Eva Mendes’ Drugstore Makeup Line is the Best New Thing in the Beauty Aisle

Photo: Getty Images

 

Celebrities have been using their images to sell beauty products since the the dawn of the modern cosmetics industry. But these days more and more famous faces are taking on roles that go beyond posing for a campaign, by serving as investors or creative directors. Drew Barrymore for Flower Beauty, Jennifer Aniston for Living Proof, Katie Holmes for Alterna…the list goes on. Now Eva Mendes is joining their ranks with Circa, a new color cosmetics line sold exclusively at Walgreens and Duane Reade.

 

“I grew up very lower middle class and did most of my shopping at the drugstore,” the actress said at yesterday’s press launch. “I feel like I’m making [Circa] for my younger self.”

 

The offerings include everything you’d expect from a fully equipped makeup line, all priced between $8-$15: foundation and BB cream, blush and eyeshadow in cream and powder formulas, liquid liner, mascara, brow fillers and lip colors that range from creamy lipsticks to sheer liquid stains.

 

And the formulas are good — really good. Standouts include the high-pigment payoff Color Saturated Eye Crayon, a ridiculously silky, weightless Fresh Canvas Face Primer (“When you’re working those long hours and you need your makeup to stay, it’s very, very helpful,” Mendes says), and some gorgeous, high-impact lip shades named for classic screen sirens (bright coral Lana, true red Rita).

 

 

There’s definitely a vintage element at play, whether it’s in the shade names or the Art Deco architecture-inspired packaging, and it’s all on purpose. “Whether it was through creating the line, or as an actress taking on a role or going in for a photo shoot, we always work off inspiration of women that came before us,” Mendes explained. “Different looks, different time periods. For example, I’ll go into a photo shoot and it will be, ‘Today’s look is going to be Sophia Loren circa early ‘50s’ or ‘Diana Ross circa Mahogany.’ So depending on what look you’re going for, you’re always sort of referencing a time. And we thought it would be so cool to create this line that really captures or evokes timeless beauty.”