M.A.C held a launch to showcase the latest trends.
Held at La Croix café, Potts Point, guests joined M.A.C professional makeup artists Nicole Thompson and Amber D to talk trends over a spot of lunch.
Amber said of the season’s trends, “We have seen a real shift in trends this season. Everything from last season [flawless dolly girl] has been thrown on its head and turned upside down. This is a reaction to perfect beauty with everyone trying to rebel. The girl this season is cool and tough. We like that.”
While Nicole said the overall looks are a bit more grungy – with products popular in the late Nineties early Noughties making a comeback: “Think nineties grunge, Kurt Cobain, rock n roll, Gothic and punk.”
The four key looks seen at AW13 fashion weeks worldwide were Reb-elle; Spiritual Eyes; Au-Currant; Perspex-Tive. Top makeup artists from across the globe made each look their own; here are the key trends:
Reb-elle
Reb-elle has been described as where black meets charcoal, meets emerald, meets burgundy, meets midnight blue.
The trend represents a tougher feel to makeup for AW13, with nothing more evident than with this season’s black eye. It is punchy rather than pretty.
Amber described the look as being all about black: “Not just black black but black and green, black and burgundy and dirty tones in general. Anything with a black undertone goes.”
The look predominantly saw bold, black shades on the eyes and natural lips. Eye kohl was used through the waterline and coated the whole rim of the eye. The makeup artists let it wear and did not touch it up. In a nod to nineties trends, clear lip glosses were used on lips at London Fashion Week. There was also a return to using the Pro-Longwear Paintpot. The new Skin Mineralise foundation perfected the models’ skin.
Nicole Thompson summed up the look as “Super cool, super quick… So wearable and easy to interpret.”
Spiritual Eyes
When it comes to this trend, M.A.C describe it as beauty descending into an ethereally wistful mood.
Amber said the look represents, “Smoke burning from the inside out – delicate and mysterious . What was flawlessly beautiful became destroyed and has become beautifully flawed. It is ethereal, haunted, beauty.”
Known for their unconvention, Amber said makeup artists Gareth Pugh and Alex Box’s inspiration came from “Girls running out of a burning house… The inspiration for the colour was although they were breathing soot.”
In shades of grey, mushroom, brown and plum, the eyeshadow is applied all the way to the brow for as Nicole so aptly put it, “Brow highlights are officially dead.”
Au-Currant
Au-Currant is all about the new shade of red – crimson.
It’s a rich new mood and red statement. Terry Barber described the look as “Gothicism in its truest, most poetic sense… Its emotion elevated to an art form.”
Amber said, “We have moved from Lady Danger (orange red) to Ruby Woo (crimson) lipstick, seeing a return of retro matt – which was big in the nineties.”
Lip gloss is also applied to create the strong red mouth and blood red lips. Eyelids are given a sweep of gloss and eyeliner is taken low. A mannequin texture is created on the skin using products such as Moisture Infusion Primer or Strobe Cream for a balmy finish.
Nicole said for all the looks eyebrows this season are still very straight and haven’t really been a feature in their own right. “We haven’t seen many graphic brows… Shades have changed to cooler, more slatey greys though.”
Perspex-Tive
Perspex-Tive is a more natural, soft and minimal look which gets back to the origin of the brand.
Skin is given peachy tones, to create a pure and fresh finish. One of the products makeup artists used to perfect the skin was the brands’ “Softening Lotion” which is a type of moisturising toner. Not currently available in Australia, it will be launched later this year.
Nicole describes the makeup some of the artists created at Paris Fashion week as, “Plastic lips, plastic skin— anything to make it look like it’s been Shellac-ed. Everything shines and as such adds dimension to the face.” A special effects glue was actually used all over the face to create the perspex look.
Charlotte Tilbury described her muse as, “Strong, powerful and beautiful with a futuristic feel.”
At Paris Fashion Week, Issey Miyake added “linear shards of light” on cheekbones to achieve highlight using Nylon, Pink and Opal Pigment.
Visit www.maccosmetics.com.au for further information.