I was intrigued by MAC's Year of the Snake collection since I first laid eyes on this magnificent promo image.
I was surprised by how much I liked the packaging. It's very simple but perfectly captures the allure and texture of shiny snakeskin. And you wouldn't think purple, gold, hot pink and black would go together well but here they work.
The snake pattern is woven throughout all the items. Here's one of the eyeshadows (Altered State).
With flash:
Beauty powder:
With flash:
One of the lipsticks (Cockney) – I think the snake pattern works best here.
Famous people born in the Year of the Snake include Oprah Winfrey, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King,
Jr., Pablo Picasso, Bob Dylan, and Edgar
Allan Poe.
2013 brings good financial fortune for those born in the Year of the Snake.
What did you think of this collection? I think the most interesting thing about it was the fact that all of the colors are re-promotes of items in the permanent line or shades that had been previously released in other collections – it's as if MAC is testing consumers to see if they'll buy items solely if they come in special packaging. Naturally, I succumbed.
*To find out what the title of this post is referencing, click here.
Iconic bombshell Marilyn Monroe has been garnering much attention in 2012, in part, sadly, because this year marks the 50th anniversary of her death. So far she has been the subject of the official poster for the Cannes film festival, several TV shows and series, and a plethora of museumexhibitions and art auctions. This month, MAC released a collection featuring the famous sex symbol, with the packaging consisting of photos from a session known as "The Black Sitting" shot by Milton Greene in 1956. According to Greene's wife at the time, Amy, "Milton made this black velvet womb. Velvet was draped over chairs, they must have cornered the black velvet market on 7th Ave…There
is something about black velvet that is very sensuous and very rich." I think this sensuality is exactly the vibe that MAC was trying to bring out in the collection, based on their description. "Pure platinum Hollywood glamour. Channel the legend's luster & sex
appeal in a colour collection distinctively Marilyn. It's everything you
need to capture the MM look."
Perhaps it is everything you need for the Marilyn look, but only if you were quick enough to snatch it before it sold out online and in every brick and mortar store. Unfortunately, I was not as fast as others and only managed to snag an eye shadow and lip gloss. 🙁
Here are Preferred Blonde shadow and Little Rock lip gloss.
The lipstick kiss inside the boxes was a nice touch.
Here are the some of the other items from the collection with different images, sniff.
There was a Beauty Powder (highlighter):
Five lipsticks (this one is called Deeply Adored):
I think MAC chose wisely in terms of the images used for the packaging. Of all the movies and photo shoots Marilyn starred in, the Black Sitting seems to capture all of her facets at once – the come-hither sexiness and womanly glamour, to be sure, but also her child-like innocence and vulnerability. Additionally, the starkness of the black-and-white photos hints at her inner turmoil, and reminds us that 50 years later, it's not totally clear whether her tragic early death from an overdose was accidental or intentional. (Wow, sorry to go into pretty morbid territory there). Anyway, I thought this was a nice collection – it didn't knock my socks off, but it was tastefully packaged, and I think Miss Monroe herself would have approved of the colors.
Did you manage to get anything from the collection?
Ugh. Usually makeup ads don't send me into a blind rage, but this particular campaign for MAC's latest collection, entitled Office Hours, has hit a nerve.
When you create a collection based on the idea of the modern-day working woman but make her appear as an over-the-top '50s secretary whose main job seems to be filing (in between doing her nails), it just doesn't sit well with me. Why didn't they make her look powerful rather than decking her out in every shade of little-girl pink in the universe? Plus, MAC has done ads with this this sort of creepy retro feel before (see Shop MAC, Cook MAC).
The makeup mixed in with the office supplies is one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I don't want my love of beauty conflated with my hatred of administrative work. And no amount of pink will ever make work utensils appealing.
These ads remind me of a time when there were very few career options for women. I think Edward Hopper completed one of the best representations of just how trapped women were professionally. At least, that's how I've always read Office at Night (1940):
The New York Times explores this idea but also proposes that the woman is more powerful than initially thought: "In 'Office at Night' a man in his 30's or 40's sits at a heavy desk in a
sparsely furnished room, a voluptuous secretary standing with her hand
in a file drawer nearby. Twisted in a provocative if physically strained
position — both breasts and buttocks are visible — she could be looking
at him. Or maybe she's wondering how her skin-tight dress will allow
her to stoop down to pick up the paper dropped on the floor, and if she
does, what the outcome will be. A breeze enters an open window and
rustles a blind as the man reads a document, apparently oblivious to the
situation. Or is he? Hopper leaves those impressions blurred and layered…is the
relationship between the man and the woman emotional? Sexual? Or have
they, like so many urbanites squashed into cramped quarters, simply
become inured to each other? At the time, the position of
executive secretary was a relatively prestigious role for a woman,
though inherently subservient. Still, this woman, with her fashionable
attire, her makeup and her come-hither pose, could be the one with the
power." I'm not sure I'm buying that, especially if you look at how the arm of the chair and the filing cabinet are pressed right up against her figure – she is nearly physically pinned by the structure of the office, hence why I always read it as working women being trapped in a position of submissiveness and in a state of unfulfilled professional potential back then.
On a more personal level, I have endured way more than my fair share of administrative drudgery in my working life, so seeing
anything resembling that special kind of hell while trying to make it
seem "fun" makes me want to hit
somebody. Additionally, there's a pretty insulting jab at temps in the collection description: "She's a glamorous go-getter with nothing temp about her! Full-time,
overtime-her makeup, like her day, goes on and on. What she loves: the
no-fade staying power of these M∙A∙C Pro Longwear formulas – including
new M∙A∙C Pro Longwear Blush." You know, nobody actually WANTS to temp. Nobody says to themselves, "Someday I'll be a temp!" Temping is a last resort for those of us who were unfortunate enough to lose permanent employment. Temps, by and large, are good workers who just got really unlucky. At one point, I temped for over a year before finding a permanent position, and it wasn't because I couldn't properly do a job – I just couldn't get a break. To imply that temps are somehow not as good as other professionals (like the "go-getters") is a real slap in the face. Plus, is MAC aware that temping is pretty horrible for most people and shouldn't be mentioned, like, ever? It can be triggering for some of us!
So, to summarize my issues with these ads:
1. I don't like the implication that working woman = secretary.
2. Unless I am getting paid to blog about beauty (at home, where I wouldn't even have to deal with office culture), I have no interest in makeup collections taking on a work theme. These two spheres – work and my love of cosmetics – should never meet, unless, like I said, I can write about beauty for a living.
To take the edge off, I will now present you with a clip from the classic movie Office Space. "It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't care."
For one of their many limited edition collections for fall 2012, MAC collaborated with three distinct illustrators: Julie Verhoeven, Nikki Farquharson and François Therboud. The collection consists mostly of makeup bags, but some palettes were released for Nordstrom's anniversary sale back in July.
We'll start with Verhoeven. I picked up the Smokey Eye Kit from the Nordstrom anniversary sale, as Verhoeven was the only illustrator of the three in this collection to have palettes with her work on the it (Farquarson's and Therboud's designs appeared only on makeup bags).
The outer case for the palette is made of a canvas-like material, the same that is used for the collection's makeup bags.
Inside, in case you're curious:
There is also this design, which appeared on the Petite makeup bag. Alas, I have to watch the Museum's budget (the upcoming NARS Andy Warhol collection is much larger than I thought!) so I did not purchase this.
UK artist Julie Verhoeven began her career in fashion illustration and gradually moved into graphic design. She still switches back and forth between the two spheres, providing illustrations of "girls who swing between sweetheart pretty-pretty and angst-ridden and desperate" for articles in magazines such as Dazed and Confused:
And lending her work to fashion houses such as Mulberry (2007) and Versace (2009):
She also put of a few of her signature girls on a limited-edition lip gloss set for Lancome in 2007:
What's most interesting to me about her work is the stylistic shift her depictions of women have undergone. Illustrations from 2006/2007 are softer and more feminine than her most recent work, which has taken a turn towards stronger lines and have a more abstract feel. In a 2012 interview, she says, "My drawings are less pretty and fey
now. More visceral and crude, but fragile and steely in a way. Just a
mush of contradictions." Compare, for example, this illustration from 2006 with one from 2011:
Force a Smile, Flaunt Magazine, 2011:
It is this more recent style that most resembles the faces seen in the MAC collaboration, as seen in the Winter 2012 issue of Plastic Dreams magazine.
The thick outlines of the eyes and broad swaths of color are similar to the ones on the palette, while the exaggerated lower eye lashes can be seen on the Petite makeup bag. I actually prefer this later style, as it appears more forceful and intense than the delicate strokes of Verhoeven's earlier work.
Up next is British illustrator Nikki Farquharson, whose illustration appeared on two makeup bags for MAC (the same pattern for both bags, so I got the smaller one).
According to her bio, "her goal is to combine her love of creating
work with time and care on paper with her affection for abstract shapes,
colourful patterns and assorted details. Mixed-media artwork is fast
becoming the predominant feature in her portfolio – a serendipitous
style which she intends to continue and develop." While I do enjoy the patterns she created for MAC, I'm most struck by the work that uses found images in conjunction with her illustrations.
Perhaps the best examples of this type of collage are found in the work she's done for magazines and fashion shoots, where the model is placed against one of the very colorful patterns or actually becomes part of the illustration.
Here's one for Polish fashion brand Paradecka, 2009:
And New York-based Missbehave Magazine, also from 2009:
(all images from nikkifarqharson.com)
If her work looks familiar to Benefit fans, it's because she designed the patterns for the brand's Maggie and Annie collection palettes from 2010. I knew the illustrations had to have been done by an outside artist! Why Benefit chose not to disclose that they used Farquharson is beyond me. Especially since there is a great deal of work involved – each one of her patterns is drawn meticulously by hand. Anyway, I would have liked to see some of her mixed-media style in the MAC collection bags, but I'm not sure how well it would have translated to nubby canvas.
Finally, we have Swiss illustrator François Berthoud.
Neat little multi-colored squares on the inside of the box:
The bag itself. Something I didn't notice at first glance was that the colors are ever so slightly different on each side.
There was also this Petite bag (I got the bigger one because it had more color combinations):
Here's Berthoud's work in a nutshell: "Trained at the School for Graphic Design in Lausanne, Berthoud crafted a
signature style that uniquely marries new digital techniques with
traditional analog methods. The artist’s expressive, aesthetically
appealing linocuts, illustrations, and computer graphics complement
exquisitely with one another…He
says, 'Eroticism is a constant theme, also in advertising. But in
comparison to photography, illustrations can offer more room for imagination and interpretation.'"
Let's take a peek at some of his other work.
The Hen Who Wanted to Be a Rooster, 2009 (for Roger Vivier):
Tiffany ad, 2003:
Panties, (for Dior) 2004:
Like Verhoeven and Farquharson, Berthoud did illustrations for beauty products in addition to fashion.
Le Vernis Mirobolant, 1999:
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb fragrance, 2008:
And here a couple more, just because I like them. 🙂
(all images from francoisberthoud.com)
I love that his work is based on photographs but the end result isn't quite photographic. You can tell that these images are made by hand (using the aforementioned linocut technique) but that they also aren't real photos.
Overall, I thought this was a good collection. I think Berthoud's work lent itself best to the canvas material. I felt as though Verhoeven's bold paint strokes became somewhat diluted and Farquharson's precise lines, not as crisp. While the canvas did prove a bit challenging for an accurate representation of these artists' works, I did appreciate that the outer packaging mimicked it. My husband was enamored of the thick, textured paper used in the boxes for the bags.
So what do you think? And which of these three artists is your fave?
(image from maccosmetics.com)
I'm a big Gossip fan, so when I first heard about Beth Ditto collaborating with MAC I could hardly contain my excitment. However, once the collection arrived I couldn't help but be a little disappointed – there is no special limited edition packaging, and just one product that is only marginally interesting from a design perspective: the face powder in Powder to the People.
With flash:
I didn't really get the whole polka dot thing until I read the "behind the scenes" interview in which Ditto reports that her beauty icons are Grace Jones and Peggy Moffitt. Perhaps this picture of Moffitt inspired her?
(image from blog.stylesight.com)
While I liked her thoughts on beauty and color ("Makeup offers someone the unique freedom to become someone else for the day, 10 minutes or the rest of their life…I’m passionate about colour. My best friend and I sit and look at Pantone books for fun"), I was still slightly taken aback by the choice of polka dots for the promo image and the powder. Beth Ditto, to me, is incredibly fierce and untameable and awesome, and I don't think polka dots capture these qualities. She's such a badass, and then…clownish dots. There just seems to be a disconnect there. Then again, I don't know her at all – I only have my own perception of her as a really cool singer, so this might embody her personality better than I think. Also, the collection doesn't have to represent her, necessarily, just her beauty inspiration. Still, I maintain that overall this collection is uninteresting design-wise, and it's disappointing given the amazing person MAC worked with – so much more could have been done, I think.
What are your thoughts? And do you like Gossip and Beth Ditto? Actually, don't answer that unless your answer is yes. 😉
For the fourth post at the Makeup Museum's On the Water week, I'm bringing you MAC's Hey Sailor collection which was released today (but appeared online last week, so that's how I got my stuff already). The theme is pretty much identical to that of MAC's 2008 Naughty Nauticals collection: sexy, vintage pin-up girl-inspired sailor chicks. But this time around the collection is larger and features limited-edition packaging.
Museum Advisory Committee member Sailor Babo was so, so, SO excited for Hey Sailor and I was too. From the time we saw the first ad…
…to when we got a mailer with the pretty sailor lady…
…we had been eagerly anticipating the release. It's finally here and I'm loving the navy and white striped packaging just as much as I did when I first laid eyes on it.
I got the highlighter, which has the same stripe design in pastel shades embossed on the powder:
With flash:
I also got eye shadow in Jaunty because the name reminded me of Sailor Babo's oh so jaunty little hat:
Lipsticks in Red Racer (love the contrast of the red against the blue and white of the case) and To Catch a Sailor:
Riviera Life lip gloss:
And the makeup bag set:
And because I was such a good customer, MAC included 3 temporary tattoos. Aren't they so cute? I think, honestly, the free tattoos were my favorite part of the whole collection. They will make awesome Museum memorabilia.
However, I'm not sure I'm getting them back from you-know-who.
So what do you think, both of the packaging and the colors? Did you buy anything or are you planning to?
Sephora introduced their Prisma Chrome eye shadows a couple months ago, and today MAC's In Extra Dimension collection dropped. In honor of the fact that the deisgns on both are comparable I decided to have them square off in the ole Makeup Museum ring.
Woohoo!!! Let's get ready to rrrrrummblllllle!! *ding ding*
In the first corner we have Sephora's Prisma Chrome eye shadows. Available in eight shades, these limited-edition shadows feature a wavy pattern that actually dips down in the middle. Trippy!
(images from sephora.com)
According to the website, "Prisma Chrome brings together the best features of baked, powder, and cream shadows. Its revolutionary effect captures light perfectly, delivering a prismatic effect with an unbelievably smooth and true color finish…Pure pigments deliver the truest color imaginable and a highly polished finish. Its unique mica technology provides intense luminosity and a velvety texture that glides over the skin." That scrumptious description is a strong start for this underdog brand.
In the other corner we have heavyweight MAC's In Extra Dimension collection, which boasts not just eye shadows (10 of them) but three highlighting powders known as Skinfinishes. The design also features a wavy pattern like Sephora's but one that ends somewhat awkwardly in a point halfway up the compact. Can the addition of the brand's logo repeating above the wave make up for that flaw?
(image from bellasugar.com.au)
Also like Sephora's Prisma Chrome shadows, MAC In Extra Dimension brings a "new liquid-powder formula with prismatic reflections that sculpts, highlights and models the face" to the fore. So not only the design but the formulas themselves are similar between these two foes. They are truly neck-and-neck!
But someone has to win. Ungainly wave aside, does the brute strength of MAC's larger collection and brand recognition have the upper hand? Or does Sephora's oh-so-tantalizing product description and multi-dimensional center dip clinch the battle? Tell me in the comments!
(image from a MAC email)
In keeping with the optimistic spirit that pervades the first week of spring, I present to you the Vera Neumann collection for MAC. "Brilliant butterflies, flashy florals and gorgeously geometric graphics…A colourful collaboration between M·A·C and the artist known worldwide as Vera, who merged fine arts with linens, murals, textiles and silk scarves in her punchy, painted patterns. Now in shades plucked straight from her most lavish prints, M·A·C Vera embraces the luxe, lighter-than-air spirit that delivers the kind of startling, look-at-me statement that defines what it means to be an instant classic." The colors are definitely Vera-inspired, but what interested me the most were the Pearlmatte Face Powders, which feature the artist's signature ladybug perched on what appears to be the edge of one of her wildly popular scarves. I picked up Sunday Afternoon:
With flash:
Despite being a pretty big design/art enthusiast, I have to admit I wasn't familiar with Vera Neumann's work. An artist turned textile designer, Vera's somewhat kitschy, colorful prints were household staples from the 1950s through the '70s.1 (I imagine she was sort of like the Orla Kiely of her time.)
From what I gathered she was best known for scarves:
(images from artfire.com, cherryrivers.blogspot.com, and curiouscrowvintage on Etsy)
Note: These aren't necessarily the best images that came up, but I was determined to show authentic, vintage work by Vera rather than the ubiquitous reproductions found nowadays! Anyway, I think my favorite works by her are these cheerful sun prints she created for the 1964 World's Fair.
(image from ellenbloom.blogspot.com)
Getting back to the MAC palette, I thought I'd include some examples of the ladybug that accompanied her signature.
(images from sixballoons.blogspot.com, retrorenovation.com, vintagedetail.blogspot.com, smilesgowitheverything.com)
"A ladybug means good luck in every language," she explained about her signature motif. While I think it's great that MAC worked it into some of their collection's pieces, I think they could have done more for the outer packaging given the enormous wealth of prints and patterns to draw from. Maybe they just couldn't get the licensing to use her prints on the packaging, but I'm doubtful given how many companies have churned out Vera collections. In any case, this powder is quite charming and will make a nice piece for a spring exhibition.
What do you think, both of Vera's work and the MAC collection?
1For a great summary of her work and life, check out this post. And if you're really into Vera, buy this book.
You may remember in December 2010 MAC teamed up with Dutch designer Marcel Wanders (you can read my thoughts and a funny story on it here) and it looks like they've collaborated again. I find it a little odd given that there are so many designers MAC hasn't worked with before – why revisit Wanders?
(images from temptalia.com and makeupforlife.net)
I was very intrigued until I saw the product photos. These are the same designs that appeared on the 2010 collection except rendered in shiny silver rather than glossy black. Not too exciting. The collector in me says to buy a few pieces to have on hand, but the rational part of me says that it's the same thing in a different color and that I don't need it for the Museum. I think (for once) the practical side is winning out – I don't think I'll be buying these.
What do you think?
In honor of International Women's Day I'm looking at the collaboration between MAC and cutting-edge Chinese photographer Chen Man. Based on the dual themes of love and water, the collection features bright pink and blue/aqua hues.
According to The Daily Glow, the Chinese symbol for love appears in Chen Man's calligraphy on the outer packaging, while the "swirls of color in the eye shadow duos represent the opposing forces of yin and yang, reflecting the Buddhist references that are often found in Man's work." Additionally, in a video MAC produced for the collection, Chen Man asserts that water "is the beginning of the earth…just one drop represents life." She goes on to say that "water gives birth to love".
(images from glamfull.com)
Chen Man was born in 1980 in Beijing and studied graphic design and photography at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. What's equally impressive as her skill behind the camera is her mastery of the post-production process – she regularly uses 3-D rendering and other techniques to attain the unique vision she has for her photos. You can read more about her in this Vogue article from February 2012:
Let's take a peek at some of her other work. Chen Man got her start by shooting the very avant-garde covers for Chinese lifestyle magazine Vision from 2003-2007. For me, these were shocking (and I've seen many magazine beauty spreads) and at first I couldn't tell whether I liked them. Then I started noticing the many tiny details and use of color, and decided that Chen Man is indeed quite talented.
(images from insomni-art.com)
(image from chenmaner.com)
For the Chinese New Year Chen Man shot the spring covers for UK magazine I-D, celebrating the diversity of Chinese beauty".
(image from the bohmerian.com)
While Chen Man is known for her boundary-pushing images, she is just as adept at producing simpler, more traditionally "pretty" looks.
(images from mymodernmet.com)
After seeing some of her other photos I wish the MAC collection had been a little more fearless. I guess to appeal to a mass audience they couldn't go quite as avant-garde, but it would have been interesting if Chen Man had done something more along the lines of her Vision covers. I also think the packaging could have been more interesting – while the outer boxes had some design to them, the makeup items themselves could have been more flamboyant and artsy.
What do you think of Chen Man's work and the MAC collaboration?
