Loving the MAC VIVA GLAM Nicki Minaj lipstick the perfect bright coral pink. The technical shade description is bright yellow pink with a satin finish. I like to layer it on top of my favorite lip gloss. I start with a lip gloss first then add a hint of color with this Nicki Minaj lipstick. This is contrary to what many makeup text books advice…I find the way I do it the effect is a lot softer and makes lips appear more plumped. See, when it comes to makeup don’t always go by the book, make it work for you!

Ricky & Nicki For MAC VIVA GLAM

MAC VIVA GLAM Nicki Minaj lipstick

MAC Naturally.. sneak peek to NEW makeup collection available January 5-February 9 2012.

L to R, T to B: Mineralize Blush Early Morning, Eye Shadow In The Sun, Eye Shadow Summer Haze, Mineralize Skinfinish Blonde, Mineralize Skinfinish Redhead

MAC Naturally makeup

Sneak peek to NEW MAC Iris Apfel collection available January  5th through February 9, 2012.

MAC Iris Apfel

L To R:  Beauty Powder in TOO CHIC Soft Peachy Cream With Fine Shimmer, Nail Lacquer in Oriele Orange Bright Orange coral, Lipstick in Pink Pigeon Bright Cleanest Pink (Matte).

MAC IRIS apfel is a colour collection inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time, Mrs. Iris Apfel. Subject of her own exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and larger-than-life star, Apfel boldly mixed flea market finds with haute couture decades before doing it was considered rigueur.

Introducing Daphne Guinness for MAC Available December 26, 2011 through February 9, 2012.

DAPHNE GUINNESS FOR MAC

This is the first glimpse into the palette and colours imagined and created by Daphne Guinness. Daphne is her art. This is part of her discovery and evolution. “This collection is a window into my imagination.”

Q&A WITH DAPHNE GUINNESS

Let’s go to the beginning, for you personally. Can you tell us about some of your first experiences with cosmetics?

Well to be honest, there wasn’t much makeup around when I was growing up! I never really thought of it. But I was always painting. Let me see…Did I paint myself? I tried to make myself look Japanese…I had a Japanese nanny, and I love the Japanese aesthetic, so I remember trying to achieve that look. But instead of makeup I would use watercolours or acrylics or anything I could get my hands on. Sometimes I would paint pictures on my face, on my eyelids or whatnot. Now if I want to do something like that I go over to the M·A·C Pro Shop in Canada and get these pigments that make your skin really white and pearly. You can use them on your body as well.

I was always fascinated by makeup. My mother didn’t wear any at all and I always thought that was such a great loss because it seems to me that the only point of being a human being is being able to transform the way you look!

So what did you think when M·A·C approached you for this collaboration?

I’ve always loved M·A·C. I’m obsessed with the Lipglass and the Mascaras. I’d often go into the M·A·C shops to play with the brushes and such, but for this, to be able actually to have some kind of input on a project? I felt it was a great opportunity. And of course M·A·C and I have mutual friends. My dear friend Issy did a Lipstick – she was terribly excited about that – and another great friend, David LaChapelle, always had a good time shooting for M·A·C. And I always just thought it was such a cool company. I even remember when it first came on the scene, I thought, ‘great, finally something new for a change.’

Tell us a bit about your creative process as it pertains to this collection.

I was in the Beverly Hills Hotel – and let me tell you there’s always some mad project going on in my bedroom when I’m there, ha! I had parchment papers spread all over the floor and all sorts of different powders and watercolours that I was mixing together and my finished pieces were drying on the balcony. I was painting for so long on that floor. When I’m given a task, I take it really seriously. I start with the raw materials and mix them and all the while I imagine art references and try to consider the Old Masters and try to figure out how they mixed this colour or that colour. Then, when the pieces were done, I packed them all in my suitcase to show M·A·C. Maybe it all sounds strange, but I’m always playing with colours and pencils and paints. I do it all the time! For me a recurring theme in my work is history and the universe – the smallest things and the largest things and I explore that through colour. The process that I’m always in.

Where do you think your instinct for colour comes from?

I think it all has to do with light and the places I grew up. Of course the light is different in Ireland from that in London, and it’s really extraordinary in Cadaqués in the north of Spain. When you have a storm the clouds come out from behind the mountains and make these extraordinary shapes and when the sun hits them from a certain angle it makes a beautiful light. When you look at Dali’s paintings, that’s not him being surreal, that’s him painting from life because that’s what it looks like! I’m very sensitive to light change – I’ll start jumping up and down when the sun begins to set because of the way it goes an orange colour when it comes through my windows because it’s so beautiful. And I hate bad light. When I go in some place and the overhead light is neon it gives me a headache. I’m obsessed with light because without it, you can’t have colour.

Speaking of colour, can we please discuss your hair? Everyone is obsessed!

They are!? Oh gosh. Well what happened was that it’s all an accident. First I dyed the underneath red. At that point it was less baby blonde on the top – it was very white when I was a child and then it went darker as it does. Anyway I dyed it red, then darker red, then plum, then I went to purple, then darkish blue; so at this point it’s not quite black. And the kind of whitest shade of blonde on the top happened by mistake gradually in different salons. Anyway this is what I ended up with! I’m not sure what will be next. I like to experiment. And I do like my hair to be done, it is civilized!

Are there any specific historical or fashion references that directly influenced this collection?

The thing is I don’t like to copy anything and I really try to come up with something completely new. Of course, you have to work with things that are in your frame of reference, but I really aim to create a new colour or at least a new configuration of colours together. As Degas said, “You have to copy and recopy the masters,” but you can only do that for so long and then you have to do your own thing. Otherwise you’re only going backwards and not forward. So I try to take my references from the past and bring them into the present and make them relevant again. I tend to like classic things that you can use many times instead of fads; trends annoy me actually. There’s one thing in loving beautiful things and admiring people’s creations, but a trend? I quite prefer things to move forward, but to exist as a pinnacle of quality.

As for more specific references I would reiterate my love for the Old Masters: Titian, Zurbarán Michelangelo. And I might say that I’m absolutely fascinated by butterflies and outer space. Blimey, I have pictures from the Hubble space telescope and some of those are just extraordinary, and if you look very closely at a butterfly’s wings or even perhaps a jellyfish, you’ll see there are similarities. I mean, I’m not being mad, just have a look! It just absolutely blows my mind.

What are some of your favorite pieces from the collection?

Well for instance, I’m quite proud of the Hyperion Nail Lacquer. It resembles this almost grey, steely light that is pure Whistler from the 1890s when he still had fog in the paintings. The shade is so beautiful and it also reminds me of a celadon-coloured antique Chinese porcelain vase. Porcelain in that colour is rather compelling. There’s something about these sorts of shades that I find quite lovely, and you’ll see that this collection is all about cool tones. I’m not a real primary colour person, and warm colours do not become me. Anyway we can’t all be bouncing along the beach looking sunkissed. I’m never gonna be that girl. I wish, but it ain’t gonna happen! I’m just not great with browns or terracottas and perhaps aside from daffodils, I think yellow is bad luck. I hate canary diamonds with a passion!

You’re known as a patron of couture when it comes to fashion. Would you call this a couture cosmetics collection?

Oh certainly. Couture means handmade, and I mixed the colours by hand and really, really, really put a lot of thought into them! It’s been one very happy experience and I’ve had such a nice time. The only thing I missed is I wanted to be right there in the factory. I would love that. The process is just everything to me. You see, before I was speaking to you I was literally in my bathroom mixing up products and smashing them about! I’ve learned so much and I’m having so much fun with makeup.

Q&A WITH JAMES GAGER

Senior Vice President and Creative Director M·A·C Worldwide

Can you give us the background on how the Daphne Guinness collection came about?

Oh well, I’ve had my eye on her for a long time! I mean, you see photos of her out and about and really, there’s no one more chic. We were also drawn to her because she’s out there doing very original projects; dressing windows at Barney’s, staging her own funeral and so on. Everything she’s involved in is done in such an elegant way. For her to join us as part of a very high fashion collection is just appropriate, and more than an honour.

What was your first meeting like?

When she walked into the office for the first time to talk about the collection we were all just blown away. You instantly understand how seductive she is as a person. Suddenly, you’re in love with her because she looks so incredibly chic and the clothes and the hair and all the jewellery is real…it’s visual overload!

But beyond the superficial, she’s also really smart. Her demeanor is modern and glamorous, and interestingly, she almost has a low-key feline quality about her in that she’s mysterious and yet reveals a level of transparency at the same time. So before you know it, you’re kind of hooked and you want more. She really does embody that archetypal eccentric aristocrat – the one that we’re all fascinated by.

Did you have to provide her with any direction in terms of designing this collection?

We didn’t really guide her. Certainly we talked to her about product categories, but we didn’t give her any instruction in terms of colour development. She has a very stylish way of looking at colour and she’s also opinionated about texture, so the process was quite easy.

So she was a natural?

Well she loves makeup; she mixes her own fragrance and she’s very experimental. When we first started working on colours, she pulled a tiny watercolour case out of her handbag and, using her own saliva, began mixing colours immediately! She gets very excited about the creative process. She also named many of the shades. Obviously, she’s extremely well read and very much an intellectual and possesses amazing visual references from which to pull. The result is a collection of colours that are so beautiful and quite sophisticated.

It was also impressive that she didn’t look at any competitive products; she created original colours and yet was also very conscientious about creating a collection that people could relate to.

She has a very distinct look. What are your thoughts on her visual aesthetic and how it relates to this collection?

I mean, look at her hair. She really knows how to wear her look, and right now she’s into a lot of these cool tones that you see in the collection. Maybe yesterday she could have been wearing a lot of reds and mandarins, and she may change her palette again, but this collection is about what she’s in love with right at this moment. It’s indicative of how creative people go through all sorts of different phases and this is where her colour sensibility lies right now. And it’s so good for our customers as there’s nothing like it on the market. Our fans look to us for the newest, most cutting-edge collections and this is so very representative of that.

As an addition to the esteemed roster of past M·A·C collaborators, what specifically does Daphne Guinness bring to the table?

Daphne represents couture on the highest level: she is living the moment, living the life. When she arrives at an event you can’t keep your eyes off her. Her persona is beyond definition; she’s timeless and yet personifies modernity.

Guinness is an artist, curator and journalist, but perhaps she is best known in the fashion and beauty realm as a patron of couture. How does this relate to this collaboration?

It is absolutely a couture collection because it’s so personal as opposed to trend-oriented. It truly epitomizes how M·A·C and Daphne feel about this particular collection. As I said, she’s really out in the world and therefore she has an innate point of view that connects with trends; it’s in her and she’s absorbed by it. But here, the colours come together in a more natural way, which is why there’s such authenticity to the collection.

It’s akin to the idea that the most fantastic couture designers could not care less what trends are hot at the moment and are more about creating something that reflects their imagination. This collection is like buying an original, a one-off; that’s why it’s so special. It is truly our couture moment.

PIGMENT Aurora Pinked taupe (frost)

Circa Plum Frosty dirty mid-tone lavender(frost)

Nebula Dark greyed brown with pearl (frost)

$20.00 U.S./$24.00 CDN

PROLONGWEARLIPCREME

Warp Speed Light silver

Red Dwarf Blue-pink

Seasoned Plum Mid-tone lavender

Approaching Storm Deep rose

$17.00 U.S./$20.00 CDN

CREMESHEEN GLASS Borealis Pale grey pink with iridescent pearl

Japanese Spring Pale dirty pink

Narcissus Dirty eggplant

Richly Revered Deep brown plum

$18.50 U.S./$22.00 CDN

POWERPOINTEYEPENCIL Engraved Rich black

Grey Utility Uniform grey

$15.00U.S./$18.00CDN

EYEBROWS Fling Light taupe ash blonde

Stud Deep rich blackened brown

$15.00U.S./$18.00CDN

EYESHADOWX4 Interior Life Quad Stratus Light pink(matte)

Interior Life Mid-tone grey blue(veluxepearl)

Bruised Sky Dark lavender-y grey (satin)

Heather Belles Dark charcoal/carbon (satin)

$38.00 U.S./$45.00 CDN

BLUSHOMBRÉ Azalea Blossom Light cool pink

Vintage Grape Mid-tone violet pink

$26.00U.S./$31.00

CDN NAIL LACQUER Hyperion Light grey blue green (crème)

Endless Night Pale grey pink with iridescent pearl (frost)

Blueblood Deep eggplant (crème)

$15.00 U.S./$18.00 CDN

NEW YORK, November 17, 2011 -MAC reveals the image for the 2012 Viva Glam campaign on Facebook.

Viva Glam: Ricky & Nicki Campaign Reveal

Ricky Martin and Nicki Minaj in the MAC Viva Glam 2012 campaign visual shot by David LaChapelle. Every cent of Ricky and Nicki’s Viva Glam products, on-counter February 2012, goes to support the MAC AIDS Fund.

The new must-have beauty for the season is MAC Festive Finery Nail Polish which is from the MAC Holiday 2011 collection. It’s a melange of purple, grey, and black. It’s also super glossy and long-wearing. Pretty cool.

MAC Festive Finery Nail Polish (Cream)

Introducing Miss Piggy for MAC. Available November 14, 2011 through December 5, 2011 www.maccosmetics.com ONLY.

MISS PIGGY FOR MAC

Eye Shadow

Miss Piggy Pink Mid-tone blue pink (frost) $15.00 U.S./$18.00 CDN

Penultimate Eye Liner

Rapidblack True black $17.50 U.S./$21.00 CDN

Lash

36 Full lash that creates a naturally dramatic look $15.00 U.S./$18.00 CDN

Icon. Legend. Supermodel. Chanteuse. Muse. Frog-o-phile. Cinema and television superstar nonpareil. Generous glamour goddess that she is, Miss Piggy is sharing her beauty with the world via a limited-edition, online-exclusive, MAC collection for the eyes in celebration of her much anticipated return to the silver screen in Disney’s The Muppets, in theaters from November 23, 2011. Say “oui” to Miss Piggy for MAC today!

Q&A WITH MISS PIGGY

Tell us about what it was like collaborating with MAC on a collection that captures your iconic beauty look.

Oh I adore collaboration—especially when everyone is there to listen to what I have to say and do exactly what I tell them to. And those fabulously talented people at MAC did just that. They were more than willing to listen, learn and be inspired by moi, so they could get the pink eye shadow just right, the flutter of the lashes just perfect, the texture of the eye liner just so. Best of all, they did all the work while I did all the talking! Très fantastique!

What was it like working with James Gager, Senior Vice President and Creative Director, and Jennifer Balbier, Senior Vice President for Global Product Development?

Ah yes, James and Jennifer…..Uh, what were those names again? Gager and Balbier? Sorry, not ringing a bell. But if I met them and they were important, I love them and can’t wait to see them again. You see, Jimmy and Jennie as I called them, seemed to understand moi’s very soul. And best of all, they understood moi’s desire to make the collection worthy of comparison with other iconic MAC “diva” collections (Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper’s Viva Glam campaigns and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday) while inevitably surpassing all of them.

Tell us about your typical beauty routine when you’re on set. Does it differ from your every day beauty routine?

At home and on the set, my beauty routine is the same. I sit in a chair while a squadron of stylists, manicurists, cosmetologists, hairologists and so forth hover around and make magic. Then, I open my eyes, look in the mirror and voila…perfection! The advantage of doing this on set is that someone else pays for it.

How would you describe your style in your upcoming film, “The Muppets”?

I play an editor at Vogue Paris, so naturally I had to wear the most au courant couture and meet all the top designers in the world. (Naturally, we hit it off like gangbusters. Trust moi, you haven’t partied til you’ve ridden in a cab down the Champs-Élysées singing show tunes with a passel of Parisian designers!) So, I would have to say that moi inspired designers who, in turn, designed clothes that captured the essense of moi. It’s a win-win all the around, n’est ce-pas?

Any style advice for your fans? Can anyone wear the products from the Miss Piggy inspired MAC collection?

You can’t be moi, but this is the next best thing. This collection is perfect for any skin tone, goes with any wardrobe choices…and will help vous find your personal style.

To moi, style is all about having fun! You are you! Go for it! Get glam! Have fun! Laugh in the face of critics! Scoff at cynics! Chortle in front of rude people! You got it sister, so make the most of it!

That is what this collection is all about – celebrating the absolute joy of being vous, embellished and enhanced by the magic of moi! (Ooh, that’s good. I should trademark that!)

And remember, true beauty comes from loving yourself. So go ahead: love yourself. And if that proves a problem, might I suggest loving moi?

Introducing Gareth Pugh for MAC. Challenging the conventions of fashion with his signature style that blurs the traditional gender divide…

GARETH PUGH FOR MAC

MAC is proud to partner with London-based designer Gareth Pugh. Infusing his trademark esoteric experimentation into Beauty Powders, Metal-X Cream Shadows, Technakohl Liner, Pigments, Lipsticks, Lipglass, Studio Fix Boldblack Lash, Powder Blushes, Nail Lacquers, Buffer Brush and a Makeup Bag, he delivers an assortment of futuristic yet primal shades in custom geometric packaging.

COLLECTION

LIPSTICK

Restrict—Creamy greyed nude (cremesheen)

Fervent—Glossy blackened berry (satin)

$22·00 U.S./$27·00 CDN

LIPGLASS

Vacant—Sheer light lavender grey with violet pearl

Outrage—Sheer berry with blue pearl

$22·00 U.S./$27·00 CDN

METAL-X CREAM SHADOW

Obscura—Frosty gunmetal grey

Ardent—Frosty blackened burgundy

$32·00 U.S./$38·50 CDN

PIGMENT

Guise—Frosty grey

Deceit—Blacked plum with pink pearl

$32·00 U.S./$38·50 CDN

MASCARA

Studio Fix Boldblack Lash—Blackest Black $15·00 U.S./$18·00 CDN

TECHNAKOHL LINER

Greyprint—Rich pewter grey with frost

Graphblack—Rich graphic black

$19·00 U.S./$23·00 CDN

POWDER BLUSH

Strada—Mid-tone nude $30·00 U.S./$36·50 CDN

BEAUTY POWDER

Elude—Translucent neutral beige $60·00 U.S./$72·00 CDN

NAIL LACQUER

Inert—Creamy mid-tone greyed nude (crème)

Ascension—Grey with blue violet reflective pearl (frost)

Hyper—Deep blue with violet pearl (frost)

$23·00 U.S./$27·50 CDN

LASH

Flight Lash—Dense, geometric triangle-shaped lash $18·00 U.S./$21·50 CDN

BRUSH

Square Handled Buffer Brush

$60·00 U.S./$72·00 CDN

ACCESSORIES

Gareth Pugh for MAC Makeup Bag

$75·00 U.S./$90·00 CDN

Gareth Pugh for MAC Available November 23, 2011 through December 23, 2011

Fashion & Beauty News. NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 13 , 2011– Today MAC VIVA GLAM spokesperson Lady Gaga and Nicola Formichetti, Gaga’s stylist, premiered a short film directed by Ruth Hogben, which unveils The Masterpiece that Nicola designed for Lady Gaga as part of the VIVA GLAM social awareness campaign.

L to R: Nicola Formichetti & Nicola Formichetti

The interactive movement on VIVAGLAM.COM leveraged the powerful voices of Gaga’s monsters and MAC fans to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and ultimately support men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS globally. Participants contributed self-portraits, shared information about HIV/AIDS and encouraged friends to ‘live with passion and love with protection’ across their personal social networks. Thousands of people participated and Nicola chose select images to incorporate in the design of The Masterpiece, a dress that Lady Gaga reveals in the film.

The film debuts on VIVAGLAM.com was truly a collaborative project inspired by the fans, for the fans. Additionally, it celebrates the success of Lady Gaga’s VIVA GLAM campaign, which has helped to raise $55 million for the MAC AIDS Fund over the past two years. In February 2011, Gaga set the goal of raising $250 million for the MAC AIDS Fund by the XIX International AIDS conference in July 2012.

As her time as a Viva Glam spokesperson comes to a close, Lady Gaga urges her little monsters and MAC fans to continue to help reach $250 million: “The MAC AIDS Fund has raised $224 million to date. Go out and buy a lipstick for your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your mom or your sister — $26 million to go, little monsters!”

The film will premiered today on VIVAGLAM.com and the MAC Facebook page.

MAC False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara NEW. Available October 6, 2011 in the permanent collection.

FALSE LASHES EXTREME BLACK …

Midnight meets its match with False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara. Intensely inky, this lightweight, innovative mousse-like formula saturates lashes in a carbon-black pigment that promises the deepest, darkest, richest look imaginable with full long-lasting coverage. Each stroke of the unique double-lush brush creates vixen volume and lift by filling in sparse lashes, magnifying and multiplying magnificently. Long-wearing polymers quickly coat from root to tip, keeping lashes supple and flexible – never brittle. Captivating curl and divine density with a velvety-fabulous finish…what more could your lashes ask for?

MASCARA False Lashes Extreme Black Black $19.00 U.S./$22.50 CDN

Available: North America October 6, 2011 at all M·A·C locations International January 2012 at all M·A·C locations 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com