On Monday night Jules and I attended an exclusive preview by MAC of the upcoming make-up trends for autumn/winter. The four looks presented to us by Senior Artist, Michelle-Lee Collins, were ‘Off Colour’, ‘Streamlined’, ‘On Reflection’ and ‘Unprocessed’. The focus of all four looks was to light the skin and and magnify the features – my kind of makeup!
To create the perfect base for foundation, Michelle advised us to mix together Lightful Softening Lotion, some Mineralize Charged Water Face and Body Lotion and a few drops of the Prep + Prime Essential Oils (she calls it her ‘magic cream’) and to massage it into the skin – it will provide an instantaneous boost of moisture to ensure that your skin looks luminous and plump. Follow this up with a little bit of Cream Colour Base in ‘Shell’ on the high points of the face (darker skin tones should use the shade ‘Bronze’ instead), and then apply some Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 Foundation. Michelle recommended really pressing and polishing the foundation into the skin to ensure a radiant, glowing complexion. I haven’t had a chance to make Michelle’s magic cream yet (I need to still buy the Softening Lotion and the Charged Water), but I mixed some of the Prep + Prime Essential Oils into my moisturiser this morning and the effect was pretty fantastic.
My favourite look of the four was ‘Streamlined’, which was all about linear, bold liner and natural, texturised brows. Michelle used the Fluidline Eye-Liner in Waveline (a beautiful, cobalt blue) to line the eye and she also created a fierce batwing shape at the outer corner. She then followed up with a bit of the Superslick Liquid Eyeliner to give the liner a glossier finish.
Michelle advised to keep the eyes open as you line them, as it helps you to ensure that both eyes end up looking the same and that the flicks match (crucial – nothing worse than wonky liner). She also explained that the shape of the liner has to be tailored to suit each eye shape – there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this liner trend. I, for example, can’t wear any kind of winged/flicked liner as my eyes are hooded, so I would skip the flick and just apply a simple slick of liner. The colour isn’t one I would normally have gravitated towards, but now that I’ve tried it, I am sold! It’s so much more flattering and interesting than your usual black and brown liners.
Michelle created quite thick, chunky lashes for this look – when the liner is so bold, you need the lashes to stand out too! After she’d applied the mascara, Michelle dotted on a little of the Studio Eye Gloss in ‘Lightly Tauped’, a very sticky/tacky formulation which creates, as the name suggests, a high-gloss finish on the lid. This is not a product for us mere mortals – I think it is best reserved for editorial and runway looks.
On the cheeks, she sprayed the face with a little Fix+, and then gently buffed in some of the Mineralize Skin Finish in ‘Soft & Gentle’, which honestly created the most exquisite finish on the skin. The effect is a gentle, subtle, glowing highlight – simply perfect.
On the lips, Michelle applied a clear, high-shine gloss, which completed the look perfectly. I followed most of her recommendations this morning when I was doing my makeup and I think it turned out beautifully: a thin layer of liner, lots of lashes and a generous application of ‘Soft & Gentle’. Lovely!
Thank you to MAC and Michelle for hosting us, and more importantly, for inspiring us. We look forward to the next one!