The current makeup avalanche is beyond ridiculous.
A small, well curated release that comes out seasonally rather than something new every couple of weeks. I would like maybe 2 or 3 four shade palettes, a couple of blushes and a couple of lipsticks. I think with 2 or 3 eye shadow palettes you could do one warm toned, one cool toned and even one that includes both. I would like the collection to have enough stock that everyone who wants one can get one. I wish companies spent more time on quality and originality rather than churning out poor quality products. Nice, sturdy packaging would be a plus.
Bring I think small sets of up to 4-6 items in a palette make one for cool toned ladies like myself and a warm one also for darker skin tones which I tend to prefer over the light colors I should be using but find them bleh/dead like a vampire on me, they don’t do a thing so I loooove, looove warm tones instead. Bring on tones of different lipstick and blush shades so everyone can find one that suits them. Make it fewer and of great quality instead of the million junk per hour they produce these days yeah, even high end.
Back in the day it used to be a three or four shadow duos, trios or quads, a couple of eye pencils that coordinated with the eye looks, a new blush or two, about six new lipsticks and two or three coordinating lip pencils. It was special waiting to see what they would bring out for the new season. I would prefer to go back to that.
Like you Christine, I like a carefully curated seasonal approach – 2 eyeshadow quads or quints, whose tones match the season in terms of shades and offering both warm and cool toned colours.
2-4 lipstick shades, a couple of nail polishes and a couple of blushes/highlighters that would work for either fairer or deeper skin tones.
I really love the way Chantecaille does their seasonal releases – a palette and a curated collection of lip and or cheek products, usually a mix of LE and permanent line items. I like how their LE items are around for quite awhile too, so you don’t have to scramble or fear missing out. It’s perfect!
I want brands to do only one, high-quality and well-curated, seasonal collection that is at least available for the entire season. I like to see a little bit of everything. For example, either a great large palette or three or four quads, two or three blushes, three to five lipsticks, and a couple glosses. While I don’t mind say, three quads with a neutral quad in nudes for light, medium, and dark skin, but I hate seeing three quads for medium skin that are really similar.
I also enjoy new line releases or when brands add a color extensions for existing lines, as long as they are well done.
Like many others here, I’m sick of multiple so-so, flash-in-the-pan LE releases. I don’t like “little bit of everything” releases that are all over the place in quality and not very cohesive.