Youtube Review: Dawson’s “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star”

YouTuber Shane Dawson’s second web series in collaboration with makeup industry giant and fellow youtuber Jeffree Star premiered on Oct. 1. 

Aptly titled “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star”, this documentary style series consists of six episodes, each about an hour in length. Some episodes of the much-anticipated series have already amassed over 24 million views on YouTube. 

The series, filmed by Andrew Siwicki, follows Dawson and Star as they design, develop and produce a new cosmetic line headed by Dawson with the help of Star’s own cosmetic company, Jeffree Star Cosmetics. 

The series also features appearances by Dawson’s fiancé and fellow youtuber Ryland Adams and his sister Morgan Adams

The pair launched their new cosmetics line, Shane Dawson x Jeffree Star Cosmetics, on Friday, Nov. 1 with the release of the Conspiracy Collection. The release was so popular that excessive consumer traffic crashed both the Jeffree Star and Morphe Cosmetics’ websites for several hours. 

The collection features a full-sized eyeshadow palette named the Conspiracy Palette, a mini eyeshadow palette named Mini Controversy and several liquid lipsticks among other products. In addition, Dawson released a new merchandise line through Star’s own merchandise company, Killer Merch, prior to the makeup collection’s launch. 

From the beginning of episode one titled “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star,” it is evident that Dawson and Star’s friendship has blossomed since the premiere of their first collaborative web series titled “The Secret World of Jeffree Star.” This original series, released over a year ago, revealed the luxurious and over-the-top lifestyle of Star and his impact on the beauty industry. 

In their latest series, the unlikely duo turns the process of creating and manufacturing a product into an inspiring and surprisingly heartwarming journey for their combined audiences. 

Throughout the series, I found myself rooting for the perpetual underdog that is Dawson and in awe of the artistic genius that is Star. In addition to documenting the progress of their cosmetics line, the series sheds light on the ridiculous drama that occurred in the beauty community in late 2018 and throughout most of 2019. This dramatic implosion of friendships and professional relationships that occurred within the community involved Star and a slew of other famous YouTube based makeup artists. 

Surprisingly, the recent severance of Star and beauty guru James Charles’ professional relationship was not covered in the series.  

Nevertheless, “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star” has received praise from fans and fellow beauty guru’s alike. Earning a solid score of 7.5/10 from IMBD, this innovative series even resonates with viewers outside of the beauty community. 

As a self-proclaimed non-expert on beauty, I found the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of the series entertaining and redeeming.  

According to Dawson and Star’s official Twitter accounts, the series is ongoing, and episodes are currently being filmed for future release.