James Charles is accusing Wet n Wild of copying his palette made in collaboration with Morphe, but the drugstore beauty brand doesn't seem to be backing down.
Over the weekend, Wet n Wild — known for their budget-friendly "dupes" of more expensive products — revealed their new "40 Palette" at RuPaul's DragCon. And while they didn't reveal the exact retail price point, it's likely to be much cheaper than Charles' $39 offering.
That said, Charles wasn't pleased with the product unveiling and took to his Twitter to call out the brand.
"That's crazy... your "NEW" palette looks extremely similar," he wrote.
"There are only so many colors you can put into an eyeshadow palette & I'm not claiming to "own" specific colors," Charles continued in a follow-up tweet. "BUT when you copy the exact shades & layout from my palette without even TRYING to hide it…?"
That’s crazy... your “NEW” palette looks extremely similar. 🤔 https://t.co/ualEHvoLOP
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 7, 2019
there are only so many colors you can put into an eyeshadow palette & I’m not claiming to “own” specific colors. BUT when you copy the exact shades & layout from my palette without even TRYING to hide it...? 🤡🤡
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 7, 2019
However, things proceeded to heat up after Wet n Wild began responding to some of Charles' fans online — at one point even replying, "We certainly didn't copy the price." Not only that, but the brand also responded to another critic by saying that "the James Charles x Morphe palette was purchased by Morphe from Jiaxing Huasheng Cosmetics," which led to Charles firing back at the "unprofessional" company.
We certainly didn't copy the price :)
— wet n wild beauty (@wetnwildbeauty) September 7, 2019
You’re tweeting information out of context to start drama, this is beyond unprofessional. Jiaxing Huasheng is the manufacturer that produces my palette, which I designed and formulated myself. Every company has a manufacturer that they “buy” their stock from, including you.
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 7, 2019
"The manufacturer of my palette has nothing to do with the conversation. Every brand has a manufacturer, and most manufacturers can make any makeup product," Charles asserted, adding that Wet n Wild's tweet "makes it seem like my palette was already designed by a 3rd party & Morphe just bought it."
"This is not only not true at all, but it also discredits the work I put into designing the palette, picking all of the shades, and the year I spent working on formulas," he concluded. "This palette was my original design point blank period and wet and wild has ripped it off."
The manufacturer of my palette has nothing to do with the conversation. Every brand has a manufacturer, and most manufacturers can make any makeup product. Their tweet makes it seem like my palette was already designed by a 3rd party & Morphe just bought it, also known as private
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 7, 2019
labeling. This is not only not true at all, but it also discredits the work I put into designing the palette, picking all of the shades, and the year I spent working on formulas. This palette was my original design point blank period and wet and wild has ripped it off.
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 7, 2019
That said, as noted by The Fashion Law, it's "unlikely" that Charles has a legal case against Wet n Wild.
Because while "he very well may enjoy some copyright protection for the specific arrangement of colors embodied in his eponymous palette," it should be noted that any protections are likely limited and "extremely thin since the level of originality is low; the basic layout of eyeshadows in a palette is hardly an enormously creative endeavor."
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