What makes a collaboration product or collection well-done?
I like seeing thoughtfulness / tie-ins from packaging to the names to the kind of shades. I don’t need a literal translation of the makeup looks worn in a particular movie, but I want to see the aesthetic or the look and feel of the world it is set in. For individuals/influencers/celebrities, I like when there are clear personal touches and when what they’ve produced conveys that they’ve been really involved in the process.
— Christine
For me, it really is all about the quality and usefulness of the products (I have no use even for great products if they are in shades that I dislike or that don’t flatter me, so a coral e/s or cheek palette, no matter the theme or “collab”, isn’t something I’d be interested in at all). As others said earlier, the whole “influencer/youtuber” collaboration thing holds absolutely NO appeal to me – I’ve never heard of 99.9% of these people and the remaining 0.01% really have no sway with me. For a film, tv or novel series, I might be mildly interested or a collab with an actress or singer of whom I’m a fan but, again, that’s only mild – it all comes down to the product and also to practical and subdued packaging (and neither of those packaging considerations seem to feature in a lot of “collabs” – eg. that GoT palette! Yeesh!)
1. Communication 2. A willingness to actually collaborate 3. The collaborator HAS to know makeup and the company HAS to be willing to use the good formulations
The only good collaborative efforts I know are:
Highlighting kit from RachLoves x Pixi and Cream blush from Hannah Martin MUA x Beauty Pie
Rach Loves talked about the massive amount of communication between herself and Pixi, and essentially they combined the 2 Pico highlight formulas to create what she was looking for. Its an amazing kit, customizable for all year, and hugely popular.
Hannah Martin (previously of Bobbi Brown) is a working MUA, she worked with Bobbi Brown before the company sold, she is a true professional. She collaborated with another true professional, Marcia Kilgore (Beauty Pie) and they worked together for a long time to find the correct formula (first!) then the shades that were accessible by a range of skin tones and various lifestyles (bridal to workouts)
To me, these are done correctly. But it takes time , thought and massive communication. Not everyone is willing to budget for all that.
*Pixi
Darn auto correct
An accurate, cohesive representation of either the franchise/story’s or of the influencer/celebrity’s truth. Without it, they fall flat for me. Everything from the packaging (especially the packaging), color theme and shade names needs to fit.
Oh, and the quality MUST be present in the products, of course! I think that’s a given, though.
I think what makes a collaboration product special is the detail to packaging. House of Sillage’s perfume and lipstick set for the new Wonder Woman movie coming out this year was amazing. I also love how different the Supreme and Pat Mcgrath collaboration was.. so fresh and modern!
For me, a collection or a collaboration that is well done is when it contains shades that I would actually use – no pinks, oranges, reds, mauves, matte blacks or white shades.
Secondly, it has to be reviewed here and receive an excellent rating: B+ or more.
It also needs to be accessible to me and reasonably priced.
I am not swayed at all by either the tie in to a series, celebrity or anything else.