the launch of Jeffree Star's Blood Lust collection

So Jeffree Star dominated the narrative of the beauty industry at the beginning of the month with the announcement of the third installment of his iconic palettes. Blood Lust, the purple-themed sibling to Blood Sugar and Blue Blood, was released last Friday to the usual J* hysteria. The release follows November's collab with Shane Dawson- the Conspiracy collection was a huge success, with one million palettes sold within the first half an hour. As is so common now with the launch of so many super-hyped beauty products, there were a few ruffled feathers with the sheer amount of interest and people trying to put in orders on a site that wasn't quite prepared to handle the load. Twitter was alive with unhappy customers just after Friday's launch who alleged that they had queued for a while only to find everything sold out, or that certain products don't ship to their country. I'll admit, the Extreme Frost highlighter peaked my interest ever so slightly but apparently it's doesn't ship to the UK (and therefore I assume Ireland), so I'm off the hook. The Jeffree Star Cosmetics collection is pretty extensive, so let's jump into it, shall we?

the Blood Lust palette

The Blood Lust palette itself is pretty boring. I mean, when it comes to J*, his palettes for the most part really are the epitome of a basic color theory. Blood Sugar and Blue Blood had been the exception to the rule, but he's after slipping right back into Thirsty territory with Blood Lust. For a whopping $54 (€49.74 or £41.63), Jeffree Star is offering 18 shades that, honestly, will grow stale far quicker than their expiry dates. The top two rows are essentially the same six shadows, and pink 'Betrayal' and 'High King' are basically the same color, only the latter is a metallic formula. The Blood Lust palette has a white, a nude, eight purples, two pinks, a peach, a red, a teal, a baby blue, a gold and a black. Yawn. There just aren't enough deep shades. I'm not even talking about the royal purple that everyone and their mother are calling out for, just deeper shades in general. In the launch video, Jeffree promised that the palette is chocked full of new eyeshadow formulas, including metallic and 'wet-looking' shades, which have so far been quite the hit with influencers that have received the palette in PR. It's worth noting that the palette is vegan-friendly, so that is a bonus for Mr Star. I guess he'll have to take them where he can get them.

the rest of the makeup

Along with the Blood Lust palette, Jeffree Star Cosmetics are releasing a whole host of purple products to attempt to satisfy the craving. To add to his gloss collection, Jeffree has added five new iridescent purple shades for $18 (€16.58 or £13.88), which are a reasonable price. They're all quite pretty colors, but so sheer and in shades that I just know wouldn't be very flattering on a lot of people. I'll skip them, thanks. Speaking of lips, for a measly $52 (€47.93 or £40.12) the Mini Purple Bundle is available for those of you who love a liquid lippie. Surprisingly, I do actually like these. For so many lipsticks, it would be pretty silly to have them all full sized- once applied they last for hours and otherwise they would be a huge waste if they expired or dried out before you managed to go through them all. I personally don't wear liquid lipsticks, my lips are too dry, but if they weren't I might have the inclination to pick some up.

Ok, I'll admit, my little heart goes funny at the Extreme Frost Choking on Ice highlighter.

If I were to get anything from the Blood Lust collection (or indeed, anything from the problematic Mr Star) it would be this highlighter. But for $50 (€46.08 or £38.58)?? Holy mother, that's even more expensive than the palette itself. Jeffree must be so deluded if he thinks that this is in any way acceptable and for that reason alone I'm very reluctant to order it. As I said, apparently the Extreme Frost doesn't ship to the UK, so it's not something I have to worry about- or debate with myself- anymore.

the accessories

Mr Star does enjoy his merch, doesn't he? It doesn't get more gaudy than wearing a branded matching two-piece tracksuit (it's even worse when it's your brand!), does it? I ran into him in a Boots in Manchester sometime in 2019 when I was innocently looking for liquid eyeliner and he stands out a mile in those things. Though, the silent bodyguards don't really help either. Thankfully there aren't any tracksuits in the Blood Lust collection, just a windbreaker ($45/€41.48/£34.72) and a bomber jacket ($60/€55.30/£46.29). I don't hate them, if anything windbreakers are a clever thing for this kind of year, but they're not really to my Blair Waldorf taste.

As usual, Jeffree Star Cosmetics released some themed hand-held mirrors with the Blood Lust collection. I really don't get the appeal- who does their makeup essentially freehand, just frozen mid-air? Anywho, if you're one of the mirror fans then you're absolutely spoiled for choice. In the Blood Lust collection, you have your choice of a purple crown ($30/€27.66/£23.16), a pink soft-touch star, and a regular glittery-purple star (these last two are $25/€23.05/£19.30 each). Go Jeffree, I guess, in promoting responsible drinking habits with the four-pack metal straw set. It's even more reasonable at $19.99/€18.43/£15.43. Maybe it's time for some reusable cups to add to the collection? The final three pieces of the collection are two American baseball caps in lavender and purple ($20/€18.44/£15.44) and a purple cross body bag for $45/€41.49/£34.74. These last three are not my cup of tea at all, but for someone with a different taste maybe they'd be really coveted and well used. I don't know, as much as I enjoy wearing the odd fancy brand Jeffree Star wouldn't be one of them.

In all, I'm so not inspired by this release. The Blood Lust palette could have been the purple palette of dreams that I need in my eyeshadow collection, but it just flopped in my opinion. That being said, Jeffree has teased a more gothy release coming next, along with new mascaras and eyeliners as he expands the brand this year. It looks like we'll definitely have a lot more to talk about in 2020 when it comes to J*, and I'll be sure to keep you posted!

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What do you think of Blood Lust? Have you bought it? Are you going to? Let me know down below!