For 40 years, women of color have known and loved Fashion Fair Cosmetics. The venerable beauty brand based in Chicago was a staple in my formative years and I know I’m not the only one who remembers that familiar pink marbleized compact being on their mother’s dresser. The brand has been through so many changes through the years and now Fashion Fair is on an upswing in a new era, thanks in major part to the efforts of Creative Makeup Director Sam Fine. His debut collection set the bar high for makeup lovers and now, to celebrate their 40 years of creating beauty products for women of color, they have released the Fashion Fair Four capsule collection. It’s available in stores and online right here, right now!

Each collection is beautifully packaged featuring stunning images by photographer Victor Skrebneski. Each package features a woman who represents an era of Fashion Fair history on the cover. Via HuffPo:

The 1970’s Foxy Capsule Collection: A tribute to our founder Eunice W. Johnson, containing feminine soft pink pallets to inspire the Fox in us all.

The 1980’s Fresh Capsule Collection: Dedicated to the legacy of the hip-hop era, containing a set of sumptuous warm pink colors evoking fresh beauty.

The 1990’s Sensuous Capsule Collection: Reflecting a new evolved era of beauty featuring rich, modern, and bright pink pallets celebrating the sensuality of a woman.

The 2000’s Divine Capsule Collection: Capturing the latest and hottest trends in beauty; featuring glamorous and bold pink shades that embody the divine power of beauty. (PS: the colors in this particular photo above are a bit brighter than what I experienced in person).

The packaging is gorgeous! It’s absolutely the kind of thing that anybody would be proud to display on the dresser. I’m so proud of Fashion Fair! The collection itself is beautifully presented, but how you feel about the items within entirely depends upon this question: Do you love pink? Do you really really love pink?

If so you are going to go crazy for this collection. Each package comes with a lip teaser, lipstick, nail lacquer and blush – all in shades of pink, evocative of the vintage Fashion Fair packaging swirls of marble.

In terms of packaging, the 1970’s “foxy” box featuring a woman with beautiful large afro is my favorite. In terms of the products within, I must admit I found the pinks to be a little subdued for my personal taste. I like a hot pink. A deep pink. So the 2000’s Divine Capsule was my fave in terms of color – the Divine Pink lipstick has a deeper hue and a violet undertone, and the Divine Pink lip teaser is bright, fun and summertime chic!

I love this new direction that Fashion Fair is heading in and I hope to see them continue to innovate their brand and draw from their rich history. I hope to see them continue to celebrate black beauty for years to come! The overall look of this collection is really encouraging — between this and Sam Fine’s outstanding makeup collection, I feel that the future is very bright for this classic legacy brand.

Is this particular collection made for me? Not so much, but that’s just because I’m not really that into pink. But if you are a diehard pink lover then you should run — don’t walk — to your nearest Fashion Fair counter. And if you’re not that into pink, I hope you’re not sleeping on those Sam Fine collection lipsticks, because they are to DIE for. Click here to shop!

What you think bellas? Are you here for the Fashion Fair Four capsule collection? Or is this a little too much pink for you?

COMMENTS

ak says:

April 30, 2013, 2:52 pm

I've heard that they won't come in to London, UK until May 9th so I haven't seen the capsule collections in person yet : ) but I think I live the look of all the collections except the 2000s Divine capsule collection although the blush and lip gloss in it look pretty but I don't like the sound of the lipstick which they describe as a violet-based pink. A lot of Fashion Fair's lipsticks are purple-based pinks and I can't stand that because on some complexions the pink aspect will stand out which is great but against the other complexions only the purple or magenta aspect of the color will stand out which I don't like. I loved all of the Sam Fine Collection lipsticks except for Pink Parfait which looked and sounded pretty but was a purplish pink instead of just a straight up dark pink which was annoying.

pets says:

April 30, 2013, 6:10 pm

Great idea to have Collections through the decades. Mamabella really bought this brand a lot. Happy to see them still around and moving with the times. Would have test the lipsticks before buying.

Lisa says:

May 1, 2013, 7:58 am

Love the packaging but that is too much pink for me.

amian3 says:

May 6, 2013, 7:08 am

I love the idea of capsule collections a la MAC. While I am not a big pink wearer, I hope that this is a sign of things to come.

Ms. Beauty says:

June 4, 2013, 6:38 am

I like the Idea of capsule collection, beauty is the need of human and beauty of physical body makes attractive. and gorgeous many people do lack self-confidence, and there is certainly more pressure on women to be conscious of their own appearance than men, but is it really the case that women are more critical of that appearance than everyone else? First of all, the whole entire world is critical of the way women look. Whether you are a supermodel, a teenager or even Secretary of State, if you’re a female, there are people all around you ready to tell you how bad your body looks. Secondly, the idea that women are valuable only for their beauty permeates nearly every facet of modern society, from the billboards we walk past to the social media we use daily. And this idea that women should be reduced to their appearance originated almost entirely in the minds and actions of men. And it is still largely perpetuated today by men – who run over 90% of our media.

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