One of my many interests is makeup: shopping for it, applying it, experimenting with it. I love that it helps enhance certain features of my face, and nothing makes me happy quite like a glittery eye shadow palette or a fresh tube of bright lipstick.

A dear friend of mine shares this slight obsession with all things related to cosmetics/skincare/beauty products. Often, she’ll text me when she scores a good deal on a high-end product, and I’ll message her with details on my new favorite facial mask, and we’ll bask in our delight together.

So I wasn’t too surprised when I got a text from her a few weeks back that showed a picture of a new eye shadow palette she discovered online. She captioned the photo: “If this palette isn’t on your radar it needs to be. Just for the title.”

Here’s the palette she was talking about:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nope, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: This palette is called “blood sugar”. My first reaction was OMG I NEED TO BUY IT. I was curious to see if it was created with T1D in mind, so I did a little more research on it.

Jeffree Star, a well-known makeup maven and cosmetic creator, is behind this particular palette. According to a video posted on his YouTube channel, and in Star’s own words, the palette got its shape and its name because:

I was very inspired by like doctor medical boxes. I’m very into the medical field in general. I love reading books and watching documentaries on Netflix. I am just very into that whole thing…”

So right away, I understood that this palette was NOT created with diabetes in mind. But I wonder whether it would’ve behooved Star to have done a little more research before naming some of the shadows in the palette…

I don’t take issue with “glucose”, “blood sugar”, “prick”, or “ouch” being the names of a few of the shades; however, I don’t think it was particularly wise to use “coma” as a shadow name. Yes, coma! In this context, it could be misconstrued, for sure.

As I watched his palette reveal video, I kept waiting for Star to offer up some sort of legitimate medical knowledge that might explain his reasoning for naming the colors comprising the kit. But no such luck. I couldn’t help but scoff by the time he reached the color he dubbed “coma” – he talked about how he wanted the stamp in the eye shadow pan to be the “medical symbol” (which is more formally known as the caduceus). The fact that he so easily (and seemingly carelessly) glamorized a coma AND the symbol that graces most medical IDs by naming a rich maroon-hued eye shadow after both…is something that just leaves me scratching my head.

Now I’m not someone who is necessarily “politically correct” at all times, and I don’t think I’m being oversensitive by having a negative reaction to this beauty product. Needless to say, I didn’t end up purchasing the palette, because I don’t want to support something that I find somewhat insulting and ignorant.

Jeffree Star is obviously extraordinarily talented and makes beautiful cosmetics, but I think he should consider a different approach the next time he gleans inspiration from something (such as the medical field) that he isn’t well-versed in.