When you think of quintessential ’90s style, you think Pamela Anderson. From her legendary Playboy covers to her appearances on Baywatch, the now 56-year-old model and actress embodies everything we so dearly loved about the 90s: barely there brows, voluminous bombshell hair, nude lips, the works.
In recent months, Anderson has made headlines for her public appearances rocking a bare face, all of which led up to the announcement of her skin-care brand Sonsie. But now, the superstar is going back to her glam roots thanks to an oh-so nostalgic campaign collaboration with Smashbox Cosmetics.
Smashbox X Pamela Anderson: A First For Anderson and the Brand
Despite the fact that in our minds Anderson has quite literally done it all, she’s never been the face of a major cosmetics campaign until now. Similarly, Smashbox has never had a celebrity face on their campaigns, so it’s a first for both parties, but as Anderson explained to Harper’s Bazaar, the collaboration—shot by Smashbox founder and longtime friend of Pamela’s, Davis Factor—just made sense.
“Davis was one of the first photographers to shoot me outside of Playboy. He met my mother at the Roxbury in L.A,” she told the outlet. “I always have a personal story with the reason I do things, and it’s hardly ever about the product. It’s about the relationship.”
In terms of why Anderson said yes to this campaign—centered around the brand’s number-one best-selling product, the Original Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer ($42)—after turning down other makeup advertising opportunities, it boiled down to sustainability. “I’ve had different reasons why I haven’t done things in the past, but a lot of it had to do with sustainability,” Anderson told Bazaar. “Asking people if packaging could be biodegradable, cruelty-free, all these questions I had. People just thought I was annoying 30 years ago and now it’s in fashion. But I love and respect Smashbox because they’ve been doing it the whole time.”
In addition to the sustainability aspect, Anderson also expressed her love for the brand and product as a whole. “I love the idea of a primer, because it kind of separates you from the makeup. So I’m thinking about how to protect your skin and how to still use makeup as an extension and expression, but not be the most important thing.” All in all, Anderson describes the collaboration to Harper’s Bazaar as a “full circle experience.” I don’t know about you, but I’ll be marveling at these campaign pictures for the next several hours.
