When you get the opportunity to interact with the the legendary Mickey Contractor regarding all things makeup and learn about M.A.C’s Spring/Summer ’16 Trends, you do not miss that opportunity. I set an alarm to get up at 8.30, got ready and left home to meet the man at M.A.C’s Quest Mall store at noon. Unfortunately, the horrendous traffic let me down and I reached when he was mid-way into answering questions and decoding two SS’16 looks that he created. Thankfully, I was not too late and did manage to come back with a few tips from the makeup maestro.
M.A.C SS’16 Trends – All or Nothing
There is a refreshing simplicity to beauty this season, in both literal and conceptual terms: makeup artists are either making a decisive statement that pushes one element to the extreme, or adopting a variant on “no makeup” as an equally strong and relevant style choice for SS 16. ‘All’ is bold, brave and colorful – edgy eye makeup and a strong lip color. ‘Nothing’ is a face that looks well-groomed, glowing and healthy. No crazy contouring and highlighting. The focus is beautiful and luminous skin.
Mickey demonstrated two looks from the SS 16 collection – Red Cherry and Aquatic.
Red Cherry – The emphasis is on bare face and bright red lips. He did a simple bronze eye makeup look on the model, kept the skin fresh and luminous with the use of powder and subtle highlighting and on the lips, applied a bright red lipstick. His favorite red lipstick? Ruby Woo of course!
Aquatic – In this look, he used the mineralize lipstick Pure Pout on the lips and also as a highlighter. The lipstick melts with the body heat and gives a glow to the face. There was an almost graffiti-like urban twist on the eyes with the usage of dark blue eye shadow and dramatic lashes.
How to Incorporate the M.A.C SS’16 Trends in your Makeup
Eyes – In keeping with the aquatic trend, use blues and greens. You can also experiment with bold colors like red, green and yellow. Also, dramatic lashes are very much in.
Skin – Fresh, healthy, glowing skin that is neither matte nor dewy is the makeup statement of this season. Contouring is passe. Go for a fresh look with either powder or cream blush and subtle highlighting. Also, you can skip foundation and only use concealer wherever you need a bit of coverage. For a more flawless finish, you can also go for color correctors that match your skin tone.
Lips – Red lips, either high-shine or matte with a bare face is a classic. You can also experiment with plums and purples. For the ‘Nothing’ look, go for nude lips. Mickey’s favorite nude lipstick is Yash paired with Plum, Cork or Stripdown lip liners.
And finally, some words of makeup wisdom from the man himself.
- His favorite M.A.C brushes? 116, 204, 208, 210, 217, 219, 231, 239
- Don’t match your makeup with your outfit but match it to your skin tone
- Do not follow the trend of applying a light concealer under the eyes to brighten the skin. It does not work with the Indian skin tone and looks terrible. Use a foundation and concealer that matches your complexion
- To prevent matte lipstick from leaving a gap near your inner lips, use a lip conditioner on the inside of the lip. Blend with your finger and blot with a tissue to get an even matte pout
- Always try makeup before buying!