Jerrod Blandino has been in the beauty business since 1998. Bill Clinton was president. Michael Jordan played his last game as a Bull. And the iconic makeup line Too Faced was born. After selling to Estée Lauder, Blandino never sat on his laurels, jumping back into the industry with Polite Society—a brand based in clean, non-toxic formulas with high-performance results—all while being a close friend of Madonna on the side.
“We are friends, and our collaboration on her beauty line for her concert came from a moment when we were sitting on her sofa eating popcorn,” shares Blandino when asked about Madonna and the off-the-radar beauty products sold via her official online store. “She was telling me about her upcoming show and what she was thinking for wardrobe and sets. I said, ‘Oooh, you should bring back that red lip from the Blonde Ambition Tour, and that highlight from the Who’s That Girl show.'”
“She was like, ‘OK, you do it.’ So, I did.”
As Blandino recounts, he “worked with M” on more than just the products she was thinking of wearing on stage. In an unselfish move, Madonna also considered what she wanted to offer fans. “We decided on a super special demi-matte red lipstick and magnifying mirror with bomber jacket design inspired by the Blonde Ambition tour, a plumping, glassy gloss inspired by the Virgin Tour and a champagne-gold highlighter inspired by her Who’s That Girl show.”
Housed in metallic crucifix-inspired boxes, the limited-edition lipsticks and lip plumper can be worn as necklaces. The line includes a matte red lipstick, moisturizing lip plumper, hybrid gel-powder highlighter and magnified compact mirror. Each product was produced in Italy in small batches.
While Blandino is hush-hush about what Material Girl–approved collab might be next, he does hint the creative connection is strong. “We’ve collaborated on a few things that we may bring out in the future,” he says.
And while he hasn’t had a Madonna-made product offering with Polite Society, he can back that she likes it. “We don’t have anything specifically made for her, but she’s got it all and loves it,” he says. “She loves skincare-based beauty products that do more than just look pretty, and that’s Polite Society’s philosophy.”
