MAC released a new collection last week called Baby Bloom, consisting of a new tinted moisturizer and tinted lip balms. Maybe it's just me, but I found the campaign image to be really creepy.
(photo from maccosmetics.com)
Between her eye staring lifeless off into space and the vine wrapped around her neck, it seems like the model is laying dead in a field. And it got me thinking of a piece by Marcel Duchamp - Étant Donnés: 1° la chute d'eau / 2° le gaz d'éclairage, which translates to "Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas". This work was installed in 1969 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (where, incidentally, the Curator once worked) after Duchamp's death. It is quite possibly the most enigmatic and, in my eyes, scariest piece of modern Western art.
You go up to the door and peer through 2 of the holes in it…
And this is what you see:
(photos from artnet.com)
Pretty eerie. While I don't think Duchamp meant for the piece to be particularly scary, that's always how I perceived it. It's the same with the MAC photo – while trying to come up with an eye-catching ad, the company instead created a fairly disturbing image. Neither shows the woman's face in full; a flower completely obscures the model's eye in the MAC ad, while you only get a glimpse of the woman's hair in Duchamp's work (and trust me as someone who looked at this on a weekly basis – no matter how much you crain your neck, you NEVER see her face.) Regardless of whether you find the images disturbing, both make you wonder why the artist/designer chose to represent what they did.
Anyway, if you're in the Philly area I highly suggest you check out Étant Donnés in person, especially since there will be an exhibition in honor of the 40-year anniversary of its installation starting on August 15.
p.s. For more on this work and others by Duchamp, the following makes for good reading: Duchamp: A Biography by Calvin Tomkins; Étant Donnés by Anne D'Harnoncourt and Walter Hopps; Marcel Duchamp, a collection of essays edited by Anne D'Harnoncourt; and Rudolf Kuenzli's Marcel Duchamp: Artist of the Century.
Normally I try to keep things varied and wouldn't put up back-to-back MAC posts, but this is part two of my Friends and Family haul so I wanted to share! The latest limited-edition collection, called Naked Honey, puts a sexy spin on this sweet amber treat. While most of the collection has the usual black MAC packaging, the two highlighting powders feature a lovely honeycomb pattern. I picked up Honey Light:
It's nothing all that detailed and intricate, but I thought the use of this pattern for a honey-themed collection was really cute and clever. Next up (collectible-wise) from MAC: Graphic Gardens!
This collection was released back in May, but fortunately I waited until MAC had a Friends and Family 25% off sale to procure some items. I was also greatly inspired by the African art collection I saw last weekend at the BMA. "Everything from Lipglass
to Beauty Powder Blush exotically packaged to liberate the animal
spirit of Woman, Wild Things and Style Warriors everywhere." I'll say. There are the usual animal prints, but MAC takes up a notch by adding silver designs that look like those found in African art.
The pattern on the lipgloss in particular looks strikingly similar to the one on this plank mask from Burkina Faso:
(photo from uiowa.edu)
I'm guessing the packaging designers at MAC just got lucky, but it's possible they actually did look at some African art in coming up with this pattern. In any case, the packaging definitely represents the collection, which is always a good thing in the Curator's eyes.
MAC followed in Prescriptives' footsteps and released its own rose-embossed blushes as part of their Rose Romance collection. While I did enjoy the Prescriptives palettes, I like that MAC sculpted a rose in the powder itself rather than choosing to do a two-dimensional rose overlay like Prescriptives.
Here's Blush of Youth beauty powder (there is another one called Summer Rose, but seeing as how it's essentially the same powder, just in a different color, I didn't buy it since precious Museum funds could be used elsewhere):
This collection was released only a few weeks ago, but MAC has already come out with a Museum-worthy collection – Style Warriors. Stay tuned!
Back in December 2008 MAC teamed up with Dame Edna, the hilarious character played by Australian comedian Barry Humphries. What I liked most about this was not only the fact that the packaging is the same color as Dame Edna's hair and featured her signature cat eye glasses, there were little quips enclosed with each item.
Inside:
Lipstick:
Lip gloss:
And here's the blush installed in my spring exhibition, along with a Chantecaille butterfly eye shadow:
Sparkly packaging? Check. Bright colors? Check. Collection based on a comedian? Check. This is easily the apex of makeup's playful side.
In keeping with this week's posts on Stila's Barbie collection, today's installment of Friday Fun will focus on MAC's collection devoted to this doll. Released in the spring of 2007, the Barbie collection generated a huge amount of buzz rivaling this year's Hello Kitty collection.
(photos from makeupbag.net)
In addition to the color collection, there was also a limited-edition MAC Barbie doll:
And a t-shirt, which I think is my favorite part of the collection (shown below with Malibu Barbie and Fashion Pack lip glosses):
PR for both companies saw the combination of MAC and Barbie as a natural pairing. According to Richard Dickson, Senior Vice President at Mattel, "Many women's first experiences with fashion and beauty were playing
with Barbie. Today this fantasy continues with Barbie Loves MAC, a
color collection that allows women to rediscover their inner girl." Added James Gager, Senior VP at MAC, "MAC and Barbie have always been at the forefront of style and beauty,
and by combining our creative expertise, we have created a collection
that is uniquely fresh with inspired colors that are bold, modern and
glamorous."
Overall I liked this collection but didn't think it was as inventive as Stila's. While colors and names were well-suited to Barbie, the packaging could have used something a bit more interesting than the ponytail Barbie silhouette.
After the frenzy of the initial Hello Kitty release died down a bit, MAC released two new items as an extension of the Hello Kitty line: Dazzleglass lipglosses with a dangling Hello Kitty Swarovski-crystal studded charm, and a compact also patterned in Swarovski crystals.
(photos from maccosmetics.com)
For $90 I'm inclined to buy a plain MAC compact and glue on the crystals myself! I did find it interesting that in addition to the regular Hello Kitty line MAC felt the need to release these items. "The ultra-luxe way to be pampered and playful! Announcing our
limited-edition, glittering Swarovski crystal compacts, the collection
privé of Kitty Kouture world. The ultimate in exclusivity, a
sophisticated client's social status is all but assured!" says the website. It seems MAC wanted to introduce a bit of high-end luxury a la Armani into the packaging, knowing that Hello Kitty collectors and a few MAC addicts would buy these items without batting an eye at the price. MAC is considered "mid-end" rather than a luxury brand like Chantecaille or Serge Lutens (hello, $75 lipsticks!) so I think Hello Kitty was a good way for them to introduce a more high-end appeal into their line.
For MAC's big (and by big I mean that the collection was both hugely popular and also had a ton of items) spring collection this year they partnered with Sanrio to create a Helly Kitty line of cosmetics. Hello Kitty is normally white, but I'm guessing that due to MAC's signature black packaging and the fact that they were trying to make this somewhat sleek and sophisticated (about as sleek and sophisticated as Hello Kitty can be), they changed her coloring to black. All told, the collection contained 33 beauty items and 9 non-makeup accessories, bringing us to a grand total of 42 items. Alas, the Museum's budget could not accommodate all of these so I got what I thought were the most important.
Lucky Tom palette:
Some lip products: Fashion Mews lipstick and Nice Kitty lip gloss. I loved the Hello Kitty imprint on the lipstick!
Brush holder with mini brushes – no, I don't want to take them out of their packaging!
Plush doll:
Here are some of the other accessories that I wasn't able to get my hands on – key chain, tote bag, bracelet and makeup bag:
(photos from maccosmetics.com)
For this collection MAC also created a 4-minute video ad. After watching it I'm still not sure the collection totally comes together for me – perhaps it's a commentary on the many moods of Hello Kitty? After all, the makeup for the collection was sold in two parts on the website – one listed as Hello Kitty Mild (the sweet, innocent Hello Kitty we're most familiar with) and one as Hello Kitty Wild (the mischievous, slightly naughty side of the famous icon.) In any case, it was only a matter of time before Hello Kitty put her stamp (paw?) on the adult cosmetic world.
Hello Kitty seems less out of place than other MAC collaborations that have been done in the past such as Disney Tint Toons and Barbie. While MAC took companies that primarily marketed to children and worked with them to create an adult makeup line, Hello Kitty is already heavily marketed to adults in some fashion or another. There are credit cards emblazoned with the Hello Kitty logo as well as a $600 leather shoulder bag – items clearly not meant for children. While some adult women certainly collect Disney memorabilia and Barbie dolls, these companies focus more on the kid market. So having Hello Kitty team up with an adult cosmetic line like MAC isn't too far out of left field.
Overall I'm pleased with the collection. I like that they modified Hello Kitty to reflect the spirit of MAC, both in packaging and in concept. MAC cosmetics allows the user to create many different looks, and this is embodied in both the video and the Mild vs. Wild collections. It'll be interesting to see who MAC will team up with next spring, as this will be a tough act to follow!
Every year MAC releases several eye shadow and lip color palettes in limited-edition packaging as part of their holiday collection. This year's design features red snakeskin and a big red jewel in the center of each palette. While I'm not crazy about combination of strong colors, animal print and gems — it strikes me as overkill — I'm liking how the palettes are presented in the promo ad. They're surrounded by pomegranates, which at first is what I thought the print on the packaging was. It didn't look like snakeskin upon first glance, but rather bits of juicy, ripe pomegranate seeds, which for some reason I think make the palettes look infinitely better than they would on their own:
(photo from maccosmetics.com)
I think the other reason why I like this ad so much is that the translucence of the pomegranate seeds and the shiny surfaces of the palettes remind me of Dutch 17th-century still lifes. All of MAC's holiday items are shown with delectable looking fruit including grapes, raspberries, pears, and grapefruit. Compare them to the details from a couple of Dutch paintings – the way the textures are represented is very similar:
(Jan Davidz de Heem, detail from Still Life, date unknown, photo from artunframed.com)
(Floris Claesz. van Dijick, detail from Still Life with Cheeses, c. 1615-1620, photo from rijksmuseum.nl)
There are completely different objectives, of course – the meaning in a 17th-century Dutch still life does not correspond to a contemporary photo advertising makeup. Nevertheless there is a resemblance in the way the fruit is presented.
Getting back to the snakeskin palettes, they come in 2 shades – a bright true red and a reddish-orange. I suspect that once I see them in person and not artfully in arranged as they are in the ads, my interest in these will drop. I just think there's too much going on in the packaging and they'll look quite cheap in real life. However, I've been wanting to start collecting MAC holiday pieces and, well, no time like the present!
I am sad to report that the Museum will not be getting the Manish Arora items from MAC. It's especially sad given how excited I was about the collection. Apparently it was only being sold online and in 3 stores across the U.S., all of which were sold out within minutes of opening (as were stores outside of the U.S.) I didn't realize it was such an exclusive collection – the reason I didn't order when it first appeared online is because I thought I'd see it in person a few days later at my local MAC store. Sigh. At the MAC website some of the items are shown as "coming soon" so maybe there's a chance they will be restocked, but I'm not optimistic. The collection is selling for double or triple retail prices on E-bay, and I'm not willing to pay that much – not yet anyway! So for now I will have to be content with looking at pictures of the collection from those lucky few who managed to get their hands on it.
(photo from thegazz.com)
Update: I actually managed to order the Pink Manish lip gloss from MAC – it really did go back in stock! So at least I have one Manish item to call my own without paying an arm and a leg on E-bay.
