2000s-Inspired Makeup Collaborations: Nostalgic or Inventive?
Image Courtesy: ColourPop Cosmetics
If I asked you about Lizzie McGuire, The Powerpuff Girls, Winx Club, or Sailor Moon, chances are you would have some memories attached to at least a few of those shows. Whether you woke up early to watch the show on Saturday mornings, had a poster on your bedroom wall of your favorite character, or begged your parents for clothes to match their style, these shows represent the pervasive impact of 2000s culture on our generation. The theme songs, iconic quotes, and aesthetics are part of our childhood and likely influence who we are even today.
Imagine shopping in Ulta, trying to decide on a new eye shadow palette. They all look vaguely the same, with only slight variations between color shades and amounts of glitter. You’re thinking about just picking the palette with the funniest name when something catches your eye—a character from one of your favorite shows adorns the front of a palette. It’s perfect, it’s just what you’re looking for! You don’t have to consider whether there are any discernible differences in quality because you need this palette to go home with you.
Image Courtesy: Shopmy
While companies have embraced pop culture collaborations as a tactic to sell merchandise for quite some time, it’s now impossible to turn a corner in a Sephora without seeing a character from your childhood show plastered on a lip gloss or blush. But what makes such collaborations so appealing?
The branding is at least visible with a Sanrio water bottle or a Harry Potter phone case. Yet, someone passing by on the street won’t see your eyeshadow and know it’s the “moon castle” shade from the ColourPop Sailor Moon palette. And who’s to say these colors are truly specific to or inspired by the original media? A brand could take any pre-existing combination of colors, slap an old Disney Channel cast on the front, and call it a day. We cannot know whether these collaborations are authentic to the media these products are derived from.
There are still some positives when it comes to these product lines. Brands will occasionally take inspiration from the franchise and incorporate it into the design. The Eternals influenced eye shadow palette by Urban Decay is a great example of this, opening up to show artwork inspired by the show before displaying the different colors. When the crossover is used to be innovative with how makeup is presented, great things can happen.
Image Courtesy: Bonita Feminista
There’s a high chance that these products are just nostalgia bait. This isn’t the first time corporations have preyed on our fond childhood memories to get us to buy a product, and it certainly won’t be the last time. But does that make it wrong to buy into nostalgic fads? Ultimately, it’s up to the consumer. Makeup is about feeling confident in your own skin, and if you know that the color dusting your cheeks resembles Flora’s transformation outfit from Winx Club, you may feel more self-assured. I say go for it!
Strike Out,
Writer: Dana Liberto
Editor: Noelle Knowlton
Tallahassee