During New York Fashion Week the beauty buzz was decidedly off-runway.

The launch of two beauty brands, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Victoria Beckham’s Estée Lauder collection, was on the lips of all in the know. The latter will hit shelves this month and is the second partnership for the multi-talented designer. As Victoria’s most recent Estée Lauder collection sold out, it can be speculated that she may be offered her own permanent beauty range under The Estée Lauder Companies’ corporate umbrella, much like Tom Ford, who created a collection for the firm in 2005 before launching his own line, Tom Ford Beauty, a few years later. And there are several reasons why it seems her latest Estée Lauder partnership will resonate with consumers.

Besides the tried and true formula of partnering with a well-established, respected designer on a permanent range, Victoria, a card-carrying member of Generation X, bridges the gap between her own demographic and Millennials thanks to her modern aesthetic and digital savvy. In addition, many Millennials grew up with Posh Spice, adding yet another dimension to her mass appeal. Her collaborations range from mass market to prestige; she created a capsule collection for Target within the last year, which was a success. Estée Lauder Lead for Global Partnership Initiatives, Sarah Creal, said that Victoria’s makeup collection was created in the same way the star does her fashion collections. “We started with swipe and pantones and went from there,” Sarah explained. Like fashion, things change by season. “Some of the new products for this collection are fashion influenced and others are based on key themes, such as Victoria’s point of view on the color pink, a continued exploration of the nude lip, an expansion of matte across both eyes and lips, and multiple eyeshadow duos instead of one palette,” Sarah said. She noted that there have been makeup ranges created by fashion designers but this range differs in that it was created to be an accessory — like a handbag or sunglasses. “Victoria looks at her collections seamlessly — as part of the whole woman — and believes makeup is an accessory that can enhance a woman’s confidence and beauty,” she said.

Sarah was also involved in the creation of the beauty behemoth’s now defunct Millennial-focused range, Estée Edit. In fact, the Victoria Beckham line includes eye foils, which are similar to Estée Edits offerings. “The beauty of the eye foils is that they can be used in a full coverage, super dramatic way with a heavier lay down or they can be blended out and used as just a veil over the eye,” explained Sarah. Some of the products also look similar to several in the Estée Edit line. However, Sarah noted that this collection boasts “several different levels of metallics and sparkle in the new makeup collection that make it easy for anyone — no matter their age — to create the perfect shimmery eye look that they desire, whether that’s bold and glamorous or subtle and sophisticated.” She said that the inspiration for this is Victoria’s own life — “she desires a little shine for every day, as well as being able to achieve red carpet looks.” Though many women don’t typically live in the limelight to the extent Victoria does, Sarah noted that we all have moments when we’re photographed and want something that’s going to be transformative. “And there’s nothing quite as transformative — especially on the eyes — as a metallic finish,” Sarah added.

As for standout products in the collection, Sarah said the Eye Kajal is of an exceptionally creamy, volatile gel oil formulation. “The pigment load is different and the coloration is different, but the technology is really what makes it a hero product across both collections,” she said. Similarly, one point of differentiation for this brand in a sea of highlighter offerings in the current beauty climate is that Victoria Beckham’s Highlighter in Modern Mercury was created to simulate the look of sexy-sweaty skin. Sarah said that this is one of the celebrity’s favorite products. “Modern Mercury is a shimmering highlighter that can be used to illuminate cheekbones, the bridge of the nose and key points on the face to create a sophisticated and sensual glow,” she said.

Obviously, contouring is of deep and real importance to Victoria Beckham. As for some of the descriptors and buzzwords she used when creating the range’s matte bronzers, Sarah said that matte was the obvious priority and also that the coloration not be grey. “Victoria calls it a ‘happy contour’ — so it provides definition but doesn’t dull or grey the skin,” Sarah noted. “She did not believe in using pearl in the formula to create shadow, so it was imperative that this was matte.” For this bronzer, natural contour and beautifully defined, fresh, healthy, sun-kissed skin was the goal.

Sarah said that the nudes in the collection took the longest to create because they are the most subtle and difficult to develop. “It takes a lot of work to achieve the perfect shade of nude that is really going to work on a lot of women and different skin tones,” she said. “In terms of color development, subtlety is always more challenging than bold — it’s just a much more complex, layered, and challenging conversation to have and we worked incredibly hard to achieve those perfect nude shades that Victoria envisioned.”