Youtuber Shane Dawson, who some might consider to be the king of conspiracies, has had his share of controversy. From slightly racist comments to weird jokes about relations with his cat … the list goes on. So, what better theme for a series of eye-shadow palettes than Conspiracy and Mini Controversy, made with none other than makeup connoisseur Jeffree Star?

What makes this collaboration different than ones Star has done in the past is that Dawson decided to document every moment – from the decision to do the project, deciding shadow names to discussing just how much money would be made if the undertaking was a success. According to Star, nothing like it had ever been done before.

Okay, it might not have been done before, but I think he might need to calm down just a little. It was nothing revolutionary. The seven-part series was very interesting and offered a look into the makeup world I never thought I would get. But, there are parts where the viewer might feel a little shortchanged. I really enjoyed the series but I can see where someone who has never heard of mascara before might want to throw their computer across the room. To make a successful documentary, the content needs to be presented in a way that is interesting to more than one demographic. I don’t know if they were able to pull that off.

The entire first episode, “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star,” covers Dawson’s mental preparation (which you’ll see a lot of throughout the series) and Star’s meet-and-greet for a previous palette launch. As a first look into the behind-the-scenes life of the makeup mogul, they did a good job. There’s a good balance between the-scariest-thing-I’ve-ever-been-a-part-of and oh-wow-he’s-actually-pretty-nice.

In episode 2, they go to Star’s office for the first time and have their first makeup meeting. Highlight: Dawson is gifted a bedazzled bottle of Hidden Valley Original Ranch dressing. At the end, Dawson picks the first round of shade names for his eye-shadow palette. You might be surprised how this is done.

The rest of the episodes follow the works of creating the collection: the ups and downs of disagreeing with Jeffree Star, an entire scandal in episode three and finally, the reveal of the final product in episode 6.

No, it won’t win the first YouTube Emmy, but it was well-made and Dawson did a great job capturing how crazy and truly dangerous the makeup world can be. And if I may say so myself, the palette turned out pretty good too.

_Edited by Joe Cross | jcross@themaneater.com_