Wyoming has the fewest residents among all U.S. states, but for a few hours on July 14, its population swelled considerably.
On that day, beauty influencer Jeffree Star drew a record-breaking crowd for the grand opening of a brick-and-mortar shop in Casper. The so-called “Jeffree Star Store” sells a unique combination of products: makeup and meat.
Star’s fans came from far and wide to check out the eclectic new store. “We came all the way from Bentonville, Arkansas — 14, 15 hours from here,” attendee Liset Garcia told Oil City News. “I’ve followed Jeffree Star since he was a YouTuber and went through my middle school and high school years being emo because of him.” A fan named Odessa Castillo told Business Insider that she drove from Wisconsin to catch the opening. “Jeffree means everything to me,” Castillo said.
Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories
According to Business Insider, some attendees waited over 12 hours for their chance to enter the store. To stay cool, queuing fans enjoyed ice pops that featured the branding of the influencer’s Star Yak Ranch, which is located a few miles outside of Casper. Rapper Yelawolf capped off the event with a free performance.
“I’m so grateful for all of the love and support, we shut the city down,” Star wrote on Instagram. “We broke the record for the biggest downtown event.”
View this post on Instagram
Star described makeup and meat as “the perfect duo you weren’t expecting.” His store’s unusual focus reflects the long, strange journey his career has taken since he broke out on Myspace nearly two decades ago. His deals with brands like Morphe helped him become one of the internet’s most influential creators, and Jeffree Star Cosmetics drove eye-popping sales figures, especially for collabs between Star and Shane Dawson.
In 2020, as the public dug up Dawson’s past misdeeds, Star lost some of his most prominent sponsorships. Shortly thereafter, the Southern California native decamped for Wyoming, where he opened Star Yak Ranch. Star has maintained a distance between his cosmetics line and his ranch, but nevertheless, you can buy both lip gloss and yak jerky at his Casper store.
Star, who reaches about 14 million followers on Instagram, is not the first influencer to extend his brand into the realm of real-life retail. The British supergroup known as the Sidemen recently opened their first brick-and-mortar merch shop, and TikToker Dylan Lemay brought his ice cream skills to New York by launching his own sweets shop.
Fans who missed Star at the grand opening might still have a chance to catch him if they make the trip to Casper. The beauty star’s ranch is only 20 minutes from his store, so he’s liable to pop in over the coming weeks and months.
