Salt-N-Pepa on Their Collection With Milani and the ’90s Trends They Created

Between the Friends reunion, the Sailor Moon x ColourPop collection and M.A.C.’s latest Selena Gutierrez line, nostalgia reigns supreme. Brands are counting on us remembering the good times of our childhood when we stanned something in pop culture before “stanning” was even a thing. Take the Salt-N-Pepa x Milani collection. The affordable beauty brand teamed up with the iconic duo on a 4-piece makeup collection inspired by the ’90s shades of their time.

Although I was pretty young when Salt-N-Pepa was at their peak, I was stoked to meet Salt (Sandra Denton) and Pepa (Cheryl James) in person at a hotel in Los Angeles. The two created beauty and fashion trends back in the late-’80s and ’90s that are popping back up on teens today. A collection with Milani makes sense when you look at the trend-conscious shades and textures the brand is known for.

“When Milani approached us about the collaboration, [we knew about] the line,” says Pepa. “My mom wears the line and my sisters wear the line. I’ve seen the line but to actually be a part of it knowing the kind of pigment, the colors that will represent Salt-N-Pepa and the ’90s…” Pepa shows off the “Push It” Lip Kit packaging, how each woman is wearing a red lip so the inside shades are a red lip liner and lipstick. The “Shoop” Lip Kit has more nude hues.

“We always say there’s a Salt and Pepa in every friendship,” says Salt. “There’s the daytime, more conservative one and then there’s the more intense personality. The Hot, Kool and Vicious Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette has the more [bold] colors and the Very Necessary Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette is more daytime.” It’s obvious Salt is the low-key one and Pepa is a bit more loud with her looks. The duo is really proud of the packaging of the two lip kits and two palettes. 

Image: Milani.

“It’s so reminiscent of the ’90s. It’s so cute because it’s a CD,” Salt explains. “Every shadow and lipstick is named after a song. I have on ‘I’ll Take Your Man pink’ and Pep has on ‘Push It’ red lips. Shoop is a deep mauve I wear all the time.”

“The pencil that comes [in the lip kit] you can actually wear by itself,” says Pepa. “The texture of it is creamy. I hate a hard pencil.” Adds Salt: “We coined a phrase: timeless makeup, timeless music, timeless collection.”

Source: Instagram

As ’80s and ’90s trends become “new and fresh,” I asked Salt and Pepa if they find that a little…annoying. I could tell right away how much they love seeing young people recreate their iconic looks. It was an exciting time in their lives.

“The ’90s really was so much fun. It was so interactive before everyone was looking down at their phones,” says Salt. “I see young people say they look at our videos and other artists from the ’90s and it looks like we were having so much fun. One of the things about Salt-N-Pepa is we brought fun, fashion and feminity to hip-hop. I think a lot of women appreciated that. And the colors from that time. We were all so bold with our fashion statements. They were all authentically, originally, organically us. We made them up as we went along.”

Image: Shutterstock.

Of course, they didn’t know they were creating trends that would last decades. “We cut up our jeans for the ‘Shake Your Thang’ video and these days they’re like $7,000 pre-cut,” says Salt. “The asymmetrical haircuts style, we brought that. We didn’t have a glam squad. Our style is still relevant to this day.” Out of all of their videos, both says they had the most fun making “Shoop.” Although they say they didn’t have a full squad, by that time, in 1994, they had friends who would do their hair and makeup.

We’ll get to relive all these looks when Salt-N-Pepa’s biopic comes to Lifetime later this year. Of course, it won’t be all aesthetics. “We’ve been telling our stories forever and now they get to see it on the screen, how we worked together,” says Pepa. “The movie is focused on our friendship, the ups and downs and maintaining our friendship. Also the perseverance. We’re not a tragedy. We persevered through all these eras and we’re still here and we’re still thriving.” Amen.

Shop the entire Salt-N-Pepa x Milani collection, below.

Image: Milani.

Salt N’ Pepa Hot, Kool & Vicious Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette

With nine matte and three shimmer eyeshadow shades, plus a highlighter.

Hot, Kool & Vicious Eyeshadow… $19.99

buy it

Image: Milani.

Salt N’ Pepa Very Necessary Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette

With three matte, eight shimmer and one pearl shade, as well as a highlighter.

Very Necessary Eyeshadow & Highlighter… $19.99

buy it

Image: Milani.

Salt N’ Pepa Lip Kits in Push It

With a velvety red lipstick and lip liner.

Lip Kits in Push It $11.99

buy it

Image: Milani.

Salt N’ Pepa Lip Kits in Shoop

With a “universally flattering” nude lipstick and lip liner.

Lip Kit in Shoop $11.99

buy it

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from StyleCaster