Honestly, the brand name "dragun" could have been used to make real FUN makeup, when the purple egg dropped i was expecting it to be cool iridescent fantasy esque eye palette/lip kit/liners, but noooo😭😭 it was orange color corrector and plain ass powders. I get that she was trying to be different (or maybe playing safe bcs eye palette/lipstick is such a saturated market with plenty of competitors) but her launch rly fell flat. Shows that sometimes it is necessary to go in with a bang😬
Sure but that wasn’t her aesthetic or brand really to do any colors other than neutrals/earth tones. But I do agree that she should’ve dropped something new and exciting.
Nikita had the same problem i find many influencers run into when starting their own makeup brand: the product is built for themselves and sometimes for those who have skin like them (from tone to texture)
Yes! I remember ”everyone” talked about Kylie’s lip kits and Jeffrey Star’s highlighters (wasn’t there a black highlighter?). But then there was a lot of drama and nobody cared. I remember a company called Fyrrinae (I think) that made amazing loose pigments. They were really hyped in the beauty community in Sweden in 2010-ish. I think the brand was American, though. Don’t know if they still are around. Still have a lot of the pigments!
I think that maybe revolution? I am 22 now and would spend all my allowance on their stuff, watch reviews etc in my teens. Now i dont see them talked about for anything good 😂. It could be my style of makeup has changed, and i wear a lot less now but they only copy other brands, there is now cult product really that they 'invented'. There foundations and concealers are good but all there other products are hits and misses. They also have a million sub brands. Likewise their licenced collections are not good quality if compared to other brands. They tried to be the british colour pop but failed. Colour pop do do the trendy stuff but their formula allows them to do it. Rev. just are always a step behind, being sheep and making poor copies in terrible formula. I would say maybe the desinger fashion brands doing makeup other than dior, I dont see them hyped, lastly MAC is in the grave now and is only talked about when a celeb makeup artist talks about products they used in a film or on a red carpet.
@@mystic_mimi21Im with you on the makeup revolution stuff but MAC. Yes, most creators use new up and coming brands in videos but that's their job. A lot of people have MAC in their collection. It's a go-to brand for many beginners and longtime makeup users, especially in Europe!!! A lot of poc can only rely on MAC for shade range when Fenty and Sephora aren't available.
Nikita Dragun is a prime example of someone who was given celebrity status and a ton of money when then the RU-vid influencer era was in its prime and developed a sense of being ‘untouchable’. We’ve seen this story with so many influencers from her era and unfortunately so many people were given their 15mins of fame and a cash grab brand deal that didn’t deserve it and couldn’t deal with the responsibility that came with it. People like Nikita thrived off of spilling the tea and throwing shade until it was their tea being spilled. The influencers who are successful today in this over saturated sea of content are the ones who have stayed true to theirselves and morals and have played the long game to develop companies that makes sense for their brand and their values, which has often meant turning down huge amounts of money in return for the trust of their subscribers.
I'm really glad that we are trying to move away from drama being synonymous with beauty. People are finally focusing on product pricing and quality and what makeup is intended to do. It's about us feeling good and challenging our creativity and sense of self-expression. Robert, thank you for continuing to be a space that provides this.
@felinemoonchild I so think customers are also focusing on their skincare as well. So after all the drama consumers are focusing on self care and expression
“You either really have to like eggs, or really have the need to color-correct.” Lol What a sentence! I think you succinctly stated why this launch failed right there.
It definitely sounded like a good premise in her brand launch video. I was definitely more interested than I was with the Jacklyn Hill one. But other than the color corrector, everything else sounds like it was bland. That color corrector sounded like the only thing that matched her motivation as stated in that video
I’m so sorry about the audio! My mic was on mute!! 🥲 Also I have to add here after reading a few comments, Nikita Dragun is notorious for using race and blackfishing for shock value. It isn’t just the hair, it’s filters, makeup etc. you can look further into this yourself you will find ALOT. I should have featured it in this video, but she infamously tweeted - “What race is Nikita gonna be today?” And “Imagine being black? I could never”
Orange can also be used to correct eye circles on any skintone, especially if they're purple\blue! I'm pale AF but I have an orange corrector that works amazingly to cover my very evident eye circles.
Also wear spf! Common misconception in the black community is we don't need spf...sun damage because of no spf is literally why we have hyperpigmation scars
I remember that one video of Nikita Dragun walking into a mall to their first product drop and like not a single soul in sight!! 😂😂😂 That was such a weird time in this online beauty community thing!
That’s not true, I was there and so were a lot others!!! She even had a second meet and greet the next day for the first 100 people who bought her pallet which I also attended!
I still remember when Nikita promoted the purple egg and said it was a mind blowing product but ended up just a colour corrector and compact powder. It was a let down. She could do so many things during that time but she did her best I guess.
I got a couple of lipsticks through Ipsy. They weren’t what they were promoted to be. I’m glad I didn’t pay full price. They weren’t horrible, but they weren’t great either.
I gotta say as a trans woman this *was* the best color corrector for neutralizing the beard/mustache areas for my skin and cut my getting ready time in half. NARS became my go to when these were discontinued but uhhh…not great (tho I hear they’re revamping the formula). Tarte came out with one finally what was absolutely better than these or any I’ve ever used short of Kryolan. And I’ve pretty much used all of em.
I remember her dragun egg promo video. It was so weird for a makeup launch. She could have had a great brand if she stayed consistent and released more inclusive products.
@@girl.anachronism5639 to be fair everyone is a problematic human, only difference is that her “problematic behavior” was for all the world (well at least social media lol) to see.
The second I saw her partying with all the other airhead influencers in LA during the pandy, seemingly allergic to masks, there was zero chance I'd support the brand.
As a woman who suffers from hirsutism, I'm all about some peach or orange color corrector!! I would love a video with tips from the trans community for this issue ❤️
I think my main issue with influencer brands and products is that they always feel so lacklustre. More of an easy money grab with a lack of quality cause they believe their following will buy anything they produce (which sadly sometimes is the case). Also do feel people are slowly losing interest in influencers and seeing them more as a scam due to the oversaturation in the market, at least in my circles.
I really appreciate the way you handled discussing trans makeup in this video given the controversy surrounding this particular RU-vidr. I’m a trans woman and I’ve learned so much from your videos. You are a beautiful person!
Dragun Beauty was a cash-grab. Most influencer brands are but Dragun Beauty is the epitome of a cash-grab. She knew she had a ton of followers and she needed a way to monetize that. I am sue she made a ton of cash and has moved on. I don't know anything about her personal problems or whether she is in jail or not...
I have tried Dragun Beauty! But that would be because around the fall of BoxyCharm, those color correctors were pushed every month - every. single. month. - as the hot product you absolutely needed to try. Never the orange, from what I recall, but the blue and lilac were always an option as a sort of "wait, before you check out, maybe throw this in... FLASH SALE!" item. I do not know how to use color correctors and am the color of a piece of notebook paper, so they didn't strike a cord for me. Instead, I bought a couple of her lip glosses, one clear and one clear with a sort of purple shift. They were great for the price point (I think two cost me $10), but a huge part of BoxyCharm's thing was showing the original retail value versus what you were going to pay. They were great for $5/each, but I can't imagine how I'd have felt if I'd paid something like $30/each. ...They were lip glosses.
Only Robert Welsh can throw such shade in such a polite, well-mannered way 😂❤ I wish more reviewers were like him, capable of standing their ground and saying they don't want to support someone with their money, whilst not denigrating the person they're speaking about.
I have never tried Dragun Beauty but I’ve seen it while browsing Beauty Bay and I had no idea about the origins so thank you for sharing. I’m an MUA here in Australia and I feel like you have to think about so many things when choosing which products to stock in your kit - including what supporting certain brands (by buying them) might mean to your clients. I feel like it’s hard to avoid politics these days 😢
I've never heard of this brand at all. And decent makeup is so expensive here in Australia, hey. Btw, I hope you have a great day!! I'm going to sleep! Too late/early!! (4am.Sydney) 😴
Im not even gonna lie, I've seen makeup artists pull some J* products out of their kit before and it HIGHLY changes my opinion of the person. Robert's right - de-pot everything lol
Im glad the age of the influencers is trending out. While at the beginning it was cool because they were everyday people and more relatable as they were filming from home; they eventually turned into celebrities. Everything was done for money rather than passion alone. Then they turned into real celebrities, and subsequently the relatability was gone.
Honestly after seeing so many problematic youtubers releasing their brands and failing then giving up halfway, I'm. Always so proud of Patrick Star for staying away from Manny and all those problematic people and creating One Size. And sustaining it!! I have to give him credits for doing it right and for not getting involved in the era of RU-vid dramas
Robert can you *please* do one of these on skinup? I ordered the eye shadow (i mean come on, 'other green' just looks beautiful) but it never arrived, when i emailed asking for an update the reply was simply 'lol...hunni, please'
I hope Robert does a flop video on Kylie and her sister Kim and her cosmetic company too. I will never buy anything from them.🤢🤢 I wish they would go away.
I just wanna say that I like your background Robert! I remember you asking us what we prefered, a simple backdrop or a background with objects and decorative stuff, and I really like the one you put together here :) I like the softness of the objects on the background, the soft colour coordination that doesn't distract from you, but somewhat add to you, you know what I mean? xD
Lots of people seem to have a Dragun Beauty product in their arsenal (if they’re a makeup person), but no one’s actually purchased it. Beauty subscriptions toss them in here and there, and people get an item, but do they actually use them? Eh, jury’s out. I think I got one in a boxycharm a while back… never used it.
I used the color corrector, VERY DRY! As in, blend the second it touches the skin. I also met her irl, let’s just say not very nice. Love the series btw!
Would love to hear your opinions on Anastasia Beverly Hills, when Modern Renaissance was the only pallet anyone used, to the "NORVINA" era and their recent rebrand.
I think I tried the green color corrector back when it first launched. Mom told me to test it on my arm first to see if I was allergic to anything in it (she has severe chemical allergies herself). After 10 minutes my arm started burning, washed off the color corrector, saw a red painful mark where the makeup had been, and had to use a pain relieving gel for 3 weeks.
The fact that I had no idea this brand existed and I was really into the beauty community back in 2019 says a whole lot about how niche and unimpressive it was
All I remember about this brand was the dragon egg and the name. I think a friend mentioned it to me specifically because of the name and the egg.. Dragons are my favorite and I was down to buy the dragon egg because -gosh darn it- that had to be some cool fantasy-inspired stuff in there right? But what was in there made me so glad I didn't buy it. I would have been so bummed and upset.
she could've made a great brand with products not only catering to Trans women needs, but cool fantasy as well. the packaging vs product didn't make sense but the packaging with a different product and the actual product without that specific packaging would've hit much better and I'm surprised a PR team didn't get that. I'm a tiny little small biz and I guess I was assuming big huge brands with lots of money spent on them would know that already
@@cheeling794 Yes! I remember when I found out what was in it being so confused and let down. Let down that the product didn't live up to the fantasy expectations, and confused because (since I didn't know anything about Nikita at that point) I could not fathom the connection/correlation of Dragon Beauty and the egg to what was on offer.
oh that's a good point I didn't think of too! people who didn't know her from RU-vid or at all, going in to the brand looking at a cool egg and seeing a color correcting face palette. I think if she went with a whimsical eyeshadow palette in that egg it would've done really well. and the color correcting palette catering to Trans women would have done amazing seperately!
The only time I came across this brand was when it was in TJ Max-I didn’t buy anything of course, but this was an interesting trip down memory lane. Nikita really liked getting into drama instead of taking care of her brand-it had potential to be halfway decent. I know she also had mental health issues with bipolar disorder so I hope she’s getting help and taking care of herself (and hopefully not getting into any more drama).
Would be so cool to see a video on doing makeup specifically for trans/nb folks! Talking about how to make someone look more 'masculine' or 'feminine' with makeup and how to cover up beard shadow or those sorts of things
I am just commenting on this to boost it a little because yes, even though it may not appeal to most of the demographic it is still a fantastic idea and should at least be considered.
100% agree! So many people who don't even identify as trans or NB still want to find ways to play with makeup to create new looks, or just simply adore the artsy side of makeup without the gender-linked assumptions or judgements. As a cis woman who has raised a trans child (she's an adult, but will ALWAYS be my kiddo! ❤️) and has little experience with makeup, I feel like finding ways to be creative and explore more about it generally comes with gender-related assumptions or restrictions. I like learning new things, but feel like appearing more androgynous cuts that entire makeup-related creative outlet out of the picture... and at the very least, out of my budget as well.
Yes! I second that! Today I played around with color correctors ( have blue blood under eyes. Lol) honestly, it turned out hidious. But! IM LEARNING! I did change my blush to higher up and that looked stunning. Watching Robert has taught me soooo much!
I couldn't support a dragun beauty as for the owner and the products were just god awful. Claire's had way cuter packaging. Thank you Robert for this wonderful video! Love to see this series!! 🎉❤
Nikita always rly annoyed me because every time she would get into drama or criticized she would pull the "you are transphobic" card and like... can you not use your transition as shield its rly not helping other trans people
I was going to comment this!! They had a huge moment with their brow products and highlighters especially but I don't see anybody talking about them anymore!
Second! I used to love the brow products and even had a couple palettes, but I think things changed with the brand when Norvina stepped up. Then within the last couple years, their pro-Putin stuff lost me.
The only thing I tried from Dragun beauty is a lip liner. It's pretty good. I didn't buy it directly from the brand though, I got it in a beauty subscription.
I got the same lip liner - BoxyCharm in 2021 or early 2022. I also have a black liquid lip which I got from a Boxy sale. It's decent, for what I paid for it, tho it doesn't last as long as it could but it isn't drying like ABH
i don’t understand why the hair matters. it’s literally just hair. black girls wear blonde straight wigs like that’s their hair but someone else wears dreads or whatever and it’s the end of the world. it’s just hair! it’s their money and choices.
When I think of original products from a brand, Danessa Myricks Colorfix pigments are what come to my mind first. DM cosmetics are like art supplies. Dragun just seemed gimmicky. 😊
I know why they made the money in the third year…that’s when they sold off their stock to subscription beauty boxes! They had to! LoL just take a peek at the subscription beauty boxes around that time. Everyone started getting those color correctors. That’s when I unsubscribed to both Ipsy & BoxyCharm bc 1)it was mostly all skincare & repeats 2)that kind of beauty product was made out to seem like it was top of the line but I watch RU-vid & knew it was older at that point and lots of people had issues with it drying before they could blend it out
I think the need for a separate colour-correcting product is also kind of over. With concealers (and blurshes😜) coming in so many undertones nowadays making them a multi-use product, not to mention I feel like people are more open to trying new things/experimenting...
Can I just say I love when you do the Wednesday Adams look. It's stunning 😍. I never understood the whole dragon bueaty thing because I believe makeup doesn't have just one set of people they target, unless it's for people who are much older, like covergirl has age rewind makeup, but still if you love makeup age, gender and race don't matter...at least to me and this is all my opinion really. Have an amazing day ☺️ ❤.
Isn’t she the one who made fun of a disabled fan and refused a photo with them? Do people actually buy her brand? News to me tbh. Last time I saw her, I thought she was in county jail
I'd heard of Nikita and Dragun Beauty only really in passing but certainly wasn't familiar with her or the brand at all so thank you Robert for the education! 💜 Also, I would love the influencer video you mentioned!
That dragon egg I’d love to buy. No makeup needed, if I could just get the egg second hand for a reasonable price I’d lose my damn mind. Dragons are my favorite mythical creature, I’d keep it on my shelf next to my Draculaura dolls. Just for display.
SAME, I came here to make the exact same comment! I don’t even wear makeup, but if there was a makeup line based entirely around actual dragons instead of a person, my wallet would be gone and dead
I’m really glad I found your channel because I feel like it’s so refreshing. You just tell it how it is and you’re not really doing this for clout. You’re making videos for the love of makeup and to educate others of beauty techniques. In other words, thank you!
I was around for the Nikita Dragun wars, which included Jeffrey & Nathan, with Gabriel Zamora, you can tell this was a while ago, also Laura Lee, and the Manny MUA, who I love, and I love his palettes, which is all I use, it was a big to do at the time, and it was quite sad, because they all went their own ways, it was more wars then beauty, and you just opted out in the in end, well I stayed with Manny because he was there for the right way to apply your make up
Love your vibe! It's like listening to a knowledgeable friend work through their thoughts/feelings about products. Informative but not "rehearsed". After so many polished presentations it just feels more honest!
Great video, Robert. As always. I think that Jeffree Star cosmetics and Kylie Cosmetics are brands that no one talks about. I couldn't care less, but I don't see people talkning about them. I'm so bored with Charlotte Tilbury. It's just the same things over and over again. But I would like to talk about a brand that is one of the best but no one talks about... except Wayne Goss: Make up atelier Paris. MUAP is my favorite brand. Have you tried Makeup atelier Paris?
I've honestly never heard of Nikita or Dragun Beauty until this video. She definitely sounds like someone I would not want to support. I actually just purchased my first color correctors from Elf. I got green as I am prone to acne and redness. I also got blue because I have some foundations that I like but tend to pull warm and I want to try to adjust them. I'm also trying their new putty color-correcting eye brightener because I do have bit of darkness near my inner and outer corners. I just love Elf!
I hate that because we adopt a specific culture within ourselves you get slammed for it. Y’all don’t want us “appropriating black culture” yet y’all get pissed when we try and support black culture? Seems kinda counter productive. And before everyone gets bent out of shape, I grew up as a SINGULAR poor white person in a BLACK community. I grew UP on black culture. I’ve never met a more inclusive culture of people growing up. No one ever slammed me until I grew up, went to college and now at 40, I’m appropriating? Nah dawg, can’t have it both ways
I think a lot of people for a long time wanted to support her because she was sort of a trailblazer as a trans influencer, but she was a little selfish in that she did what she wanted and did not take accountability when her actually hurt others.
The over priced, over-hyped, and just overall ridiculousness of Charlotte Tilbury makeup and her in general!!! All of her make-up is the same. "Soft" creamy, shimmery beige or pink ! Every collection she releases, is the same as the one before. The only thing that's changed is the price, which has doubled! Sickening 🤢
"trans owned brand for trans people" I'm sorry, but what makes it "for trans people"? Or actually, what makes any make-up for any one gender? Makes no sense to me. Anyone, regardless of gender can use any makeup. I hate it, when people throw out taglines to manipulate buyers' emotions and get sympathy points, when in reality what they are saying makes no difference. It's like saying that the orange juice my company makes contains water. Like...okay? Congratulations?
I have tried a couple of influencer products, Jeffrey Starr and Tati Westbrook. I felt like they produced good products. I'm an older consumer but I try to focus on the quality of the products. I don't know how involved the influencers are with creating products, hopefully more than just slapping their name on it.
Cultural appropriation is stupid. I'm Arab and if I see people walking in our traditional men headwear or clothes (men and woman) I would be happy just like how it was in Qatar world cup. The whole world wore our headwear in Qatar streets and we were all happy to introduce the world to our culture not tell them remove it coz it represents our religion or whatever stupid unnecessary comment that causes division. This will make people hate us rather than indulge in our culture. So the whole thing with the hair being unappropriated is just nonsense honestly coz me as non black now I think what's with these black people rather than thinking oh good for you for standing up for your culture (English not my first language). In Qatar world cup EVERY foreigner should be considered they had culturally appropriated our culture if this is how you all are gonna think. NONSENSE just have fun and let people enjoy what your cultural has to offer to make them love it even more.
I dont see how makeup brand goes out of "style" unless the company or influencer gets exposed or cancelled, or that the price to quality of that gets overtaken by cheaper dupes. Like we live in a good time for makeup from the spectrum of clean and natural to wild and experimental makeup. Thanks to the revival Gen-Z attitude to expression like with "Euphoria style" makeup for example. So if youre product performs well and you price it fairly to quality, you should be okay, especially with a boost of theme, visual and packaging aesthetic. Marketing plays a key role too but the ability to sponser an influencer is easy so its not difficult to get your product known if its high priced or lower dupes. The product at the end of the day should perform well. Thats why so many influencer brands fail because they "fail" to realize in this saturated market you cant cut corners.
The dreads aren't blackfishing. Historically, white and south asian people have also been known to wear dreads for religious and cultural reasons. You can't just take them away from those people... As someone who lives in Africa, the people here think that those who live in 1st world countries are way too privileged to be making up things that count as 'blackfishing' when people here literally get called blackies and shit-skin.
Oh my goodness!! Can you please do a video about John Kuckian and his Kuckian cosmetics line which was just Ali Express components and cheap cheap pigments!
I never saw anyone hyping this brand aside from Nikita’s friends. Even then, they quickly moved on to other things and never really mentioned it again past it’s initial launch. This makeup looks so boring despite trying to seem edgy, nothing about it is appealing.
That cultural appropriation thing is huge in art and fashion. We’re always picking up beauty details and references in an interesting look. So? Plus, that looks like a pretty lady. Ho hum. Who cares?
Omg robert, I thought i was half imagining the bad cgi promo for the egg after u mentioned the launch video disappeared. But i actually did find the promo video in some 4 year old tea spill vid again just to make sure this wasn‘t just a vivid fever dream lol.
I love your brutal honesty! It’s extremely refreshing! Love you Robert 👏♥️ I would love a video about influencers who have fantastic products like Veive!!
Nikita tried to hard with the wrong things. She tried to act grand, act rich and act successful before she ever actually became any of those things. As such, it was all very short lived. Additionally, she became to controversial rather than simply being a professional, remaining neutral and being about her business. A person in the spotlight is under that spotlight at all times, and when they forget this, it can very much lead to their demise and the demise of the brand.
I think this helps because Manny hasn't tried to go for shock/something completely different and out there but what his fans expect for the things he does himself, he's stayed true to him and while he had a moment where he was heavily involved in drama because he may not have made the best friendship choices he did really well at separating him self from it
Please someone tell me why it ok to live the gender you like but not the race you like?!? It's not as if there wasn't any Sexism around to valance the Racism...
