Hip-hop star Dessa of the Doomtree collective has collaborated with The Elixery to develop a lipstick for release in September 2012. The limited-edition lip color, expertly colored by master makeup artist Crist Ballas, was selected by the star as her ideal shade. Dessa will be donating her proceeds from the sale of the lipstick to educate and empower women in developing countries.
Dessa couldn't be more pleased with the color itself, but the philosopher also keeps in mind her strong commitment to ethics and social justice.
"In college, I wrote my final thesis on the philosophy of Martha Nussbaum," said Dessa. "Studying her theories I learned about the surprising consequences of educating girls, consequences which compound and refract through entire societies. Educating women often changes marital age and birthrates, and employed women demonstrate different spending patterns than employed men. Ten years after having studied the philosophy of this stuff, I couldn't be more excited to actually make a real-world contribution. I'm extraordinarily proud to be supporting CARE's programs to educate girls around the world."
Launch Party
The "Dessa" lipstick will launch on September 15th at Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN. 89.3 The Current's Barb Abney will keep the party going throughout the evening, along with musical guests Aby Wolf and Ashley Gold backed by Dessa's live ensemble: Dustin Kiel, Sean McPherson, and Joey Van Phillips. Prizes, giveaways, and other entertainment throughout the evening. Launch party begins 8pm, $5 cover. Limited VIP tickets available for a pre-party meet and greet with Dessa. VIP ticket includes drinks, hors d'oevres, and full tube of the Dessa shade. (7-8 pm, $35) Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Ave S. Details and tickets at
www.elixery.com/dessa. 21+. Preorders for the lipstick will start on August 21st at doomtree.net and elixery.com.
More about The Elixery
The Elixery is an artisan cosmetic house that creates unique, hand-blended products from scratch. All products are formulated, developed, and compounded in-house, and each ingredient is sourced to be free of animal testing. Founded by chemist Karoline Wells in 2009, the focus of the company is on the simplicity of beauty, the elegance of science, and the dignity of manufacturing.
More about Dessa
Dessa is an essayist, a rapper, a speaker, and a proud member of the Doomtree crew--Minneapolis'
ascendant hip-hop collective. Her first full-length album, A Badly Broken Code, was enthusiastically received by NPR, the Chicago Tribune, and the Utne Reader, who called her "a one-woman powerhouse." Backed by Doomtree's stable of talented producers, the record introduced Dessa as an innovative and literary lyricist to audiences around the nation.
Off stage, Dessa has been equally ambitious in her pursuits as a writer, speaker, and thinker. In the first
half of 2012, she delivered the keynote address for the Nobel Peace Prize Forum; the commencement address at the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts; received the AWARE award for her promotion of gender equality; and completed tours of North America and Europe.
More about Crist Ballas
A childhood passion for the classic Universal monsters coupled with a love of the fine arts led Crist Ballas toward the rather unconventional study of makeup. A student of the legendary Dick Smith, Ballas is an innovator in his field, and is known for his work in natural, beauty and ultra-realistic character makeups.
In 2009, Ballas was part of the Academy Award® winning make-up team for JJ Abrams Star Trek, and in 2011, he received his first Emmy® in recognition of his work for a MN Twins campaign. His high-profile work includes the films THE STRAIGHT STORY, SWEET LAND, BATMAN & ROBIN, A SIMPLE PLAN, and END OF DAYS.
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