Jeffree Star Cosmetics Review: Are His Products Worth the Hype?
Jeffree Star has made a name for himself as one of the biggest and most controversial beauty influencers of the YouTube era. Along with his headline-making feuds and ostentatious, luxurious lifestyle, Jeffree is known for his own cosmetics brand, Jeffree Star Cosmetics. Launched in 2014, the brand has gained a massive following of dedicated fans who rave about the bold color stories, high quality formulas, and over-the-top packaging.
However, Jeffree‘s problematic past and divisive behavior, along with the brand‘s luxury prices, leave many beauty lovers questioning if Jeffree Star Cosmetics is really worth the hype. This in-depth review will take a close look at the brand‘s top products, customer opinions, and pros and cons to help you decide if Jeffree Star Cosmetics deserves a spot in your makeup collection.
About Jeffree Star and Jeffree Star Cosmetics
Jeffree Star first rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a MySpace celebrity known for his music and androgynous, punk-inspired style. He later transitioned to YouTube, gaining millions of subscribers with his makeup tutorials, collection videos, and dramatic feuds and friendships with other big beauty gurus.
Jeffree launched Jeffree Star Cosmetics in 2014 with a line of bold, highly pigmented liquid lipsticks. The brand has since expanded to include eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, lip products, accessories, and more, with frequent new collection launches that often sell out lightning-fast. Jeffree Star Cosmetics is known for unique color stories, like the blood-inspired reds of the Blood Sugar palette and cool tones of Blue Blood, and an aesthetic that matches Jeffree‘s own OTT style.
While Jeffree has been embroiled in many controversies over his past behaviors and feuds with other influencers, there‘s no denying his brand‘s massive success and influence in the beauty industry. But are the products actually worth the high price tags and hype? Let‘s dive into the specifics.
Jeffree Star Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palettes Review
Eyeshadow palettes are the core of Jeffree Star Cosmetics and some of the brand‘s most popular and sought-after products. Here‘s a rundown of the key palettes:
Blood Sugar Palette
The Blood Sugar Palette put Jeffree Star Cosmetics on the map with its gory, medical-inspired packaging and bold color story of bright reds, pinks, and purples mixed with wearable neutrals. Beauty influencers and fans alike raved about the high quality shadow formula, which is soft, blendable, and ultra pigmented. The palette includes a mix of matte, metallic, and foiled finishes for creating endless looks. While some may find the color story too niche compared to more neutral palettes, it‘s become a staple for lovers of bold red looks.
Blue Blood Palette
As the follow up to Blood Sugar, Blue Blood continued with the gory medical theme but this time with an icy color story of blues, purples, and silvers. The palette has the same great shadow formula as Blood Sugar but with even more variety in undertones and finishes. It‘s especially unique among other palettes on the market with the pastel blue and mint shades.
Conspiracy Palette
The Conspiracy Collection was a collaboration between Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson following the latter‘s YouTube docuseries about the beauty world. The Conspiracy Palette was the most hyped and sought after product, selling over 1 million palettes in 30 minutes. It features a versatile mix of neutrals and pops of color with shade names referencing inside jokes between the duo. While initially difficult to get due to demand, it‘s a solid palette for Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson fans alike.
Mini Controversy Palette
The Mini Controversy Palette was a miniature, more affordable version of the Conspiracy Palette with a slight remix to the colors. It has the same great pigmentation and blend-ability as other Jeffree Star Cosmetics palettes, but the added portability for travel or having a curated selection of go-to shades.
Other popular palettes from the brand include the alien-themed Alien Palette, summery Thirsty Palette, and many more. While color stories and packaging vary, you can count on bold pigmentation, ultra smooth and blendable formulas, and fun themes with each Jeffree Star palette release.
Jeffree Star Cosmetics Liquid Lipsticks Review
Jeffree Star is credited with helping popularize the liquid lipstick trend with his Velour Liquid Lipstick formula. Available in dozens of shades from nudes to neons, these liquid lipsticks have an ultra matte finish and impressive staying power. The formula is a true liquid that dries down completely transfer-proof, so you don‘t have to worry about getting lipstick on your teeth or having it smear when eating or drinking.
The Velour Liquid Lipsticks have a lightweight, almost mousse-like consistency that feels comfortable on the lips despite being so matte. While any matte liquid lipstick can be a bit drying, prepping your lips with a lip balm or the Velour Lip Scrub can help the product apply more smoothly and evenly.
At $18 each, the Velour Liquid Lipsticks are pricier than drugstore liquid lipsticks but on par with other mid-range brands. For the quality of the formula and unique shade selection, fans of liquid lipstick say they‘re worth the price.
Other Jeffree Star Cosmetics Products
Skin Frost Highlighters
From blinding metallic shades to icy duochromes, Jeffree Star‘s Skin Frost highlighters are not for the faint of heart. The powder formula is buttery soft and so pigmented that you barely need to dip your brush in the pan. The shade selection can be overwhelming, but there are options for every skin tone and preference, whether you want an icy white, golden peach, or even hot pink highlight.
Magic Star Concealer and Setting Powder
In 2020, Jeffree Star Cosmetics expanded into complexion products with the Magic Star Concealer and Setting Powder. Available in 30 shades, the full coverage concealer has a lightweight feel and matte finish to brighten under eyes and cover blemishes. The loose setting powder helps set and mattify foundation and concealer for a smoothing, blurring effect.
Accessories
Jeffree Star Cosmetics also sells makeup mirrors, makeup bags, accessories, and merch to complete your collection. The star-shaped mirrors are a signature for the brand, but equally fun are the pink star hand mirrors and various makeup bags to store your Jeffree Star products.
What Do Customers Think?
Jeffree Star Cosmetics products have earned an overall positive reputation from beauty YouTubers and everyday customers alike. The eyeshadow palettes and liquid lipsticks are almost always highly praised in reviews for their pigmentation, staying power, and the fun color stories and packaging. Customers love collecting the palettes and lip shades as a form of expression and being part of the Jeffree Star Cosmetics fandom.
The brand‘s more recent releases, like the concealer, powder, and some newer eyeshadow palettes, have slightly more mixed reviews as the hype and novelty of a Jeffree Star product seems to be wearing off. Some say the concealer shade range is limited and can look dry and cakey on textured skin. There are also customer service complaints about shipping delays, missing orders, and difficulty contacting customer support.
Ultimately, your opinion on Jeffree Star Cosmetics likely depends on your personal view of Jeffree Star himself. His controversies and feuds in the beauty community make many consumers swear off buying from the brand no matter how good the products may be. His loyal fans, on the other hand, view purchasing Jeffree Star Cosmetics as supporting Jeffree and the community he has built. There‘s a lot of division over Jeffree as a person, but less so about the actual product quality.
Is Jeffree Star Cosmetics Worth It?
So is Jeffree Star Cosmetics worth the hype? If you‘re looking for bold, pigmented products and are willing to spend in the mid-to-high-end price range, Jeffree Star Cosmetics has a lot to offer. The brand has built a reputation for high performing formulas in eyeshadows, liquid lipsticks, and highlighters, and each release brings fun new color stories and packaging to keep things interesting for collectors.
However, Jeffree Star Cosmetics is likely not the brand for you if you only wear more natural, everyday makeup or are deterred by the drama surrounding Jeffree himself. The large eyeshadow palettes and full collections can also be overwhelming and costly to keep up with if you‘re a completionist.
Ultimately, Jeffree Star Cosmetics has earned its foothold as one of the most popular influencer-created makeup brands for a reason, but it‘s not necessarily for everyone. Hopefully this in-depth review gave you a better sense of the brand‘s top products, customer opinions, and factors to consider to decide if you‘re ready to dive into the always exciting world of Jeffree Star Cosmetics.
