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Cosmetics company NYX Professional Makeup wants to help take you to the world of Avatar and Pandora this holiday season with its limited-edition collection inspired by James Cameron’s hotly anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water.
Inspired by the sequel to the most successful movie of all time, the 12-product capsule line, which includes Na’Vi SFX Face & Body Paint, dropped earlier this month and is now available to shop at Ulta, Macy’s, and NYXCosmetics.com.
Buy NYX Avatar Collection $120
“This partnership is so special because we worked closely with filmmakers to bring the world of Avatar to life through makeup and the level of detail that went into the collection’s creation is unmatched,” Denée Pearson, NYX’s senior vice president of global marketing, product development, and social told Rolling Stone of the line. “Our film partners shared the story, and everything from this collection is inspired by the [setting] of Avatar, Pandora, and characters. And the special touch — quotes from the movie featured throughout the packaging.”
Pearson says every single hue was plucked straight from scenes in the sequel, which premieres in theaters Dec. 16. Think vivid iconic Na’vi blue, shimmery Spirit Tree purple, Cove Of The Ancients gold, Neytiri oxblood, soft Panopyra pink, or Under The Fractal Reef chartreuse in the form of eye shadow palettes, highlighters, and lipsticks.
“The palettes are inspired by the colors of Pandora’s land and sea, from the vibrant forest greens to the deep turquoise blues and shimmering bioluminescence of the water,” Pearson says. “We also created two unique lipsticks representing each fearless Na’vi leader Neytiri [Zoe Saldana] and Ronal [Kate Winslet].”
The bold and bright results are not for the faint of heart, but that’s exactly what NYX was going for. “NYX Professional Makeup is a brand known for color artistry and high-quality pigments and Gen Z makeup is all about color, bold, graphic shapes for the eyes, playful color combinations, matte and metallic, and luminous, popping, skin and lips,” Pearson continues. “Like Pandora, the more color and shimmer, the better.”
Courtesy NYX
Buy NYX Avatar Collection $120
Working with Cameron and his Avatar team was also easy, as the company’s ethos and policies very much aligns with the pro-environment moral of the story Cameron tries to get across in both the Academy Award-winning 2009 original and this long-awaited follow-up.
“NYX Professional Makeup is a brand that champions diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability — all of which are core values shared by the world of Avatar. Our collection is vegan and cruelty-free with recycled materials in the packaging,” Pearson says.
The launch also kicks off with a worthwhile social media campaign that comes with a hefty charitable component raising funds for The Nature Conservancy. For every social media post using the hashtags #NYXCosmeticsForAvatar, #KeepOurOceansAmazing, and #AvatarTheWayOfWater from now until Feb. 28, 2023, NYX will donate $1 up to $50,000 to the global environmental nonprofit organization.
“The [donation] will go toward Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect 10 of our oceans’ amazing animals and their habitats: beluga whales, blue whales, whale sharks, hawksbill sea turtles, manatees, manta rays, parrotfish, staghorn coral, sea lions, and mangroves, the coastal habitats that provide important shelter for many marine species,” Pearson says. “We are proud to support another cause that aligns with our vision for a sustainable world.”
The NYX x Avatar collab can be purchased as a whole at Ulta.com for $120. A la carte prices range from $9 to $40. The collection includes the 24-pan eyeshadow Color Palette, Pandoran Paradise Palette (a six-pan set of highlighters and blushes for cheeks), two Paper Lipsticks, Na’vi Paint, Metkayina Mist (an ultra-hydrating makeup setting spray), three Biolume highlighter sticks, and three Luminescent Lip Glosses.