US cult make-up brand Morphe will be hitting the shelves of none other than BOOTS next month. *Pause for gasps*
Anyone unfamiliar with the hyped retailer has been missing out until this point, it's one of the best in the business and has every colour under the sun in its palette range.
The brand has garnered a devoted fan base on social media and has scored multiple collaborations with names like Jeffree Star, James Charles and Jaclyn Hill.
Boots has really been upping the ante over the last few months, after successfully releasing Fenty Beauty and The Ordinary earlier this year to it's stores.
Morphe’s Instagram account has 9.8 million followers, while its #Morphebabe hashtag has over 1.3 million posts to date, so it's safe to say that it's a little bit popular.
Founded in 2008, the brand first found success through influencer-led promotions. In the States, new launches have been known to crash websites as they sell out within a matter of minutes.
Boots will be launching next month with the coveted Jeffree Star x Morphe Artistry Palette (28 euro for an incredible array of 30 shades), available exclusively online until October 11.
The rest of the collection will include foundation, available in an impressive 60 shades, brushes, makeup sponges and lip kits.
Joanna Rogers, Commercial Director and VP of Beauty and Gifting at Boots, released a statement on the beauty news.
“We are thrilled to be launching Morphe at Boots, a daring brand with a bold approach to beauty which celebrates individuality and self-expression.
"From high-quality tools, to dreamy eyeshadow palettes and influencer collaborations, I’m sure our customers cannot wait to get their hands on these products.”
Morphe will be available online from September 12, but you can join the waiting list on Boots.com from today. Get on that list as fast as you can, ladies.
Any eagle-eyed fans of Kylie Jenner and Ariana Grande MAY have noticed that the gals lost millions of Instagram followers overnight.
Jenner and Grande are two of the most followed people on the social media site, with Ari dropping from 145 million to 142, and Kylie dropping from 127 million to 124 million.
It probably isn't a major deal for them, but definitely is problematic for smaller influencers and YouTube creators. So what happened with Instagram, we ask?
We’re aware of an issue that is causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.
Instagram is currently investigating an issue that is causing some of the biggest accounts to lose millions of followers overnight, and took to Twitter to elaborate:
“We’re aware of an issue that is causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
James Charles and Zach Clayton, some of the larger names on the site, both tweeted about the issue, with MUA Charles saying; "Why did I just lose over half a million followers, Instagram. What you doing, sis?”
why did I just lose over half a million followers @instagram wyd sis
An original suggestion from Fast Company claimed that Instagram was taking action "to remove millions of accounts the company believed to be inauthentic." Translation: BOTS.
A lot of companies undergo random sweeps of their user bases to get rid of inactive accounts or spam, with Insta announcing in November that it was hoping to remove more fake accounts on the platform/
“We will begin removing inauthentic likes, follows and comments from accounts that use third-party apps to boost their popularity. We’ve built machine learning tools to help identify accounts that use these services and remove the inauthentic activity.”
Update: we’re expecting to have this issue resolved by 9 a.m. PST tomorrow. We understand this is frustrating, and our team is hard at work to get things back to normal.
They later updated their status to say that the issue would be revolved by 9am today, Valentine's Day. The team "are hard at work to get things back to normal". Hmmm, suspish.
The site began removing locked accounts from Twitter since last July, so maybe they just cleared out the bots and the uproar over follower counts has them regretting it?
Kensington Palace lost a massive 150,000 followers overnight, but the page recovered them today. It could be beneficial for influencers to have an awareness of what their 'real' follower count is, rather than just fake bots.
So Instagram is currently having a glitch where people are being automatically unfollowed.
This is the perfect time to unfollow people you have always wanted to, and then blame it on Instagram. You’re welcome x
Some social media users got clever by suggesting you could unfollow anyone your heart desires for this one day and blame it on Instagram, which we have to say is pure genius.
The uproar is uniquely fascinating in pointing out the dependency of many on the website and their follower count.
If anyone has any cool conspiracy theories on the matter, we'd love to hear them. Instagram are blaming it on a bug, but is it more than that? We do love a good mystery…
James Charles. Manny MUA. Jeffree Star. Wayne Goss. Bretman Rock. All men serving iconic lewks with massive followings in the ultra competitive YouTube beauty industry.
Long gone is the stereotype that makeup is just for women – men have been displaying sick skills in makeup application for hundreds of years since the origins of drag, and now men wearing makeup on the daily is celebrated across social media.
Last week, James Charles cause huge waves in Birmingham, when 8,000 of his fans showed up at a shopping centre to watch him open a brand new Morphe store.
Viewers did not appreciate her comment, seeing it as dismissive of the influence and skills possessed by some of the biggest names in digital beauty in their opinion.
Her comment was originally picked up by YouTuber Callum Markie, who tweeted a recording of the segment and said: ‘Says the 50 year old woman on national tv whining about what a 19 year old puts on their face just because their name isn’t Stephanie.'
'I really hope the grand kids are proud.’
James Charles himself replied to the tweet, saying: 'That’s okay, my makeup tips are reserved for the other 14 million people that are excited to learn & express themselves.'
Body-shaming is still massively prevalent in our society, without question.
Despite the cold, hard fact that it's 2019, people still feel the incessant need to pull others down for their appearance, and their weight.
Loey Lane is a well-known, GORGEOUS, experienced YouTuber who just so happens to be plus-sized. She speaks about it regularly, preaching the value of health above self-hatred and dieting.
The vlogger has now released a shocking video of a diet pill company using footage of her as part of their horrendously shameful advertising campaign.
After returning from a sportswear photoshoot with iconic make-up guru James Charles, the model discovered a video selling diet pills which utilised images of her as their 'before' template, and she's understandably fuming.
CarbonFire 213Complex makes it ridiculously difficult to find reviews of it online, but the video proclaims the product to be a certified miracle for anyone who wants to lose weight.
Diet pills have entered the media for an assortment of reasons over the last few years, with activists and public figures such as Jameela Jamil slamming weight-loss products which do more harm than good.
The Kardashians are renowned for selling appetite suppressants and weight-loss consumer goods, much to the dismay of many body positivity figures and health experts alike.
There are an array of dangers associated with items such as these, which are essentially glorified laxatives.
The advertising campaigns in the media are arguably as harmful, telling women their weight creates everyday problems such as finding a husband, having failing health and being embarrassed to look in the mirror.
No. Fuck off. No. You terrible and toxic influence on young girls. I admire their mother’s branding capabilities, she is an exploitative but innovative genius, however this family makes me feel actual despair over what women are reduced to. pic.twitter.com/zDPN1T8sBM
Loey Lane shows the video advert to her following, and it's one of the worst examples of body-shaming we've seen yet. It opens with a beautiful, pale-skinned blonde woman gazing at silk wedding gowns, after her friend asks her to be her maid-of-honour for a wedding.
"How I Fit Into My Wedding Dress" is the video's apparent title, despite the fact that it's NOT HER WEDDING. The problems aren't hard to spot throughout the disgraceful imagery.
The blonde woman looks into the camera lens, and the words; "Believe me, I wasn't always this way. This was me before losing all that weight," flash across the screen.
Lo-and-behold, the woman is now Loey Lane, allegedly the same person as the blonde woman.
Alright then, at this stage we've lost count of the issues within the video, and it's only about ten seconds in.
As if the ad itself isn't traumatising enough to watch, actual graphics for OTHER diet pill companies and body-shaming articles pop up on the side of the screen. An assault is what that is.
"I'm going to share my secret so that it can be easy for you!" the advert claims. Thank God for that.
"A few months ago, one of my best friends from high school texted me. She was getting married and she wanted me to be her bridesmaid. I was SO excited, but there was just one thing… I was SO overweight," the video continues. Wow.
"I couldn't go to the wedding like this, I was so pretty in high school and I would be so embarrassed looking like this. I wanted to go to the wedding and look like I did when I was 18. You know- slim, pretty, looking great in some heels." *Sharpens pitchfork*
"I cut out all junk food. I worked out every single day. After four months, I was still embarrassed to look in the mirror…my personal trainer friend said if I wanted to lose weight fast, I had to supercharge my metabolism."
Classic *insert scientific words here to fumble the consumer's brain* tactics.
"At this point I was desperate…time was running out." This isn't dismantling a bomb, you won't die if you attend your best friend's wedding at ANY weight.
"How could I show my face at the wedding looking like this?" Looking like.. a human woman? *Gasp* "I was even considering not showing up." Priorities aren't in order there, love.
"CarbonFire Complex claimed to boost metabolism using only the healthiest ingredients, they looked very professional." Yes, and Donald Trump looks very diplomatic.
"After only a few days, I dropped a dress size. Ten days later, I lost two dress sizes. I felt lighter on my feet." Because your digestive system has just wasted away, perhaps?
"After another week, I was down three sizes. By the time the wedding came around, I lost seven dress sizes. I was getting a LOT more attention from guys, I almost felt bad for the bride, because I was getting so many compliments."
Male attention should be the motivational factor for every woman, after all.
I hate how the fitness industry tricks people into believing there is a magic pill to give people the results they desire. Fit tea and diet pills are dangerous and the people selling them are only interested in your money. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK AND GOOD NUTRITION.
This all comes at the reasonable price of ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS, by the way. You can buy happiness, male sexual attention and confidence all at this lovely sale.
The blonde woman in the video revealed herself as Amanda John, and she also did not consent to be used for the branding.
So they effectively stole imagery from two women without their permission and used it to scam vulnerable, hard-working people online with low self-esteem because of ads exactly like this, shaming their weight. As if a weighing scales can tell you your worth.
We hope Loey Lane and Amanda John take legal action against CarbonFire Complex, Lord knows they deserve it.
A reminder, there is no such thing as a magic pill. Your worth encompasses your hopes, fears, intelligence, beliefs, morals, family values, friends, career and everything in between, not just your appearance alone.
You can't lose weight and discover joy at the end of the scales.
Take a look at Loey Lane's original video below for some fresh morning rage;
YouTuber James Charles has made a plea to his hardcore fans to cease showing up uninvited to his home.
Charles, who has over 11 million followers on Instagram, a further 2.4 followers on Twitter and an incredible 11.5 million subscribers on YouTube, creates innovative beauty content as a makeup guru and influencer.
Thanks to the no boundaries nature of social media, fans have taken to showing up at Charles' private residence, and the online guru has made a request for privacy via his Twitter.
please stop showing up at my house. i will not hug you, i will not take a photo with you, and i absolutely will not sign your palette. it is extremely disrespectful & makes me feel very unsafe in my own home. respect people’s privacy, it’s really not that hard.
The makeup artist tweeted to fans that he now feels 'unsafe' in his own home, and finds the actions to be highly disrespectful.
Opinion is divided in the comments section of his tweet.
Many fans sympathise with the YouTuber, and agree that showing up outside someone's house unannounced is completely crossing the line.
'To the people arguing that he chose this life… Almost everyone puts personal info about themselves online. It's considered stalking/harassment when its someone who isn't "famous" but because he has a large following that makes it okay? That's some messed up logic,' one fan wrote in the artist's defence.
However, others have criticised the beauty guru's plea, suggesting that Charles owes every moment to his fans, as they are the ones who allow him the opportunities he has in life thanks to the fact that they follow him. 'They made you who you are else you would be living in a box,' one user wrote.
Others make the simplified claim that if you put yourself out there online, you can expect to sacrifice your privacy in every aspect.
The divisive nature of the response to Charles's request led to the tweet, and it's comment section, to be picked up by a number of media outlets.
Charles has clapped back at one srticle in particular, who referred to him as 'Kylie Jenner's makeup artist.'
James Charles has collaborated with Kylie Jenner in the past but is an individual creator in his own right – with a resume which includes years of online content creation, brand collaborations, TV appearances and the development of his own makeup palette with brand Morphe.
There has been a contouring craze sweeping Instagram since Kim Kardashian introduced the technique to the world, but now the tools used to apply the look are getting out of hand.
We thought we'd seen it all when one MUA used the heel of a Louboutin shoe to get that sharp AF cheekbone shadow, and when that girl used her boyfriends' testicles to blend her foundation, we knew we'd had enough internet for one day.
Now, Instagram famous MUA James Charles has introduced another unique tool for creating the perfect contour.
The world is obsessed with fidget spinners at the moment, and there isn't a primary school-aged kid in the land who doesn't have one of these nifty little toys stashed in their pencil case at this very moment.
As well as being a distracting toy for the under-12 set, the contraption is apparently ace when it comes to blending a contour and highlight, as demonstrated by James.
There’s only one thing more sickening than people seeing a dodgy photo of you and that’s when that stomach flipping pic is permanently preserved in your final year yearbook.
But while many of us live to regret not asking for a reshoot on photo day, one 17-year-old New Yorker decided he would take matters into his own hands.
Unhappy with his potential yearbook picture, James Charles from Bethlehem, New York, retook his senior year photos to make sure everyone remembered just how on fleek his highlighting skills really are.
A photo posted by JAMES CHARLES (@jcharlesbeauty) on
The aspiring makeup artist told BuzzFeed News that on the day of the original yearbook photoshoot the available lighting did not do his makeup justice – hate that – and so James decided to organise a shoot of his own.
Desperately in need of an “iconic” senior year picture, the teen quickly sourced a photography company who would allow him to use a ring light – a tool used by makeup artists and bloggers to ensure photos really do their skills justice – and had the photos retaken.
James was so impressed with the final results he took to Instagram to share his experience.
In a post which has since received almost 100,000 likes and nearly 5,000 comments, he wrote: “So I retook my senior photos & brought my ring light with me so my highlight would be poppin. I love being extra.”
A tweet about the incident received a similar reaction, with even former Disney star Zendaya coming out to celebrate the move. She retweeted James’ story with the caption “you win”.
