Beauty and makeup Youtuber James Charles releases eyeshadow palette in collaboration with Morphe Brushes

By SIERRA HORTON

Staff Writer

On Nov. 2, 19 year old YouTube beauty guru, makeup artist and first male CoverGirl, James Charles, uploaded a video announcing his latest project: an eyeshadow palette and brush set with Morphe Brushes Cosmetics that were released Nov. 13.

Even before this reveal, many UMW students were already fans of James Charles and the work that he does.

“He has really changed the way I look at makeup,” said sophomore and education student Rachel Thibodeau. “I started really getting into makeup in high school, but because of dance I only knew how to do stage makeup, and he has really good tips for all kinds of makeup and uploads videos with honest reviews of other palettes and makeup products,” said Thibodeau.

The “Dare To Create Artistry Palette” contains 39 shades, compared to the usual 35, ranging from neutrals to a wide variety of bright colors and costs $39 with the brush set being $149. Charles says that this palette is for those wanting to “release their inner artist,” due to the large variety in color options that is rare and hard to find in any other palette currently on the market.

This palette release is a big deal in the YouTube beauty community and many students on campus are already talking about it.

“I am excited about his new eyeshadow palette release because, since he is collabing with Morphe, it is a reasonable price, yet it still has good quality. I think that he did a very good job incorporating many different colors and making them so that they would be useful for people with all types of skin, skin tones, and makeup abilities, so even beginners can use it,” said Thibodeau.

Sophomore psychology major SarahAnn Washburn said, “I think it is a gorgeous palette with the perfect amount of options for both people who don’t really know what to do with their eyeshadow, as well as for the people that are makeup artists. It’s also amazing that he has been able to come out with a better quality product with a wider variety of colors than what many other palettes have.”

One aspect of the palette that students are noticing are the unique names that Charles gave each shade. He even asked some of his best friends, Ethan and Grayson Dolan to name a shade, while also naming other shades after his time spent in high school, people that mean a lot to him, and his signature sayings such as “snatched.”

“The shade names are super creative and I love the fact that he incorporated his own personal life into it. It shows how invested he is into this product and how much he truly cares about what he designs,” said Washburn.

“My favorite shade is ‘Spark’ because it is an extremely shimmery rose gold color that looks very pigmented,” said Thibodeau.

With this new adventure into the makeup production industry, this could potentially mean a lot for Charles’s career.

“I think this is a great step in his career. The more he puts himself out there in the beauty industry, the more popular he will become, and the more larger, well-known celebrities will hear his name and possibly use his product. Everyone has to start somewhere and it seems like he is definitely moving up the chain quickly and successfully,” said Washburn.

“A lot of makeup artists on YouTube that are successful end up releasing palettes. There is usually a lot of hype at first but eventually, if the palette is not good and other youtubers post negative reviews, the hype of the palette will eventually die out. Initially, he will probably make a lot of money and gain publicity, but depending on the quality, I believe this will make or break his career,” said Thibodeau.

Despite facing controversy in the YouTube beauty community, many students agree that James Charles has only had a positive impact on their lives.

“James Charles is very funny and encouraging and he motivates both girls and boys around the world to be who they want to be,” said Thibodeau.