Why I’ll never stop buying limited edition makeup collabs
When M.A.C’s Zac Posen collection launched last week, two things came to mind: 1) I have to buy that, and 2) When should I buy that?
I wish I could say my response was more hard-lined; that I could roll my eyes at celebrity collaborations and special edition collections like a grown woman who was smart with money and choosy with lipstick. I would like to be a person who cites limited edition anythings as a cash grab targeting fools willing to invest in anything their favourite person or label was attached to. But in reality, I am the fool, and I want the anythings. In short, I will buy the shit out of something I can’t buy again in a month.
That’s a view I hated once upon a time. When my friend bought me a Kelly Osbourne lipstick (as part of the Kelly & Sharon Osbourne line, back in June 2014), I was annoyed I couldn’t replace it after leaving it in my car (and in the sun, where it melted after a few days). Before that, I saw Archie’s Girls — a 2013 limited edition collection — as a cash grab for those with a penchant for nostalgia, and I’d been nervous about the 2014 Maleficent tie-in since I brushed off those colours as far too dramatic for me.
But then M.A.C launched a Marge Simpson line in September 2014 and it was all downhill from there.
I didn’t need the blush, or the nail decals I bought in a flurry of “It’s The Simpsons!” excitement. But it’s true: I love The Simpsons, and evidently, I also like being marketed to. And if a company can capitalize on my appreciation for Marge Simpson’s aesthetic, then why shouldn’t I invest in what they’ve created (specifically just for me, obviously)?
And so began my slow descent into appreciating things I wouldn’t always have access to. As 2014 melted into 2015 and then to 2016, I snatched up Sephora’s Jem eye shadow palette and lipstick, Dita Von Teese and Mariah Carey’s lipstick collaborations with M.A.C, Ariana Grande’s Viva Glam, and Tom Ford’s Drake and Malik lipsticks, too. I didn’t buy everything (because I’m a regular human who has loans to pay off and a life to save up for), but I wasn’t averse to taking that limited edition dip when and if something came up I was interested in. Also: it’s not like I’d be using them every day.
Which is part of the appeal. On top of having to be careful with lipstick application (i.e. applying within reason unless you want to use it up in a matter of weeks), each lipstick, eyeshadow, or blush cosmetic represents a part of beauty history — like a time capsule that embodies what we valued at a certain point in time. In 2013, we appointed Rihanna as the face of Viva Glam (followed by Miley Cyrus the next year), and championed Wonder Woman back in Spring 2011. At some point this year, we’ll finally be graced with a line dedicated to Selena, and Zac Posen’s collection currently offers a nod to the fashion’s focus on glamour in 2016 — something we’ll remember in a few seasons when gazing upon our empty tubes of the line’s beautifully constructed containers. To own a capsule collection or limited edition piece is to own a part of pop culture history — like buying Spice Girls gum or Britney Spears lip gloss back in the nineties.
Not that all of us need to buy anything. Even now, in an apparent blood oath with beauty tie-ins that speak to my soul, I only pick up what I need or know I’ll use — otherwise it’s waste not just for me (who’s spending money on something I don’t need), but it takes something away from a legitimate fan who might really live and die by the M.A.C x Zac Posen makeup brush. After all, capsule collections tend to be choosy in the products they choose. As such, I’ll be the same when shopping for them.
 on Sep 29, 2015 at 7:00am PDT
When M.A.C's Zac Posen collection launched last week, two things came to mind: 1) I have to buy that, and 2) When should I buy that?
I wish I could say my response was more hard-lined; that I could roll my eyes at celebrity collaborations and special edition collections like a grown woman who was smart with money and choosy with lipstick. I would like to be a person who cites limited edition anythings as a cash grab targeting fools willing to invest in anything their favourite person or label was attached to. But in reality, I am the fool, and I want the anythings. In short, I will buy the shit out of something I can’t buy again in a month.
That's a view I hated once upon a time. When my friend bought me a Kelly Osbourne lipstick (as part of the Kelly & Sharon Osbourne line, back in June 2014), I was annoyed I couldn’t replace it after leaving it in my car (and in the sun, where it melted after a few days). Before that, I saw Archie’s Girls -- a 2013 limited edition collection -- as a cash grab for those with a penchant for nostalgia, and I’d been nervous about the 2014 Maleficent tie-in since I brushed off those colours as far too dramatic for me.
But then M.A.C launched a Marge Simpson line in September 2014 and it was all downhill from there.
I didn’t need the blush, or the nail decals I bought in a flurry of “It’s The Simpsons!” excitement. But it’s true: I love The Simpsons, and evidently, I also like being marketed to. And if a company can capitalize on my appreciation for Marge Simpson’s aesthetic, then why shouldn’t I invest in what they’ve created (specifically just for me, obviously)?
And so began my slow descent into appreciating things I wouldn’t always have access to. As 2014 melted into 2015 and then to 2016, I snatched up Sephora’s Jem eye shadow palette and lipstick, Dita Von Teese and Mariah Carey’s lipstick collaborations with M.A.C, Ariana Grande’s Viva Glam, and Tom Ford’s Drake and Malik lipsticks, too. I didn’t buy everything (because I’m a regular human who has loans to pay off and a life to save up for), but I wasn’t averse to taking that limited edition dip when and if something came up I was interested in. Also: it’s not like I’d be using them every day.
Which is part of the appeal. On top of having to be careful with lipstick application (i.e. applying within reason unless you want to use it up in a matter of weeks), each lipstick, eyeshadow, or blush cosmetic represents a part of beauty history -- like a time capsule that embodies what we valued at a certain point in time. In 2013, we appointed Rihanna as the face of Viva Glam (followed by Miley Cyrus the next year), and championed Wonder Woman back in Spring 2011. At some point this year, we’ll finally be graced with a line dedicated to Selena, and Zac Posen’s collection currently offers a nod to the fashion’s focus on glamour in 2016 -- something we’ll remember in a few seasons when gazing upon our empty tubes of the line’s beautifully constructed containers. To own a capsule collection or limited edition piece is to own a part of pop culture history -- like buying Spice Girls gum or Britney Spears lip gloss back in the nineties.
Not that all of us need to buy anything. Even now, in an apparent blood oath with beauty tie-ins that speak to my soul, I only pick up what I need or know I’ll use -- otherwise it’s waste not just for me (who’s spending money on something I don’t need), but it takes something away from a legitimate fan who might really live and die by the M.A.C x Zac Posen makeup brush. After all, capsule collections tend to be choosy in the products they choose. As such, I’ll be the same when shopping for them.
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