Meet YouTube Star Shane Dawson — Plus New Deets On His Makeup Collab With Jeffree Star
The wait is finally over.
getty Today's the day! YouTube sensation Shane Dawson's hotly-anticipated makeup collaboration launched today! It's called ‘The Conspiracy Collection,’ which is a collaboration with famed beauty entrepreneur Jeffree Star.
With over 23 million subscribers, Shane Dawson is considered one of the very few original YouTubers that has remained consistently relevant and popular for 11 years. Shane’s videos have had a huge stylistic makeover over the years — in the best way — which is impressive because the dude has some serious range and his content just keeps getting better.
As a longtime viewer myself, it’s admirable how far Shane's overall video content and quality have come, given he's a completely self-made YouTuber. His popular docuseries give YouTube such TV-worthy content: from filming paranormal experience videos in the Stanley Hotel, where Stephen King got inspiration for ‘The Shining,’ to creating documentaries with controversial Youtubers such as Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul, Shane has created such unique concepts that people haven't seen before — and this makeup collaboration is one of them.
Buzz around Shane and Jeffree Star grew rapidly last year when Shane created a docuseries covering 'The Secret World of Jeffree Star'. Jeffree Star owns his own very successful makeup line ‘Jeffree Star Cosmetics,’ and his Youtube channel has 16.4 million subscribers, but Shane’s series brought light to just how crazy, glamorous and successful Jeffree Star’s cosmetic company is. Viewers got a hint of the upcoming makeup collaboration during the series when Shane asked how long it would take to produce his own makeup line to which Jeffree responded with ‘roughly a year.’ A few months later, the two would reunite in a video where Jeffree gifts Shane $40,000 worth of Gucci items which were all pig-themed, to represent Shane’s brand and, in retrospect, celebrate their upcoming collaboration.
In Shane’s most recent 6-part docuseries, he shared with his viewers an inside look at the making of the Shane X Jeffree makeup collection which, according to Star, is a process that has never been documented to the public before. The series begins with a company meeting at the Jeffree Star headquarters, which took place in February of this year, where concepts and ideas were discussed. Viewers are basically along for the entire ride as the project comes together, and we get an inside look at team meetings, design concepts, sample palettes, eyeshadow colors Shane personally chose — even what the final products look like. Star is with Shane every step of the way, and the two collaborate meticulously over several months throughout the process. In Shane’s latest video on the series, he revealed the names and designs of his makeup line, which will feature an 18-count eyeshadow palette named ‘Controversy’ for $52, a 9-count eyeshadow palette named ‘Mini Controversy’ for $28, and even a lip collection which will feature six shades in a $90 collection, which can also be purchased separately for $18 each.
Many of Shane’s fans have noted how off-brand this collaboration is for him; however, Shane is all about being unique so, if anything, this was a smart marketing move and a great entrepreneuring opportunity. YouTubers Rich Lux and Nick from 'The Viewers Voice' even predicted in their response video to the series that Shane’s makeup collaboration will probably entice other makeup brands to collaborate with non-beauty related public figures and change the game in the beauty industry.
The Shane and Jeffree collection will be sold on the Jeffree Star website as well as Morphe stores. Are you planning to get your hands on this collection?
Also, who is Shane Dawson? A refresher:
1. His brand is a pig
If you aren’t familiar with Shane Dawson, you may not understand why his brand is a pig. Let us break it down for you. For years, Shane has referred to himself as a pig because of the way he snorts when he laughs and because of his struggle with his weight. At first, it was a joke, but then the term caught on so much that he just went with it and has basically reclaimed the word so people can’t use it against him. For years, he’s only had one piece of merch which was a t-shirt with a pig on it and the words “omg”. After the Jeffree Star collab, Shane now has his own brand which is completely pig-related (and is adorable, btw). The timing is also perfect because this is the Chinese year of the pig (and also the year of Shane).
2. He released his own merch this year and it sold out immediately
Speaking of his brand, on top of the makeup collaboration, Jeffree Star has also helped Shane develop his own merch line through the company Killer Merch. Jeffree’s team created the cutest pig logo for Shane’s brand which is represented in every merch item and even throughout the makeup collection. After the merch launch, his line sold out in just under an hour. Merch can be a good predictor in how well a makeup collection will sell.
3. The ‘Conspiracy Collection’ will be the biggest launch for Jeffree Star Cosmetics
In Shane’s episode, "The $20 Million Dollar Deal with Jeffree Star," Shane asked Jeffree what was the highest amount he’s made from a makeup launch. Jeffree said $20 million.
Jeffree also revealed that this launch would be the biggest for Jeffree Star cosmetics. The Jeffree Star team predicts that they'll make around $35 million in sales just from the first day of the launch and that Shane could potentially leave with $10 million as well.
4. Shane has helped resurrect dying YouTube careers
Shane has become widely-known for resurrecting dying YouTube careers. He's also a Youtube icon who's well-respected in the YouTube community because he chooses to use his social power for good. Jeffree Star has even regarded him as “the Mother Theresa of YouTube,” because he helps fellow YouTubers reclaim their social status. When Tana Mongeau faced huge backlash after failing to meet the proper capacity to hold her fans for her convention ‘Tanacon,’ Shane documented the inside details exposing what happened and why. Shane also stepped in to help Kathy Griffin after her infamous Trump beheading photo went viral and brutally affected her career. His series with her increased her fan base and likeability.
5. Shane came out as bisexual four years ago
Shane shocked the entire YouTube community after he released his coming out video. With over 10 million views, the video was very unexpected at the time because Shane had been dating Lisa Schwartz from 2011 to 2015 — and the two even got engaged in 2015. Lisa and Shane both made videos together speaking about his sexuality and how it affected their relationship, and the two have remained very close friends ever since he came out as bisexual.
6. He got engaged this year
This really has been Shane’s year. This past March, Shane proposed to long-time boyfriend Ryland Adams and in true Shane fashion, documented the proposal in a video. The two have been together for 3 years and we ship them so hard. Ryland has been featured in many of Shane’s videos and has been a familiar face in the Shane pact for a while, so fans were wondering when the two would finally make it official.
Viewers shipped this couple hard when they got together because this was Shane’s first publicly gay relationship that came after his coming out video. It's unclear if a wedding date has been set yet, but knowing Shane, it's very likely the process will be documented and shared when the time comes. We can't wait!
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