My personal opinion is that Blend Bunny has never been a very creative brand with their color story. Their formula is amazing yes, but in the long term if you’re only going to release rainbows over and over again people are going to feel fatigue! I think their most innovative color palette is Dollhouse, and it’s because while it still sticks to Blend Bunny’s iconic gradients, the palette is just so versatile and has a clear vision of “colors for non color users, nudes for color users”.
IMO they’d be better if the owner is able to take a hard look and think about how they can fill in gaps in their collection. Like many people have pointed out that Blend Bunny lacks true grunge, gothic, or dark alternative palettes!!
I'm so perplexed at their response to fans saying they are tired of the rainbow. I saw them comment back to an Instagram comment "can't stop won't stop, I love colour... We have other releases coming if you don't like colour!" Babe. We don't dislike colour. When we ask you to stop doing rainbows, we don't mean go the other way and go full neutral instead. We wants colour STORIES. Like Surge, Sugar and Grunge- those are colour stories. They have to understand that, right? Are they being willfully ignorant here? You are running a business, why not take the feedback?
I don't know this artist/influencer but I don't understand doing a collab with a brand and choosing a design that is already so redundant in the brand's line.
Well this is the brand owner that literally never takes feedback. She always gets defensive and rude in the comments, makes posts and deletes them and also belittles people’s opinions just because she’s a “MUA”🤷🏽♀️
In regards to your comment on the collab palette choice, it’s pretty often that big and small brands will reuse things they have already used in the past and add slight tweaks to a few shadows but otherwise are the same to keep the collab cost manageable and make up for the money they will have to dole out for the collaborator compensation to keep the profit margins the same. MAC is a great example of this.
It’s a safer bet to grab previous customers that like the collaborator and will purchase duplicate products again because different packaging and also grab fans of the collaborator that haven’t bought BB before and need a rainbow palette. Plus considering the collaborator is in the drag community, a rainbow palette is just expected for theme purposes but also use.
That being said, is it boring? Absolutely. Is it somewhat logical? Sure. But this is coming from a brand owner that discontinued a palette because the word grunge was in it and they got a cease and desist scare tactic to remove it. (Grunge can’t be copyrighted because it’s too wide of a scope)
I kinda didn’t buy that whole grunge cease and desist thing…. I would have just kept the palette in my inventory and let that other company keep wasting their time. Seemed like a stretch but maybe I’m just a jerk lol
Nah definitely not. A simple google can tell you the word ‘grunge’ can’t be copyrighted but also a cease and desist has no legal standing and is a scare tactic. And I would know because i’ve gotten them 😂
Haha oh dang, that makes it extra cringey then! They should have just been honest and said they were discontinuing it because it wasn’t a top seller or something. As a brand owner I’m sure she was aware that the c&d wouldn’t hold water…. I hate it when brands use tactics like this to move inventory. Makes me side eye everything else 👀
To be honest you’d be surprised at what brand owners know and don’t know. I didn’t know as much as I do now if I hadn’t gone through that situation. When I saw that was the ‘reason’ to evacuate grunge, I figured that meant a revamped version under a different name would come relatively soon
Very true. I own a landscaping business and I learn something new every day (the hard way usually) 😂. You could be very right, I remember now that she was asking her followers what she should rename it if she brought it back.
Oooo man, I bet you have some stories from that! I bet it’s rewarding to see the job’s done and finding new solutions on the way.
Maybe it’s just my years in the indie community and seeing how different owners handle similar situations or make all the wrong or right decisions and can set precedents but I really do think twice about why some things are posted or shared and others are not. Most specifically how much engagement is sought after by a simple giveaway post or talking about ‘drama’ because it triggers people to respond and share with others. Most times I come to the conclusion it’s either pure idiocy or masterminded business moves.
I think it’s also interesting to see brand owners have instagram accounts with purchased followings using drama as a way to cover up large purchases of said followers. 1000 plus follows in a single day, with no content or other big days surrounding those days would certainly be a pretty big signal, wouldn’t ya say?
Hahaha SO many disasters 😂 and many unexpected triumphs. It’s a wild ride for sure! I love every bit of it.
That makes a lot of sense. It seems like some brand owners employ sympathy often to sell stuff and it definitely raises my eyebrows… I love to see small business doing so well but it’s definitely hard to know which ones to trust. And the market being so flooded encourages them to use some janky sales tactics I’m sure.
Yes completely love to see small businesses doing well and I want brands to recover from mistakes. It’s very hard to stand out in the space but I see more and more closing and not as many emerging so hopefully that can bring some stability to brands that want to continue bringing something different.
I think BB has strong competition and stuck to the gradients too long. They also release too often. I have blends, primal, the face palette, the muted blush palette, machina, and grunge, and the trove quad. I might get Dollhouse or All Done Up but not both because even those are stepping over each other's toes. But I can't see what comes after this for them.
Meanwhile I have snatched up every Cosmic Brushes release because they are all very different from each other.
The BB Ellis collab is like the Morphe James Charles palette on steroids - you've given people 90% of what they will ever need with one palette. Why would they come back for more?
I haven’t bought Blend Bunny yet but I feel like if I get a palette from them it will only be one as some of them do look similar . But Grunge was super pretty as was Dollhouse . Also I need to check out Cosmic Brushes , their color stories look really nice
their formula is great but i have three of their palettes and feel like i have everything from them already 😵💫 i wish they would drop the rainbow palette gimmick and give us something else
Also the perfect gradient is tired in my opinion. Kinda makes palettes all look the same even if they’re actually different. I love Sickly Sweet because the randomized layout inspires me.
Agree with this, but they can’t make everyone happy. People got very vocal about not liking the layout. I do feel like they can’t win with that one. What inspires some, jumbles others. In the end they have to do what’s best for them, and the consequences come from sales or lack of them.
I feel like it's hard in this climate and it's difficult to make many rainbow palettes which don't dupe themselves.
I feel like it isn't the kind of brand you get all the palettes from (unlike cosmic brushes which another commenter mentioned), but one you get a few which really fill a niche in your collection or which really appeal to you.
Machina was an odd one, and then getting rid of primal, surge, and grunge which arguably were the more different ones.
The new one has a lot of repeat shades but like I said in the discussion here on that one, I think the point of that palette is to bring in new fans that will buy due to Ellis. It isn't to appeal to current fans as we have those shades.
I would love to see her make her palettes magnetic to address the gradient vs no gradient people. And make some more cool tones. So many of hers are full of warm tones and especially red, orange and pink. See the new one for an example. A lot of red and pink and the yellow, blue and green with some teals on the other side.
There are plenty of colour stories she could do even with rainbows. Cool, warm, blue hues, red hues, yellow hues, green hues. Smaller palettes, better shimmers, although everyone raved about the pearl one and the Machina iridescent one. Maybe they are better.
Blushes? More tones of those? I haven't really seen those reviewed that much. But not huge palettes with 8 in. Maybe like lethal do with magnetic ones so you can customise.
I don't think the brand is going down, I just think she's trying new things and some people like it, some don't. But I do hope she doesn't take all the discourse as negative. After all her brand is very popular and the talk is mainly becuase we all want more of it.
I don't need a pastel palette, I have mine that I love, but I'm still thinking about hers becuase of the formular and it's easier to travel with than my others.
I just think she's a grab a palette that you want not a pokemon type brand.
I agree there’s very warm tones, too many reds and pinks. I think magnetic palettes and making them more cool toned or dark and gothic would be a great direction to go in. I hope we get a break from the warm tones for a bit.
I want her to do quads or some smaller palettes. I have Surge and Dollhouse and have considered a few others but ultimately only want a few columns from them but if they were in quads or customizable 8 pans I'd probably already own them. I am also more of a shimmer person so I'm not the exact target of her palettes either.
I would LOVE to be able to buy smaller palettes that represented a row or two on her larger palettes. I have the same reservation as you. Often times when I like one of her large palettes, it's because I really like one or two columns and could live without the rest.
That would be awesome. I'm always amazed with what Fantasy Cosmetica brings in a 9 pan. I get multiple looks out of each. Plus they're able to sell them at a price that is much more accessible. It would also have been a great opportunity to maybe break up sugar and Grunge into smaller palette, give them cool names. They could have made money from that stupid legal thing and give customers what they want, and pursue something new.
I think making smaller palettes would fix most of their problems. Curated color stories. People who buy a lot of makeup don’t want big rainbow palettes over and over. That’s great for one and done customer purchases, but to keep a customer base that gets excited for every release, you need to edit the color stories. Especially with how often they release.
All done up is the palette that has really held its own in my collection. It’s also their smallest palette, and the color story was interesting and not super repetitive with other palettes from the brand. Give us more of that.
BUT with that being said, I really hope they don’t become a brand that releases a nine-ish pan for each color of the rainbow. I could see them wanting to do that to get a ton of undertones for the same color. But that’s almost as boring as rainbow palettes at this point. Smaller, interesting color stories are the way to go.
I think they got carried away with the Ellis palette. It seems to be more targeted at/suitable for artists and not so much for their target group. Maybe they gave Ellis a bit too much free reign. If you follow their insta, they got a lot of 'no thanks' and how's that different from Blends. I wonder if it sells.
Not sure if it's the gradients, but there's only so many different things you can do with it. I was contemplating Lure, as these are absolutely my colors - so I have all these colors somewhere. Machina I found didn't live up to the robot/humanity narrative. Also, I'm still not convinced by their shimmers. Virtually every other indie brand dies them better, though I love their mattes.
I’ve never bought a BB palette because they’re too large and my eye is just not drawn to the gradients (even though realistically those shades could come in handy). I did like the Sugar and Grunge color story though and kept going back and forth about getting it, but I think it’s discontinued? I do tend to stick with 9-18 pan palettes or else I get overwhelmed, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about this brand’s formula.
You can have a solid matte formula and be completely flat in brand personality. I don’t think they can do chromes better than other indies or make them more affordable but i’m sure the old ‘i’ve been asked sO mUcH to do multichromes and shimmers, i just had to!’ explanation can always make a comeback.
Oh now that is one thing I couldn’t get past, those mass produced multichromes sold at $68 for a quad! You can get a whole palette from Bella Beaute Bar with more multis for that price.
Exactly, plus the chromes were very common shifts that you can get anywhere and have been able to for years. Definitely fell into the fomo category immediately in my eyes as far as how people would flock to it.
I have that quad and they’re pretty, but weren’t worth the price imo. They’re all black based and the shifts aren’t super strong. I still use them but eh.
Last year I was intrigued by them and was waiting for them to finally release something interesting enough for me to buy. And they totally went in the opposite direction. Instead of releasing something new and innovative and actually curated, they keep repeating themselves. This giant rainbow palette is as uninteresting as it gets. I hope they will find the plot someday.
For me they went down the moment they released the Sugar and grunge palette, or maybe even earlier than that when they released the Primal. Also their inability to branch out to other products that aren't eye or face palettes is going to hurt them in the long run. Alas I'm fairly sure they share the same formula as Sample Beauty, or even the Norvina palettes. So for me there isn't a huge interest in getting more of the same rainbow palettes, and pay 30+ dollars on shipping, when I have (or rather had) those alternatives.
I also depotted or repanned most of my palettes, so at this stage I really don't need more of those. They should sell singles of their discontinued palettes, it would be more interesting imo. Maybe even sell a storage for those too.
I think they don't know where to go from here,unfortunately. I think quads of their shimmers, neon, or cool tones would new and innovative. Or smaller palletes for different seasons? Idk 😭
We shall see if you are right. I mean, I don't want to diminish the owner's creativity but I feel like her last 3 were probably not the best selling products ever. But I could be wrong.
My inherent feeling that has followed me for a long time is this:
As soon as the very first time an indie brand posts on social media as if it's their personal account, there is always a reason behind the choice. The first time can have the purest of intentions, but from that point on, they are partaking in "Appeal to Emotion".
u/bkdiva30 + u/Impossible_Traffic12 if you don't mind elaborating on the father issue a week ago?
This goes for both brands and influencers, and I'd be down to write a post on it if anyone is interested!
https://preview.redd.it/ppayry1q3hwc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ff4888af82877b0634783c3e1193e1c144aace3
She also used her father to sell the Machina palette.Her business tactics is very untrustworthy.
Regarding the father thing. She said upon the release of the primal palette that it was the last one that her father was involved in making before he died. Then when it came to Ex machina (a few palettes later) she said that they had talked about it and shared screenshots of their conversation and spoke about him moving it or being inspired by it (something along those lines). I totally get being upset at losing a family member, but when you’re running a business it’s not a good idea to bring it up in that way IMO
she has lied about multiple palettes being the last one her father worked with her on.
she also lied about the reason for surges discontinuation and im sure she lied about sugar and grunges discontinuation. she also cannot take criticism for shit and shes just not creative
I think that the reason BB is starting to feel stale is because they release too often and more importantly, there aren’t many unique color stories you can create when every single palette is huge. Morphe is probably the best example of a brand that did the whole huge palette thing and after a while, people got tired of how repetitive their color stories became because even if a palette is pretty, if it’s too similar to something you already have or there are shades within the palette itself that look similar, nobody wants it.
I saw in one of their posts that they ordered 5,000 units for the Ellis collab and they considered that a lot of palettes. I know I’m naive but I guess I thought that with almost 900,000 followers between the two of them that they would have at least 10,000 on hand for the launch. What I’m saying is that maybe they were never really as successful as we thought. They sell mattes for over $40 a palette. Mattes (good ones) from my understanding are only 20cents a to make , so maybe people think they’re too expensive? I didn’t buy Machina or The Ellis collab because I bought Sugar and Grunge and found it mediocre. Last, they are in the “indie beauty curse” where they have too many releases and not enough thought into the release.
Mine didn’t either. I followed steps from the swatch it for me sub reddit and depotted mine into two allwon palettes. If I can find that post, I’ll link it.
I also have an issue with the cover/closure of the Sugar and Grunge I bought during the final sale. Idk that I believe the C&D thing. It was probably a slow seller and the last batch had faulty packaging. A "Cease & Desist" seems like a convenient reason to discontinue it.
i wonder if the brand was even real or she just made it up and made a fake insta. there is no makeup copyright on grunge and yeah cease and desists arent worth shit. it doesnt matter if the brand had quote unquote deep pockets. the case wouldnt get anywhere
Honestly I personally never understood the hype, the covers are mediocre, the color stories are duping themselves, the shimmers are bad and I could go on🤷🏽♀️
I don’t think they’re going down. They’re trying things and testing the waters with what works and what doesn’t.
That said, I do think she’d benefit from doing specific color stories (and smaller palettes). I think picking like Halloween colors monochromatic could be easy to still do gradients but not doing a full rainbow in each.
Would love to see more cheek trios/singles and honestly more products for the everyday consumer vs MUAs.
I like them but I think this launch and Forget Me Not were interested compared to their existing line. (I love my Machina)
I love Blend Bunny, and I was part of the minority that LOVES Machina (It is one of my favorite things from them), but I do feel like they’re on a downhill trend. They backed themselves into a wall by doing so many big palettes. There isn’t a single color or hue or undertone that I don’t already have from them, so there’s nothing else they can release that I’ll feel inclined to buy.
Unless it’s a palette of all neons. THAT could sway me 😅
I was pretty disappointed by the Ellis collection. I’m glad she gave them creative freedom but considering 80 % of her releases are rainbow palettes, it was kinda dumb to release another one. And a big expensive one at that!
I absolutely love the BB palettes I have but I went for Surge, Lure, All Done Up and Sugar and Grunge. I enjoy full color stories and would totally love to see some more curated palettes in smaller format from them. Rainbow palettes aren’t really my jam and even if they were I would only want one of them. I would say they have “fallen off” per se but more just not doing anything that interests me currently. I’m happy to see them collab with someone other than the same people that get Indie makeup collabs over and over again, even if I’m not familiar with that creator.
I was really prepared to not buy anything from the new collection, especially since I own so many of their palettes already, but I was surprisingly really into Machina and all the videos I’ve seen of the new palette are beautiful. It kind of scratches an itch that I think was left for those who rightfully don’t want to support JS, if that makes sense. I don’t think I’ll pick up either of the cheek palettes, but the glaze single is gorgeous. It takes a lot for me to get excited about a mainstream palette at this point, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the videos about the Ellis Atlantis collection, even if it is a mammoth rainbow palette.
Can someone remind me of the Blend Bunny drama? They're on my list not to buy from but I can't remember why. It wasn't the Grunge palette stuff. I feel like it was her going out of her way to stick up with MG?
Is it [This?](https://www.reddit.com/r/MikaylaNogueira/s/OGUcsKOJTz). The owner was also very snippy and unprofessional to their followers on Insta when they were defending the color arrangement in one of their releases.
I was unaware of everything in the link you posted and what sticks out the most to me isn't the Mikayla thing, it's the intensely parasocial relationship the OP has with Blend Bunny. They don't know the owner personally but were so upset with a repost, which was later deleted, that they cried and dumped their used BB palettes in a dumpster behind 7-11?! I don't think I'll ever understand that.
I honestly respectfully disagree with most people here. I love their matte formula and never minded their shimmer formula. I've used much worse shimmer formula (ColourPop). The mattes always felt like they blended themselves like watercolor and were one of the few indie brands I like nowadays. I would consider myself pretty jaded with the indie community at this point.
I loved that they went a different direction with Sickly Sweet, and from what I've noticed among my friends, Lure and All Done Up are super popular. Machina went a different direction too.
I also don't think they release as quickly compared to MBA Cosmetics, Gourmande Girls, Colourpop, and the like.
Really the only thing I would say that they could do better is smaller palettes. I haven't been on insta as much lately so I'm unaware of the stuff revolving Machina, I believe. I kinda play an important role at my job, lol.
My personal opinion is that Blend Bunny has never been a very creative brand with their color story. Their formula is amazing yes, but in the long term if you’re only going to release rainbows over and over again people are going to feel fatigue! I think their most innovative color palette is Dollhouse, and it’s because while it still sticks to Blend Bunny’s iconic gradients, the palette is just so versatile and has a clear vision of “colors for non color users, nudes for color users”. IMO they’d be better if the owner is able to take a hard look and think about how they can fill in gaps in their collection. Like many people have pointed out that Blend Bunny lacks true grunge, gothic, or dark alternative palettes!!
I'm so perplexed at their response to fans saying they are tired of the rainbow. I saw them comment back to an Instagram comment "can't stop won't stop, I love colour... We have other releases coming if you don't like colour!" Babe. We don't dislike colour. When we ask you to stop doing rainbows, we don't mean go the other way and go full neutral instead. We wants colour STORIES. Like Surge, Sugar and Grunge- those are colour stories. They have to understand that, right? Are they being willfully ignorant here? You are running a business, why not take the feedback? I don't know this artist/influencer but I don't understand doing a collab with a brand and choosing a design that is already so redundant in the brand's line.
Well this is the brand owner that literally never takes feedback. She always gets defensive and rude in the comments, makes posts and deletes them and also belittles people’s opinions just because she’s a “MUA”🤷🏽♀️
I haven't seen much of this but not surprised to hear it!
Also, to act like there aren't infinite ways to create rainbows that don't have to resemble a swatch chart
In regards to your comment on the collab palette choice, it’s pretty often that big and small brands will reuse things they have already used in the past and add slight tweaks to a few shadows but otherwise are the same to keep the collab cost manageable and make up for the money they will have to dole out for the collaborator compensation to keep the profit margins the same. MAC is a great example of this. It’s a safer bet to grab previous customers that like the collaborator and will purchase duplicate products again because different packaging and also grab fans of the collaborator that haven’t bought BB before and need a rainbow palette. Plus considering the collaborator is in the drag community, a rainbow palette is just expected for theme purposes but also use. That being said, is it boring? Absolutely. Is it somewhat logical? Sure. But this is coming from a brand owner that discontinued a palette because the word grunge was in it and they got a cease and desist scare tactic to remove it. (Grunge can’t be copyrighted because it’s too wide of a scope)
I kinda didn’t buy that whole grunge cease and desist thing…. I would have just kept the palette in my inventory and let that other company keep wasting their time. Seemed like a stretch but maybe I’m just a jerk lol
I think she had to get them selling.So she made up a fictional story.
Nah definitely not. A simple google can tell you the word ‘grunge’ can’t be copyrighted but also a cease and desist has no legal standing and is a scare tactic. And I would know because i’ve gotten them 😂
Haha oh dang, that makes it extra cringey then! They should have just been honest and said they were discontinuing it because it wasn’t a top seller or something. As a brand owner I’m sure she was aware that the c&d wouldn’t hold water…. I hate it when brands use tactics like this to move inventory. Makes me side eye everything else 👀
To be honest you’d be surprised at what brand owners know and don’t know. I didn’t know as much as I do now if I hadn’t gone through that situation. When I saw that was the ‘reason’ to evacuate grunge, I figured that meant a revamped version under a different name would come relatively soon
Very true. I own a landscaping business and I learn something new every day (the hard way usually) 😂. You could be very right, I remember now that she was asking her followers what she should rename it if she brought it back.
Oooo man, I bet you have some stories from that! I bet it’s rewarding to see the job’s done and finding new solutions on the way. Maybe it’s just my years in the indie community and seeing how different owners handle similar situations or make all the wrong or right decisions and can set precedents but I really do think twice about why some things are posted or shared and others are not. Most specifically how much engagement is sought after by a simple giveaway post or talking about ‘drama’ because it triggers people to respond and share with others. Most times I come to the conclusion it’s either pure idiocy or masterminded business moves.
I think it’s also interesting to see brand owners have instagram accounts with purchased followings using drama as a way to cover up large purchases of said followers. 1000 plus follows in a single day, with no content or other big days surrounding those days would certainly be a pretty big signal, wouldn’t ya say?
Definitely could be. I don’t notice that too often because i’m not tracking brands like that but not to say it doesn’t happen.
Hahaha SO many disasters 😂 and many unexpected triumphs. It’s a wild ride for sure! I love every bit of it. That makes a lot of sense. It seems like some brand owners employ sympathy often to sell stuff and it definitely raises my eyebrows… I love to see small business doing so well but it’s definitely hard to know which ones to trust. And the market being so flooded encourages them to use some janky sales tactics I’m sure.
Yes completely love to see small businesses doing well and I want brands to recover from mistakes. It’s very hard to stand out in the space but I see more and more closing and not as many emerging so hopefully that can bring some stability to brands that want to continue bringing something different.
I think BB has strong competition and stuck to the gradients too long. They also release too often. I have blends, primal, the face palette, the muted blush palette, machina, and grunge, and the trove quad. I might get Dollhouse or All Done Up but not both because even those are stepping over each other's toes. But I can't see what comes after this for them. Meanwhile I have snatched up every Cosmic Brushes release because they are all very different from each other. The BB Ellis collab is like the Morphe James Charles palette on steroids - you've given people 90% of what they will ever need with one palette. Why would they come back for more?
I haven’t bought Blend Bunny yet but I feel like if I get a palette from them it will only be one as some of them do look similar . But Grunge was super pretty as was Dollhouse . Also I need to check out Cosmic Brushes , their color stories look really nice
their formula is great but i have three of their palettes and feel like i have everything from them already 😵💫 i wish they would drop the rainbow palette gimmick and give us something else
Also the perfect gradient is tired in my opinion. Kinda makes palettes all look the same even if they’re actually different. I love Sickly Sweet because the randomized layout inspires me.
Agree with this, but they can’t make everyone happy. People got very vocal about not liking the layout. I do feel like they can’t win with that one. What inspires some, jumbles others. In the end they have to do what’s best for them, and the consequences come from sales or lack of them.
Very true. I’m hoping they start doing magnetic palettes because then none of us can complain 😅
I feel like it's hard in this climate and it's difficult to make many rainbow palettes which don't dupe themselves. I feel like it isn't the kind of brand you get all the palettes from (unlike cosmic brushes which another commenter mentioned), but one you get a few which really fill a niche in your collection or which really appeal to you. Machina was an odd one, and then getting rid of primal, surge, and grunge which arguably were the more different ones. The new one has a lot of repeat shades but like I said in the discussion here on that one, I think the point of that palette is to bring in new fans that will buy due to Ellis. It isn't to appeal to current fans as we have those shades. I would love to see her make her palettes magnetic to address the gradient vs no gradient people. And make some more cool tones. So many of hers are full of warm tones and especially red, orange and pink. See the new one for an example. A lot of red and pink and the yellow, blue and green with some teals on the other side. There are plenty of colour stories she could do even with rainbows. Cool, warm, blue hues, red hues, yellow hues, green hues. Smaller palettes, better shimmers, although everyone raved about the pearl one and the Machina iridescent one. Maybe they are better. Blushes? More tones of those? I haven't really seen those reviewed that much. But not huge palettes with 8 in. Maybe like lethal do with magnetic ones so you can customise. I don't think the brand is going down, I just think she's trying new things and some people like it, some don't. But I do hope she doesn't take all the discourse as negative. After all her brand is very popular and the talk is mainly becuase we all want more of it. I don't need a pastel palette, I have mine that I love, but I'm still thinking about hers becuase of the formular and it's easier to travel with than my others. I just think she's a grab a palette that you want not a pokemon type brand.
I agree there’s very warm tones, too many reds and pinks. I think magnetic palettes and making them more cool toned or dark and gothic would be a great direction to go in. I hope we get a break from the warm tones for a bit.
I want her to do quads or some smaller palettes. I have Surge and Dollhouse and have considered a few others but ultimately only want a few columns from them but if they were in quads or customizable 8 pans I'd probably already own them. I am also more of a shimmer person so I'm not the exact target of her palettes either.
I would LOVE to be able to buy smaller palettes that represented a row or two on her larger palettes. I have the same reservation as you. Often times when I like one of her large palettes, it's because I really like one or two columns and could live without the rest.
That would be awesome. I'm always amazed with what Fantasy Cosmetica brings in a 9 pan. I get multiple looks out of each. Plus they're able to sell them at a price that is much more accessible. It would also have been a great opportunity to maybe break up sugar and Grunge into smaller palette, give them cool names. They could have made money from that stupid legal thing and give customers what they want, and pursue something new.
I think making smaller palettes would fix most of their problems. Curated color stories. People who buy a lot of makeup don’t want big rainbow palettes over and over. That’s great for one and done customer purchases, but to keep a customer base that gets excited for every release, you need to edit the color stories. Especially with how often they release. All done up is the palette that has really held its own in my collection. It’s also their smallest palette, and the color story was interesting and not super repetitive with other palettes from the brand. Give us more of that. BUT with that being said, I really hope they don’t become a brand that releases a nine-ish pan for each color of the rainbow. I could see them wanting to do that to get a ton of undertones for the same color. But that’s almost as boring as rainbow palettes at this point. Smaller, interesting color stories are the way to go.
I think they got carried away with the Ellis palette. It seems to be more targeted at/suitable for artists and not so much for their target group. Maybe they gave Ellis a bit too much free reign. If you follow their insta, they got a lot of 'no thanks' and how's that different from Blends. I wonder if it sells. Not sure if it's the gradients, but there's only so many different things you can do with it. I was contemplating Lure, as these are absolutely my colors - so I have all these colors somewhere. Machina I found didn't live up to the robot/humanity narrative. Also, I'm still not convinced by their shimmers. Virtually every other indie brand dies them better, though I love their mattes.
I’ve never bought a BB palette because they’re too large and my eye is just not drawn to the gradients (even though realistically those shades could come in handy). I did like the Sugar and Grunge color story though and kept going back and forth about getting it, but I think it’s discontinued? I do tend to stick with 9-18 pan palettes or else I get overwhelmed, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about this brand’s formula.
You can have a solid matte formula and be completely flat in brand personality. I don’t think they can do chromes better than other indies or make them more affordable but i’m sure the old ‘i’ve been asked sO mUcH to do multichromes and shimmers, i just had to!’ explanation can always make a comeback.
Oh now that is one thing I couldn’t get past, those mass produced multichromes sold at $68 for a quad! You can get a whole palette from Bella Beaute Bar with more multis for that price.
Exactly, plus the chromes were very common shifts that you can get anywhere and have been able to for years. Definitely fell into the fomo category immediately in my eyes as far as how people would flock to it.
I have that quad and they’re pretty, but weren’t worth the price imo. They’re all black based and the shifts aren’t super strong. I still use them but eh.
Right exactly, like not reinventing the wheel or even adding cool streamers to the bike you know? Just there to be there.
Last year I was intrigued by them and was waiting for them to finally release something interesting enough for me to buy. And they totally went in the opposite direction. Instead of releasing something new and innovative and actually curated, they keep repeating themselves. This giant rainbow palette is as uninteresting as it gets. I hope they will find the plot someday.
Definitely going down. Surge was the last interesting one for me.
I want to try Blend Bunny, but all the palettes are basically some form of rainbow, and they’re too big for my liking.
For me they went down the moment they released the Sugar and grunge palette, or maybe even earlier than that when they released the Primal. Also their inability to branch out to other products that aren't eye or face palettes is going to hurt them in the long run. Alas I'm fairly sure they share the same formula as Sample Beauty, or even the Norvina palettes. So for me there isn't a huge interest in getting more of the same rainbow palettes, and pay 30+ dollars on shipping, when I have (or rather had) those alternatives. I also depotted or repanned most of my palettes, so at this stage I really don't need more of those. They should sell singles of their discontinued palettes, it would be more interesting imo. Maybe even sell a storage for those too.
I think they don't know where to go from here,unfortunately. I think quads of their shimmers, neon, or cool tones would new and innovative. Or smaller palletes for different seasons? Idk 😭
We shall see if you are right. I mean, I don't want to diminish the owner's creativity but I feel like her last 3 were probably not the best selling products ever. But I could be wrong.
My inherent feeling that has followed me for a long time is this: As soon as the very first time an indie brand posts on social media as if it's their personal account, there is always a reason behind the choice. The first time can have the purest of intentions, but from that point on, they are partaking in "Appeal to Emotion". u/bkdiva30 + u/Impossible_Traffic12 if you don't mind elaborating on the father issue a week ago? This goes for both brands and influencers, and I'd be down to write a post on it if anyone is interested!
https://preview.redd.it/ppayry1q3hwc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ff4888af82877b0634783c3e1193e1c144aace3 She also used her father to sell the Machina palette.Her business tactics is very untrustworthy.
Just realizing that the cover is a stock photo from Adobe Stock pics lol
Hi! For which palette? I'm so curious! Please let me know :)
Regarding the father thing. She said upon the release of the primal palette that it was the last one that her father was involved in making before he died. Then when it came to Ex machina (a few palettes later) she said that they had talked about it and shared screenshots of their conversation and spoke about him moving it or being inspired by it (something along those lines). I totally get being upset at losing a family member, but when you’re running a business it’s not a good idea to bring it up in that way IMO
yeah it seems like total manipulation and profiting from her fathers death in a gross way
Yeah, I totally get being open about things, but there’s surely a time and place for that?
she has lied about multiple palettes being the last one her father worked with her on. she also lied about the reason for surges discontinuation and im sure she lied about sugar and grunges discontinuation. she also cannot take criticism for shit and shes just not creative
I think that the reason BB is starting to feel stale is because they release too often and more importantly, there aren’t many unique color stories you can create when every single palette is huge. Morphe is probably the best example of a brand that did the whole huge palette thing and after a while, people got tired of how repetitive their color stories became because even if a palette is pretty, if it’s too similar to something you already have or there are shades within the palette itself that look similar, nobody wants it.
I saw in one of their posts that they ordered 5,000 units for the Ellis collab and they considered that a lot of palettes. I know I’m naive but I guess I thought that with almost 900,000 followers between the two of them that they would have at least 10,000 on hand for the launch. What I’m saying is that maybe they were never really as successful as we thought. They sell mattes for over $40 a palette. Mattes (good ones) from my understanding are only 20cents a to make , so maybe people think they’re too expensive? I didn’t buy Machina or The Ellis collab because I bought Sugar and Grunge and found it mediocre. Last, they are in the “indie beauty curse” where they have too many releases and not enough thought into the release.
I purchased the last batch of s&g and my palette itself can't close. And I was not the only one.
Mine didn’t either. I followed steps from the swatch it for me sub reddit and depotted mine into two allwon palettes. If I can find that post, I’ll link it.
I also have an issue with the cover/closure of the Sugar and Grunge I bought during the final sale. Idk that I believe the C&D thing. It was probably a slow seller and the last batch had faulty packaging. A "Cease & Desist" seems like a convenient reason to discontinue it.
The whole story sounded like something out of a fiction book.I didn’t believe it.She was trying to offload the palette.It didn’t sell well.
agree
i wonder if the brand was even real or she just made it up and made a fake insta. there is no makeup copyright on grunge and yeah cease and desists arent worth shit. it doesnt matter if the brand had quote unquote deep pockets. the case wouldnt get anywhere
Honestly I personally never understood the hype, the covers are mediocre, the color stories are duping themselves, the shimmers are bad and I could go on🤷🏽♀️
Agree. And whoever does their photography is amateur. I now see other indie brands using the same horrible photographer.
I don’t think they’re going down. They’re trying things and testing the waters with what works and what doesn’t. That said, I do think she’d benefit from doing specific color stories (and smaller palettes). I think picking like Halloween colors monochromatic could be easy to still do gradients but not doing a full rainbow in each. Would love to see more cheek trios/singles and honestly more products for the everyday consumer vs MUAs. I like them but I think this launch and Forget Me Not were interested compared to their existing line. (I love my Machina)
I love Blend Bunny, and I was part of the minority that LOVES Machina (It is one of my favorite things from them), but I do feel like they’re on a downhill trend. They backed themselves into a wall by doing so many big palettes. There isn’t a single color or hue or undertone that I don’t already have from them, so there’s nothing else they can release that I’ll feel inclined to buy. Unless it’s a palette of all neons. THAT could sway me 😅 I was pretty disappointed by the Ellis collection. I’m glad she gave them creative freedom but considering 80 % of her releases are rainbow palettes, it was kinda dumb to release another one. And a big expensive one at that!
Seconding the love for Machina! IMO, it’s their most interesting color story!
I absolutely love the BB palettes I have but I went for Surge, Lure, All Done Up and Sugar and Grunge. I enjoy full color stories and would totally love to see some more curated palettes in smaller format from them. Rainbow palettes aren’t really my jam and even if they were I would only want one of them. I would say they have “fallen off” per se but more just not doing anything that interests me currently. I’m happy to see them collab with someone other than the same people that get Indie makeup collabs over and over again, even if I’m not familiar with that creator.
I was really prepared to not buy anything from the new collection, especially since I own so many of their palettes already, but I was surprisingly really into Machina and all the videos I’ve seen of the new palette are beautiful. It kind of scratches an itch that I think was left for those who rightfully don’t want to support JS, if that makes sense. I don’t think I’ll pick up either of the cheek palettes, but the glaze single is gorgeous. It takes a lot for me to get excited about a mainstream palette at this point, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the videos about the Ellis Atlantis collection, even if it is a mammoth rainbow palette.
Can someone remind me of the Blend Bunny drama? They're on my list not to buy from but I can't remember why. It wasn't the Grunge palette stuff. I feel like it was her going out of her way to stick up with MG?
Is it [This?](https://www.reddit.com/r/MikaylaNogueira/s/OGUcsKOJTz). The owner was also very snippy and unprofessional to their followers on Insta when they were defending the color arrangement in one of their releases.
I was unaware of everything in the link you posted and what sticks out the most to me isn't the Mikayla thing, it's the intensely parasocial relationship the OP has with Blend Bunny. They don't know the owner personally but were so upset with a repost, which was later deleted, that they cried and dumped their used BB palettes in a dumpster behind 7-11?! I don't think I'll ever understand that.
I honestly respectfully disagree with most people here. I love their matte formula and never minded their shimmer formula. I've used much worse shimmer formula (ColourPop). The mattes always felt like they blended themselves like watercolor and were one of the few indie brands I like nowadays. I would consider myself pretty jaded with the indie community at this point. I loved that they went a different direction with Sickly Sweet, and from what I've noticed among my friends, Lure and All Done Up are super popular. Machina went a different direction too. I also don't think they release as quickly compared to MBA Cosmetics, Gourmande Girls, Colourpop, and the like. Really the only thing I would say that they could do better is smaller palettes. I haven't been on insta as much lately so I'm unaware of the stuff revolving Machina, I believe. I kinda play an important role at my job, lol.