Disney’s The Lion King was one of the first movies I ever saw in a theater, so I’ve been counting down the days until the live-action remake hits theaters next month. But, while I just can’t wait to revisit some of my favorite childhood characters, when Beyoncé’s makeup artist Sir John announced that he teamed up with Luminess Cosmetics to create a limited-edition collection inspired by the film, I immediately was more excited about all of my potential summer makeup looks. (Side note: In case you somehow missed the casting announcement, Bey is voice of Nayla in the remake.)
The products in the collection include a sculpting palette, an eyeshadow palette, a highlighter, liquid lipsticks, traditional lipstick bullets, and a lip balm. Prices range from $24 for the lip products to $42 for the eyeshadow and sculpting palette. The complete collection can be purchased in a vault for $250.
What immediately stands out about the collection is that if you were to look at the all of the shimmery and matte shades without seeing the packaging, they still capture essence of the film and its African setting. So, I reached out to Sir John on the phone to find out what went into creating the collection.
“I spent a lot of time South Africa, and I’ve been there five times this year,” Sir John tells me. “I went on a safari and got so inspired seeing the colors of the clay and the soil because it’s so red, rich, and warm there. I took tons of pictures and videos of what I saw on my phone and brought it back home. Then, I made a mood board of the photos and started swatching colors.”
Sir John didn’t just travel far to create the collection, he also says that he and Luminess has a tight timeline, doing a years-worth of work in approximately six months. “When I got the phone call from Disney, it didn’t hit me that it was really happening,” he says. “The next thing I had to do was figure out who I was going to partner with to manufacture the collection to make sure it had the right pigment, color payoff, and packaging. Luminess is a company I met and worked with around Coachella time, and I was looking for an opportunity to work with them again.”
Now that the collection is out in the wild, Sir John has been teaming up with everyone’s favorite beauty bloggers to put the collection in action, including Shayla. He filmed this killer emerald smoky eye look using one of the collection’s few vibrant shades.
You can check it out below:
In the video, Sir John gives a ton of application tips, talks about how he got his start as a makeup artist, and what it’s like working with Bey.
Since it’s officially summer, the unofficial season of glowy skin, and the Lion King collection includes The Circle of Life Highlighter, a universally flattering shade for a lit-from-within glow, I got him to spill his secret for keeping your highlighter from melting off during the summer.
He tells me to use two highlighters, using a liquid one as a base… and then going over it with the powder formula. “It’s still luminous and gives you that glowing complexion, but it won’t melt off — it will stay there,” he says. “Even if it does melt off because we are going into summer, you’ll still traces of a beautiful, gleaming complexion.”
Considering one of his clients performs in stadiums, dancing for the majority of her show, I’m going to take Sir John’s advice and start layering my highlighter this summer.
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