The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star: Success or Flop?

The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star is a seven-part documentary series produced by YouTuber Shane Dawson that follows the creative journey of his debut makeup palette in collaboration with beauty entrepreneur Jeffree Star. The series premiered on Oct. 1, and viewers were given an exclusive look into the elaborate, extensive and creative process that goes into crafting these makeup palettes; everything from picking out eyeshadow shade names to the packaging. The anticipation surrounding the debut of the series began in late September with the release of the trailer. Touching images of Shane and Jeffree traveling, sampling makeup and sitting in meetings clued viewers into how this series takes a further in-depth look into the makeup industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZywVlyogLYM

Breakdown of the Conspiracy Collection

The collection is exclusively available on Morphe’s website and on Jeffree Star Cosmetic’s website. On the day of release, Shane’s clothing launch sold out within 24 hours, and on Nov. 1, fans crashed Jeffree’s website as they tried getting their hands on a Conspiracy palette and other products within the collection.

Products included in the launch:

1. Conspiracy eyeshadow palette
2. Mini Controversy palette
3. Six liquid lipsticks
4. One lip gloss
5. One lip balm
6. Makeup mirrors
7. Makeup travel bags
8. Track Suit

Pricing:

• Conspiracy eyeshadow palette: $52
• Mini Controversy palette: $28
• Shane x Jeffree Conspiracy Collection bundle: $210
• Diet Shane Lip Balm: $18
• The Gloss: $18
• Shane x Jeffree Conspiracy Palette Bundle: $72
• Shane x Jeffree Velour Liquid Lipstick Pig Bundle: $90
• Pink Pig or Black Pig Hand Mirror: $30
• Shane x Jeffree Pink or Black Side Bag: $35
• Conspiracy Track Jacket: $55
• Conspiracy Track Joggers: $45
• Shane x Jeffree Imprint Travel Bag: $30
• Shane x Jeffree Accessory Bag: $30
• The Nathan Pillow: $30
• Each liquid lipstick separately runs for $18

From the Secret World to the Beautiful World of Jeffree Star

Previously in 2018, Shane produced a different documentary series with Jeffree titled The Secret World of Jeffree Star. The web series was announced on July 24, 2018, through Dawson’s Twitter which immediately became a trending topic, gaining the attention of many major entertainment news outlets. Its premiere, the first episode of a five-part series, debuted Aug. 1, 2018, on Dawson’s YouTube channel. Through this documentary, Shane exposed a more vulnerable side of Jeffree where he addresses problematic accusations made against him throughout his career and takes a deeper look into his life on and off YouTube. With each episode, Dawson attempts to understand Jeffree and his world through both humorous and serious moments. That series in total currently has 180 million views on Shane’s channel.

The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star in total now has 142 million views. Within the first hour of release, the series received over one million views. Currently, the first video has 25 million, over half the views of what the first video in The Secret World of Jeffree Star series has now and is the highest viewed video of the series to this date.

Despite 142 million viewers, many people took to Twitter using the hashtag #ShaneDawsonXJeffreeStar to bring up both Shane and Jeffree’s problematic pasts. Video compilations of the two men using racial slurs and doing blackface surfaced. An outbreak occurred, and neither party addressed the accusations after the release of the documentary. Thousands of people commented about the series, ranging in reaction from excitement to boredom, as many viewers hoped the series would address the drama between YouTubers James Charles and Tati. Thousands of people tweeted about the series, earning the number one trending spot on Twitter with the release of each video.

Total Revenue Earned from the Series and Collection

In the first video, Shane and Jeffree sat down to officially come to terms with their collaboration on the makeup palette, and one of the many questions that was asked was how much money they would make. Jeffree stated that Dawson’s cut of the action, if the collection were to sell out (not counting re-orders), could surmount to around $10 million— an amount Shane disclosed is more money than he’s ever made in his 11 years on YouTube. Jeffree Star had said prior that Dawson could make $5 million on the Conspiracy palette alone, but that was before the negotiations with Morphe and the inclusion of the other items in the collection.

As of Nov. 6, Jeffree stated on his Instagram that he and Shane sold over one million palettes. After the talks with Morphe were settled, Star’s team initially estimated how much money they would make from the collection, predicting a revenue of $17.5 million in in-store sales through retailer Morphe. That, coupled with the other $17.5 million earned from the complete sell-out of products over on Jeffree’s website, brought their total to $35 million in revenues.

Not only did this sell-out earn Shane money, but the series itself added to his profit. In two out of the seven videos in the series, Honey, a free browser extension that applies applicable coupon codes to online orders, sponsored Shane. This company is known to have worked with Shane before on other projects he’s done in the past, specifically with his Conspiracy Theories’ videos. With their extended partnership, Honey paid him in excess of six figures, a deal spanning over the course of several months. Through monetizing the video and with major sponsor Honey, the two YouTubers earned $35 million and then some from the entire series, palettes, and other products in total.

Throughout his 11-year career on YouTube, Shane Dawson has shifted his channel from comedic skits and food reviews to documentaries. He has 23.1 million subscribers and is still growing. Shane Dawson’s channel has opened up the YouTube world to the insider’s view of collaborating with big brands and the business side that many people never get to see. With this series, Shane and Jeffree have exposed companies for taking advantage of other makeup artists and entrepreneurs, and there has been a spike in YouTuber’s sharing their horror stories they’ve had with brands on their channels. YouTubers are more open to expressing their frustrations that occur behind the scenes that subscribers normally don’t see or hear about, and Shane has contributed to making that environment of call-out culture more comfortable.