Top Beauty Buys

5 pop culture-inspired beauty collections worth adding to your makeup bag

I drink the consumer KoolAid willingly every day, and I'm not alone. Many of us have a soft spot for material goods, especially when those goods make us feel a connection to something we love, such as a book, movie, character or cultural identity.

Take a look around, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about: Makeup lines, nail polishes, fashion collections and even our favorite foods use pop culture to reel us in before we know what hit us. Here are five fun, pop culture-inspired products worth adding to your Caboodle.

Urban Decay Oz The Great and Powerful Collection
With this collection, you get to choose whether to be the good witch or the bad witch. The Glinda and Theodora Palettes are tailored to fit the personalities of each, with the former more subdued and ethereal and the latter featuring darker earth tones. But who says you have to choose between the two? Embrace both of your witchy ways.

CoverGirl Catching Fire Collection
Who among us doesn't want to look like (and be best friends with) Jennifer Lawrence? Her bow-wielding alter ego Katniss Everdeen is a beauty to behold, especially in the newest Catching Fire stills. Lucky for us, CoverGirl recently announced a new fall collection inspired by the upcoming blockbuster, which means we'll get to look a shade or two like our favorite heroine. The CoverGirl Catching Fire Collection will be released later this fall. Can't wait that long? The brand has just released a beautiful Flamed Out Collection worth checking out.

OPI Minnie Mouse Couture Collection
OPI has collaborated with a number of recent films — from The Muppets to James Bond's Skyfall — to create different seasonal nail polish collections. This summer, the popular brand will unveil its Minnie Mouse Couture Collection with an array of beautiful pink, red and glitter shades. True to OPI form, all the new polish names are hopelessly adorable: Minnie Style, Chic from Ears to Tail, Innie Minnie Mighty Bow, A Definite Moust-Have and Magazine Cover Mouse.

Deborah Lippmann Girls Nail Polish Collection
HBO's Girls has become something of a cultural phenomenon. Although we may not want to live through the friendship, career and relationship struggles Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna encounter week to week, who among us hasn't related to these four young ladies at some point? Deborah Lippmann's Girls Collection was directly inspired by these fierce females, so if you're looking for a hip, playful, sexy or feminine shade, you're in luck — this line has all four.

Disney Ariel Collection by Sephora
The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's most beloved princesses. Ariel's fiery red locks, porcelain skin and butterfly lashes asserted her as a feminine, animated beauty, in which many of us hope to emulate through red hair dye boxes and $40 tubes of mascara (sorry I'm not sorry). As an ode to all the Disney princesses, Sephora is releasing a collection of eye palettes over the coming months, first with Jasmine's collection and up next with Ariel's. From the looks of it, it won't disappoint.

With Urban Decay's Oz The Great and Powerful Collection, you get to choose whether you're a good witch or a bad witch.

Urban Decay

With Urban Decay's Oz The Great and Powerful Collection, you get to choose whether you're a good witch or a bad witch.

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RETAIL WATCH

Texas AG Ken Paxton opens investigation into fast-fashion giant Shein

Photo courtesy of SHEIN

Shein is now under investigation from the Texas Attorney General.

Critics of fast fashion have found a strange bedfellow in Ken Paxton. The Texas Attorney General announced December 1 he would investigate online retailer Shein for alleged unethical labor practices and unsafe consumer products.

According to a release from Paxton’s office, the inquiry aims to find out if Shein’s “supply chain and manufacturing practices violate Texas law by using toxic or hazardous materials, misleading consumers about product safety, and misleading consumers about ethical sourcing.” The probe will also look into the corporation’s data collection and privacy practices.

In a statement, Paxton put a partisan spin on the investigation.

“Safe, non-toxic material and products are another key ingredient to [Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s] Make America Healthy Again movement,” said Paxton in the release. “Any company that cuts corners on labor standards or product safety, especially those operating in foreign nations like China, will be held accountable.”

Paxton’s move unexpectedly aligns the AG with environmental watchdogs. Nonprofit Yale Climate Connections has long sounded the alarm about the Singapore-based e-tailer, calling it one of the world’s biggest polluters. Paxton has long railed against climate change regulations and sued the Biden administration several times to block emissions rules.

The investigation is part of a larger Republican crackdown on Chinese consumer products. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are debating new restrictions on Shenzhen-based aerial drone maker DJI, and Senator Tom Cotton has called for investigations of “Communist Chinese” companies Shein and Temu. The September Texas vape ban specifically banned disposable e-cigarettes manufactured in the country.

In a statement emailed to multiple media outlets, Shein said it would comply with Paxton’s investigation.

“Shein takes these concerns seriously and is fully committed to cooperating,” a spokesperson said. “Our mission — to provide affordable, fashionable products to customers around the world — is underpinned by a dedication to safety, compliance, and respect for human rights.”

The controversy will likely have little effect on Shein’s popularity with Zoomers. The company snagged an estimated $38 billion in sales in 2024 and has an average of 24.7 million active app users each month.

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