We are going to condense, confess, and address all the spectacle around 2019’s hit eye-shadow pallete – Morphe X James Charles Artistry Pallete. James Charles, a 19 year old social-media influencer, makeup artist, and  Youtuber just recently released his first beauty product with Morphe. From people criticizing the pallet directly or critiquing James indirectly, this pallet has created a stir in the “beauty” world.

#1 Pressed Pigment Problems

In his pallete, there is a shade called “Skip”. It’s a bright colored pink pressed pigment. Pressed pigments are not considered eyeshadows and are not regulated by the FDA due to the dye used. While it is safe around the eye, the eye-shadow may stain or cause irritation due to the ingredient Red 40. James received criticism from multiple people reaching out on Twitter bashing the “eye-shadow’s” staining effects.

#2 Lauren Godwin destroys James Charles Pallet on Tik Tok

Tik Tok is a social media app that lets users post a short video clip with music or some sort of audio clip behind it. A popular YouTuber, Lauren Godwin posted a Tik Tok video of her destroying his pallete. James tweeted that he was upset about Lauren doing this and Lauren later received extreme backlash, some were even telling her to kill herself. Lauren said that in her defense, she purchased the pallete and may do whatever she wants with it. James later felt bad and apologized for the hate she was getting and agreed with Lauren that since she purchased it, she can do what she wants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KnTdsyJKp8

#3 Restocking Issues

I don’t think James predicted the amount of attention and love his pallete was going to get. The pallet sold out across the nation within 24 hours. The people who pre-ordered the pallete and the ones who got to the store first were the only ones who got the pallet before Christmas. When I went to go buy the pallet myself, the Ulta store manager told me that the restock James recently did on January 3rd, had only 10 pallets. They were gone within the day and it would take at least 6 weeks to get another shipment through to their store.

#4 Fake Swatches

James has been accused of doing fake swatches of his pallet on his YouTube video premiering his pallete. Many accused him after getting the pallete themselves and realizing the colors were not as bright or concentrated. James responded to the allegations by doing swatches on Instagram live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNcUSF5K7WE

#5 Rip Off’s & Scams

Since the pallete has been a hit, purchasing it has been difficult for a lot of consumers. The restocks are small and take a long time. Some consumers have resorted to buying the pallet from a third party source or getting it from somewhere online with no verification if it is the real deal. With a little googling of the pallete, you can find how expensive other people are selling his pallete for.

While these are not all the issues or drama circulating his pallete, these are the biggest. James has said that this pallete is definitely a more advanced type of pallete to use because of the different makeup material. He wanted his pallete to be something that everyone could use at any time and I think that he accomplished that. The pallete offers an array of colors, textures, glitters, mattes, and shades.

For being his first makeup product to be veiled into the makeup industry, he definitely made his mark. He is only 19 and has had no prior experience producing any other types of makeup. I don’t think any of the issues were career-breaking, there are things that could easily be fixed and I believe some were not even a problem at all. I got this pallete gifted to me and after using it about 10 times, I would say that this is definitely my favorite makeup purchase I’ve made in awhile. I never had a problem with staining and the shadow formula was consistent. Makeup is not something you master, it’s an art that you can explore and make your own.