Once upon a time, your average Highstreet clothing store sold only variations of outerwear, footwear, trousers, tops and everything in between. Yet more recently, it’s actually a bit odd if a Highstreet clothing store hasn’t jumped on the “beauty bandwagon” and Topshop definitely isn’t shy to following the trend.
Topshop first launched its beauty line a whole 8 years ago and just short of a decade later, many beauty gurus and makeup lovers wouldn’t know what to do without some of Topshop’s iconic and affordable products. The craze seemed to begin with their lipstick range; leaving youtubers and instagrammers alike raving over their collection of lipstick bullets and pencils. Next it seemed to be their highlight collection which I must admit, I also went a bit crazy for. I often wouldn’t dream of finishing off a makeup look without a spot of Topshop’s “Glow” potted highlighter in the shade Polished in my inner corner or beneath the eyebrow arch. And equally, people seemed super impressed by their pan and “chubby stick” style highlighters; the Highstreet giant had suddenly become a beauty-world hit overnight. But there is one thing undeniable, whether you lusted after their highlighter or lipstick range, it was their “cutesy” spotted or striped white and black packaging which made it recognisable. Unlike any other Highstreet beauty brand, Topshop didn’t appear to “rip-off” any premium brands, seen frequently with Revolution and Too Faced, and remained fairly original with their mix of matte and sheen finishes and chalk-like artworks.
More increasingly, regardless of a product’s origin, many consumers are often very packaging-specific regardless of the quality within. For example, I know I personally opt for a black chic, sometimes matte, packaging and sometimes cringe at the thought of a bright fuchsia palette sitting in my makeup case (sorry Jeffree Star). Guilty to the trend myself, a product sometimes must be ridiculously impressive to earn a place in my collection if it’s parcelled in a neon, unicorn-embossed or even sparkly case. I, like many others online, just prefer organisation and consistency in aesthetics (seems silly I know). Yet [pullquote]Topshop had no worries when impressing me and any other aesthetic-obsessed beauty lover in the market.[/pullquote] Their monochrome design with their signature handwritten-styled font for product names and shades began to flood every Topshop store and beauty guru’s collections alike. It was simple, sleek and not too “in your face”. And alongside the quality within their packaging and prices starting at as little as £5, it was no surprise that Topshop Beauty became a real hit.
However, 2017 brought some disappointing news to the Topshop Beauty fans of the world; it was being discontinued and slowly but surely, as seen on their current website, their “Beauty” range became filled with other brands like Carmex, Eylure, Gypsy Shrine and one of their latest and most popular in-house brands, Doll Beauty. Although we can still purchase “beauty” within Topshop, their much-loved beauty range has dwindled hugely. But the wait is finally over as earlier this month Topshop revealed a highly-anticipated relaunch of their beauty collection; to be released on the 2nd November. But although we may anticipate the return of their highlighters or much-loved lipsticks, it is clear from their recent press release that their iconic monochrome packaging is not making a return. Whilst their use of matte detailing remains, Topshop’s new packaging appears to follow a geometric theme; blushers, bronzers, eyeshadows and lipsticks being much ‘squarer’ and ‘chunkier’. The only product which seems unique is their almighty highlighters for this time, their pan, liquid and potted variations are quite literally “highlighted” in gold chrome packaging with the simple “Topshop” logo. It seems everything follows the same chic, black simplistic design (yey for me).
Yet, packaging aside, lets get to the important stuff: what’ inside. So, this November we can expect to find 83 different lip shades and textures, six different eyeshadow finishes in a variety of colours, glitters, glosses, liquid highlighters, makeup tools and everything in between (foundation, powder, blushers, nail polish, bronzers, liners…the list goes on). [pullquote]Whilst they’ll be keeping some their firm favourites, the whole collection is apparently rebranded, reformulated and re-parcelled for our delight.[/pullquote] Not the price though, the price starts at just £5! And wait wait, there’s one more thing: it’s even Cruelty Free. I’m sold. Affordable, ethical and aesthetically pleasing… I guess the only thing left to do is go swatching. Hopefully the new formulas won’t dampen Topshop Beauty’s highly
