Youtube beauty influencer, Jackie Aina, becomes the newest name to collaborate with Anastasia Beverly Hills on an eye shadow palette, however Aina’s product serves to fill a void in the beauty industry by being formulated with deeper skin tones in mind.
The popular youtuber announced her collaboration with Anastasia Beverly Hills in a reveal video posted to her youtube channel where she explained the selection process of each shade. As well, she demonstrated how to achieve a bold eye look using the palette.
Aina later paid homage to both Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown for her late-’90s-themed short promotional video shoot.
Aina told Allure that the pressure her fanbase of over 3 million subscribers put on Anastasia Beverly Hills eventually lead to the brand’s collaboration proposal. “When my followers want something for me, they’ll go get it,” she said.
The 14-shade palette consists of bold purples, deep browns and glistening shimmers, offering a wide range of possibilities when it comes to eye looks. Aina explained that the shades selected for the palette were all shades that she would wear in her day to day routine. As a Nigerian-American woman, it was also important to Aina that all of the shades be able to perform on her skin tone and those alike.
Aina explained that while inclusivity in the cosmetics industry is a general problem, complexion products tend to be the focus when it comes to correcting that issue. However, often products such as eyeshadows fall through the cracks. “I struggle with finding palettes with transition colors that are dark enough for me. They show up ashy, chalky, or too light,” Aina told Allure. “Every time I get palettes, I mentally have to fix them.”
Inclusivity has long been a common theme within Aina’s career, as well as in topics discussed on her channel. Aina has come under fire on multiple occasions for calling out brands for their lack of inclusivity. However, not all brands have turned a blind eye; Aina has collaborated in the past with the brand, Too Faced, by helping to extend the shade range of their Born This Way foundation by nine shades.
For this collaboration with Anastasia Beverly Hills, Aina hoped to create a palette with the smooth and pigmented formulation that the brand is known for but with shades that pop and accentuate darker skin tones in the way that the brand’s past palettes have not. “In my opinion, it’s perfect,” she told Allure. “I’ve been testing the product for so long and it’s literally something that represents me.”
The Jackie Aina Palette is $45 and is available online and in store with U.S. retail partners like Ulta, Nordstrom, and Sephora.
Photo Source: Allure
