Highly anticipated docuseries “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star” by Shane Dawson draws reactions

Bianca Castueras and Dianna Chang, Staff writers|October 11, 2019

Millions of viewers tune in as YouTuber Shane Dawson releases the first video to his docuseries, “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star”.” Dawson documents it as a nine-part series that delves into the businesses and conflicts of Star, one of the most prominent YouTuber creators in the makeup industry. The first video has received over 20 million views and was sitting at No. 2 on the trending page for the past week after it debuted.

“I’m hoping that it reveals how intense it actually is in the life of a famous person. Hopefully, it helps Shane evolve into a person that isn’t as insecure as he was at the beginning of the series,” Marissa Beltram said.

With a collaboration between the two creators for Star’s brand made evident within the first two episodes, viewers are excited to see the unscripted process. 

“Shane talked about himself as this person who generally finds it difficult, in a sense, to handle anything business related or money related in his video. But because part of this series is Shane doing that, I expect, and I think other viewers deep down would too, to see him learn more about it and experience a genuine business collaboration with guidance from Jeffree,” Amanda Tolentino said.

Dawson teased the series for weeks before its official release, posting a trailer on Sept. 24 which highlighted the emotional reality of the online beauty realm. In the four minute and 20 second advertisement, video clips suggested the exposure of Star’s drama with influencers and brands in the upcoming docuseries.

In his past, Star had demonstrated his dissatisfaction of the makeup brand, Too Faced’s collaboration with fellow makeup artist and creator, Nikkietutorials. The brand retaliated against Star, creating a dispute fans were quick to notice. 

“Due to only two episodes being released, there hasn’t been a ton of drama and controversy. They briefly touched on Jeffree’s ongoing dispute with Two Faced Cosmetics. However, they promised to touch more on the drama of the beauty world in the third episode so I’m looking forward to what they have to say,” Maddie Loureiro said.

However, other students expressed opposing viewpoints on the series.

“Though the series shows information about the makeup industry, it isn’t anything new fans don’t already know. Palette names, merchandise and profit margins from his makeup products, this is a process he’s already shown in his videos,” Blake Wong said. 

Dawson’s series has been focused on the beauty world and the struggles Jeffree has faced within it whereas the previous collaboration with Star, released in August, primarily revealed his personal life. 

The released videos have highlighted their time spent in the warehouse and Star’s history with his Blood Sugar palette. He reveals that he made $23 million dollars from the palette despite only paying $20 dollars to manufacture each piece. This revelation lead Dawson to experience a moment of truth in the business world and self-realization of his worth as he broke down in the bathroom. 

“I don’t mean to be dramatic … but it’s refreshing … being here with Jeffree,” Dawson said. 

Quickly moving forward, Dawson was seen to be brainstorming ideas with Star for his own makeup line in a more upbeat and enthusiastic manner.

“The entire video comes off as an elaborate yet completely transparent marketing ploy for their collaboration makeup line,” Brianna Smith said. 

Being still early on in the documentary series, all of the anticipated drama has yet to completely unravel. Ultimately, viewers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurship and secrets of the beauty world through the eyes of Star.

In the second episode of The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, Star reveals to Shane Dawson the business knowledge required to successfully market a makeup product. Faith Ansaldo, Lauren Ansaldo and Blake Wong meet to finish the most recently released episode within the nine-part series. As future videos are posted, fans expect Dawson to uncover a more dramatic and controversial element of the makeup industry hidden to viewers. Photo by Dianna Chang