Wu-Tang Clan is known for producing killer music and…makeup? The hip-hop group reportedly released their first line of lipsticks. How did Wu-Tang get into the lipstick business? Are they going to be expanding into other consumer products? And why is the line so gosh darn expensive? We know you have some burning questions about this strange development, so we did a little digging to find out the facts.
RZA, a Wu-Tang member, gave a breakdown of how and why this idea was launched.
“I have a real relationship with Milk’s founder, Rassi, and as New Yorkers, we’ve frequented some of the same circles. We spoke about fashion and the cosmetic world. I revealed that [Talani] my wife has a cool perspective about makeup [because] in her youth she was in modeling circles.
She is a fan of Milk Makeup’s products and when [Rassi and I] talked about forming a collaboration that reflected our NYC sensibility and philosophy, makeup became the unique and predictable choice. The Milk Makeup collaboration was spearheaded by my wife.”
Makes sense. Women, New York, and an easy avenue for collaboration. How could Wu-Tang not jump at the opportunity?
The group has even released video advertisements for the lipstick. In the commercial below, Teyana Taylor incorporates some karate moves to help the makeup appear as sexy as possible.
And here are a few more words from the official press release announcing the line:
“Naturally, the eight upcoming long wear lipsticks will bear the kind of labels that you’d expect from a Wu-Tang inspired collection. Each will be named after the I Ching Trigrams: Sacred, Fire, Chi, Flow, Frequency, Source, Cypher, and Ruckus. All lipsticks will come in different shades of pink and red and will be featured in high shine, nourishing matte, and dimensional glitter.
Known for having completely vegan products, Milk is taking their collaborating with Wu to the next level and including some Chinese-inspired ingredients such as sacred lotus water, cherry blossom, ginseng, bamboo shoots, and Chinese red dates that will help protect, hydrate, and sooth the lips upon application.
Adding to the lipstick’s mystique will be the cases it will come in as they’ll be encased in solid black bullets, which is a stark contrast to Milk’s typical white, gray, and clear packaging. When you open up the bullet, a gold dragon wraps around the stick. The outer packaging is also solid black, and features the Wu-Tang “W” as well as a new exclusive symbol that blends Milk’s logo with the Chinese symbol for beauty.”
The line honestly sounds promising. Wu-Tang creates amazing music, so perhaps their makeup collection will be the same. The only factor potentially holding this business endeavor back is the price. One lipstick will run you $60. For now, we’ll stick with our drug-store brand lip gloss. But if this lipstick takes off in the future, we’ll know who’s behind its success!
