Q & A With Haritha Shan : MAC Holiday Collection 2013

MAC’s Holiday Collection this year comprises of 3 parts – Divine Night, Nocturnal and Stroke of Midnight. Some of the products have been available since 31st October while the rest will be available later this month. I spoke to MAC Senior Artist, Haritha Shan about the Holiday Collection, in particular Divine Night.

What is the colour theme behind the Divine Night Collection?

The collection was inspired by the famous New York nightclub, Studio 54 where the famous celebrities and artistes of the 70s gathered. it’s about serving makeup on a silver platter, being glamorous, luxurious which is why the colour combination on the bags in the eye and lip kits and gold, white and black. Gold represents luxury and this is a gilded collection.

What type of looks can be created by using the various products?

Back in the 70s, makeup was about 2-tone colours, blended, flushed out colours. It was about red lips which reflect MAC’s Autumn/Winter Trend 2013, Au-Currant. Lips are darker on the outside and lighter on the inside. Lips can also be bright chili red, moth pink, moth purple and cotton candy pink with a 3D effect.

Is the focus more on dark lips this season?

Plum is coming in as this is the autumn/winter season when makeup trends start to change. As the party season is in December, dark lips are the trend as this is glamorous.

How are the lighter Fluidlines such as Stares & Speculation to be used? Is it more useful as a base for eyeshadow? What brush should be used with the Fluidlines?

No, it shouldn’t be used as a base for eyeshadow. Use Stares & Speculation on top of a darker Fluidline like Glitz & Blitz for a 2-tone effect and this reflects a 70s look. Use the 266 Small Angle brush.

How should the Divine Night Mineralize Skinfinish be worn? Are they mainly for highlighting? If so, which part of the face should they be applied to and with which brush?

They need not necessarily be used only as highlighter. They can be worn all over the face (lightly) or used as a blush. For those whose skin tones are too yellow, Centre of Attention MSF can be worn all over the face for radiance, it has a light pink and champagne pink shade. Scene to be Seen MSF can be used as a blush. Perfectly Poised MSF is a bronze gold so use that for highlighting high planes of the face e.g. T-zone and cheekbones. Use the 187 Duo Fibre Face Brush or 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush for added radiance or 116 Blush Brush for intensity on cheeks. Actually, all the MSF can be used for highlighting – the lighter shade goes on cheeks and the darker shade on high panels of the face.

There seem to be a lot of Stroke of Midnight sets for eyes and lips, which one would you recommend for all skin tones?

My favourite set which is the Stroke of Midnight Lip & Cheek Bag : Coral as it has a smaller sized neutral peach blush which suits every skin tone and a gold frost lip gloss which tones down the redness of the red frost lipstick.

Which Stroke of Midnight Brush Kit would you recommend to someone who is new to MAC and is keen on having a basic set of brushes and which Brush Kit would you recommend to someone who has previously bought a basic set of brushes from MAC?

For those who are new to MAC, the Essentials Brush Kit has all the basic brushes and for those who have purchased a set of basic brushes from MAC, they can consider the Mineralize Brush Kit if they want brushes for their face and eye OR the Smoky Eye Brush Kit if they want brushes for eye makeup products.

What’s your idea of a divine night?

It’s a night with a full moon, serving makeup on a silver platter, being glamorous and luxurious.