Scandal actress Kerry Washington has been the face of Neutrogena for five years and has helped the drugstore brand expand its foundation line to include options for more skin tones. Now she unveils the first makeup collection with her name on it. Yesterday, Neutrogena released two Essential eye and cheek palettes created by Washington that were made to flatter a range of skin tones, and above all, make getting ready much easier. To keep things simple, Washington stuck to neutrals and simple cheek colors — you won’t find any royal blues or tangerine blushes in the palettes.
A Neutrogena representative said the palettes are part of the brand’s push toward “color innovation,” and each shade in both palettes are named after a quality Washington thinks is important. The cheek palette has Grateful (matte bronze), Captivating (coral blush), and Elegant (cream-colored highlighter). The eye palette includes five shades that are formulated with a built-in primer (for no smudging) to last for up to 12 hours. The Brilliant shade is a cream color similar to the one in the cheek palette while the other four shades are darker nudes. Confident is a sandy nude, Flirty is a subtle champagne, Focused is a golden brown, and Powerful is a darker espresso shade. Both of the palettes were put to work to create Washington’s playful look at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
As Washington pointed out to WWD, the shades will look different on everyone, but the cheek and eye colors can be repurposed — if the highlighter is too light for you, it might work as an eye shadow instead. She also said the new products are part of a larger movement to make the beauty industry more inclusive. “No one is doing it 100 percent perfectly, but everybody is trying to figure out how to live in their space, and that is so powerful. I think the important thing is everyone is moving in the right direction.”
The silver palettes, which are adorned with Washington’s signature, are available exclusively at Ulta Beauty on April 22 and are available online now.
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