e.l.f. Cosmetics “Cosmetic Criminals” true crime parody short film.Photo:Andrew Southam Photography
Andrew Southam Photography
Grab your popcorn and all your beauty products:e.l.f. Cosmeticsreleased a true crime parody documentary on Jan. 9, and it’s nothing short of a complete thrill.
“This insight from our community sparked an incredible idea we had to act on,” says Lam.
e.l.f. Cosmetics “Cosmetic Criminals” true crime parody short film.Andrew Southam Photography
The result: a true crime parody documentary which chronicles how e.l.f.-pinching unfolds in one household and will have viewers asking throughout, “Who the e.l.f. did it?”
Not only isCosmetic Criminalsavailable onYoutubeandAmazon Freevee, it’s also slated to make its theatrical debut on Jan. 12, playing ahead of Paramount Pictures’ newMean Girlsmovie at select AMC locations, which is totally fetch (but we digress…).
e.l.f. Cosmetics enlisted Oscar and Emmy award-nominee Alex Buono ofRussian Dollto direct, while the star-studded cast includesNew GirlandVeepstar Nelson Franklin,NCISstar Necar Zadegan and multi-award-winning actress Niecy Nash-Betts, who spoke to PEOPLE exclusively about starring in the film.
Nash-Betts tells PEOPLE that her first memory of e.l.f. Cosmetics is the packaging catching her eye in the makeup aisle during quick trips to the drugstore.
“If you are like me, you’re like, ‘I need nail polish remover. I need a bag of potato chips for the car ride,’ but then you’re like, ‘Let me just take a little quick gander around the cosmetics and see what they have'," she says. “You come out [having spent] $45 on cosmetics when all you came in for was a bag of potato chips!"
Though as any e.l.f. connoisseur knows, $45 will get you a lot of product. For her part, Nash-Betts (who counts among her e.l.f. MVPs theLiquid Poreless Putty Primerand theHalo Glow Beauty Wands) stocks upbecauseit’s affordable — and because she’s “for sure” been e.l.f.-pinched before — and the culprit is alwaysher kids.
“They see me pick up something and say, ‘Ooh, what’s that?’Not for you!“she jokes. “And then I turn around five minutes later and I can’t find it. I was like, ‘How can I work smarter and not harder?’ So I buy multiples, and I hide them.” [Just where, she’ll never tell.]
Her personal experience with e.l.f.-pinching made the plot resonate with her all the more, and joining the cast a no-brainer.
“My favorite thing [about the experience] was the script,” she says. “I thought it was so adorable and such a creative way into this world.”
InCosmetic Criminals, Nash-Betts plays Landis Bordeaux, Deputy Director of the CosCrime TaskForce — a role she was well suited-for, having played a cop previously, most notably Deputy Raineesha Williams onReno 911.
The one thing Nash-Betts learned from her cult-favorite character Raineesha: “You cannot fight crime if you’re not cute.”
“Just because you’re in a high pressure job, doesn’t mean you can’t look fabulous. So that’s one [learning],” Nash-Betts says. “And then just the comedy and the seriousness of how you play [the role].”
Niecy Nash-Betts' favorite e.l.f. Cosmetics products.Courtesy of e.l.f. Cosmetics
Courtesy of e.l.f. Cosmetics
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Nash-Betts has some lovable but stern words for her family about e.l.f.-pinching: “You can take my eyeliner, but don’t think about pinchingmy mascara! I don’t necessarily have to have the liner, but if the lash is giving, then boom, we are in here.”
From solvingprettycrimes to preventing future ones — what the e.l.f. will the cosmetics and skin care brand think of next?
source: people.com
