Wet and Wild cosmetics memories

Last night I went to the Wet n Wild launch of their new Steal the Look app – an app that lets you take a photo of any picture or any one and recreate their look with Wet n Wild products. It’s a fun app and works very well because Wet n Wild has a lot of colour.

Which is why I went. No, not for the free product but because I have a soft spot in my heart for this cheap and very cheerful brand. It was one of the few drugstore lines that carried colours that looked good on my skin.

Let’s go back nearly 20 years. I was in Toronto on vacation, on my way to the MAC store to buy my first Studio Fix powder. I had read that MAC was a line that catered to all skin colours and I was anxious to buy something from them that I didn’t have to mix.

It was difficult to find drugstore or department store products that catered to a wide range of skin tones. There was Fashion Flair and Iman had not launched her cosmetics line as yet. Covergirl, Maybelline and Revlon didn’t have the diverse range of shades that you find these days. For many, the alternative was to mix two or more foundations. For those who remember, makeup artist Way Bandy used to mixed multiple foundations (known as ‘base’ in those days) to create a foundation that would match Iman’s skin. This was in 1975 and while things got a little better in the 80s, diversity in cosmetics wasn’t quite there yet.

But back to MAC, I walked out of there with my first compact of Studio Fix in NC35 and I have been buying it ever since. And yes, I bought the Spice Lipliner.

So why mention MAC in context with Wet n Wild? It’s because MAC’s Studio Fix was expensive at nearly $30, which was a lot of money in those days and for many, still is. Clearly it’s not any more in comparison to hundred-dollar-plus foundations but that was a lot of money for a teenager to spend on powder.

I did my own version of high-low thanks to the perfect lip pencil from Wet n Wild. It was red and it went with nearly every single red, dark pink or berry-coloured lipstick I owned. I would also apply it, put a little clear lip balm and head out, knowing I looked done. Maybe it was Brandy Wine? I can’t remember the name of the pencil but I bought it for years when it was less than a dollar or two. It went with my skin colour – I didn’t have to deal with the horrible, frosty pinks and oranges that dominated the drugstore market.

So when Wet n Wild had their event tonight I went to revisit the line and to see if it was still as cheerful and diverse as I remember it all those years ago. It was – great reds, berry and nudes in easy-to-apply crayons.

I still buy MAC and I’m currently heavily rotating NARS but I think I’ll see if I can find Brandy Wine and add it and other Wet n Wild products back into my make-up kit.