MAC

Festival season officially kick-started, and everyone is getting into the Summer spirit. Over the weekend, the Isle of Wight Festival took place and not only was MAC Cosmetics there to play host to celebs and artists, but Kate Moss also joined in on the fun celebrating her hen night nearby! Terry Barber, director of makeup artistry, at MAC offered up some general beauty rules for looking cool in the heat.

"Your festival ‘survival kit’ should be tailor-made with all the iconic ‘quick-fix’ products you need to keep groomed, whatever the conditions! It’s not about wearing full-on glamour – it should be much less try hard. Clean, dewy skin; '60s mod-girl lashes; a combed-up brow; and plump, stained lips. Light on the coverage and heavy on the cool!"

Here's what artist Dean Rudd used on Pixie: Pro Longwear Concealer in NC 15, Fortified Skin Enhancer and C3 Face and Body Foundation were applied to Pixie's face and highlighted with a bit of Strobe Cream. Next, Prep and Prime Pressed Powder was dusted all over and her rosy cheeks where enhanced with a blusher called Something Special. Pixie's eyes, however, were a bit more complicated. Marine Ultra Electric Eel (a blue shadow) was applied to the lids and a teal shadow was added to the crease. Her eyes were lined in Graphblack and Blacktrack liner, her brows were groomed with Clear Brow Set, and topped with #12 false lashes.

Clear Lip Glass was all that Pixie wore on her lips, and Marine Ultra and White Acrylic Paint were used to create the flower buds on the side of her face. Check out some of the products used on Pixie Lott below!

Pictures courtesy MAC Cosmetics

Last night the very glamorous Philips British Academy Television Awards took place at the Grosvenor House in Mayfair. Everyone from Cat Deeley in black to Kara Tointon in pale pink dressed up for the photos and the ceremony (vote on whose dress you liked most here). I loved the jewels, the hair, and particularly the makeup, not only because most of the women were donning MAC, the official beauty sponsor, but because everyone took chances on either a bright lip or a dark eye.

Eastenders actress Shona McGarty looked especially sultry last night. Her makeup was created by a MAC pro artist using the following products. Pro Longwear Foundation and Concealer, Sculpting Powder in Sculpt, Cream Colour Base in Pearl, a bright powder blush on the cheek in Cubic, Eye Brow Pencil in Stud, Mylar Eyeshadow, with a touch of glitter shadow on the base along with a black shadow as a liner and Haute and Naughty Lash Mascara in Black. False lashes were also applied to the top lashes and lips were painted in Creme d'Nude Lipstick. What do you think of Shona's red carpet makeup from MAC?

Last week I visited the BAFTA TV style suite and the Pelham Hotel, which was hosted by the British Academy Television Awards official beauty partner MAC. The big event will take place on the 22nd of May where the MAC team will be working tirelessly on celebrities, socialites, and guests of honour. Inside of this sneaky peek suite, I got my makeup done by senior makeup artist Debbie Finnegan who created a look designed specifically to stay photo ready throughout the night.

Debbie prepped my skin with primer, foundation, setting powder, and mist, which she described as a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, and water. Below are a few key tips to ensure that your makeup has longevity and most importantly, stays looking fresh.

• Use lots of mascara for extra lift. It shows up on screen and keeps your eyes looking wide and bright.
• Apply a blush or powder one shade darker than your skin tone to the back area of the hallows of your cheeks for a sculpting effect that looks amazing on camera.
• A moisturising concealer is imperative to keep eyes looking refreshed. Also, bring one with you to the event so that you can keep touching up any uneven skintone or blemishes.
• Lastly, keep a mini-touch-up kit with you that includes blotting powder, lipstick, and gloss.

Two weeks ago, when a bunch of bloggers were tweeting about a trip with MAC, we knew something interesting was up. They were traveling to Toronto, donning lab coats, and visiting the beauty company's labs — the rest was, they tweeted, very exciting and top-secret stuff. "Hmm," we thought. "Sounds like these ladies are designing a makeup line." And indeed, it seems they were.

WWD Beauty Inc reports that MAC tapped 80 bloggers to suggest product ideas, then chose 10 winners to fly to Toronto for a whirlwind makeup-making meeting. The bloggers visited Canada on April 14, spent a day in the MAC labs, and finalized product names and textures. The limited-edition collection, which comprises eye shadows and lip glosses, will be an online exclusive. No word on a collection name or colors yet, but we're beyond excited to see what some of our favorite beauty bloggers came up with.

Source: MAC to Launch a Blogger-Designed Makeup Collection

Girl geeks will soon be a-twitter about the news that cosmetics giant MAC is releasing a limited-edition makeup collaboration with Apple. In news revealed exclusively to BellaSugar, the collection of lipsticks and eye shadows — MAC², get it? — coincides with the 10th anniversary of Mac OS X and the iPod, and is launching today, on the 35th anniversary of Apple's founding.

"Like Apple, MAC likes to think different," said MAC public relations associate Donna Scherzo. "Their commitment to innovation and design pairs perfectly with MAC's tradition of pushing boundaries." Scherzo spoke at a top-secret launch event in Cupertino, which brought beauty experts and engineers together. Makeup artists offered guidance on creating three different looks, while engineers provided lessons on Objective C programming basics.

Full collection photos and more info this way.

The Internet is rife with horror stories about fraudulent cosmetics, and we've told you how to spot counterfeits when you see them. But just in case you still weren't convinced about how widespread this is, here's proof of just how easy it is to buy and sell fakes online. To see how faux cosmetics like this become available, just keep reading.

Paul Smith is one of Britain's iconic brands and I just love how he used clear glasses on the runway as an accessory to his bright separates with clean lines and fitted shapes, don't you? This simple yet polished "preppy chic" inspiration also transcended onto the beauty look created by lead makeup artist Petro Petrophilos for MAC Cosmetics.

Petro began by applying Face and Body Foundation all over the face and neck and then used some Mineralize Skinfinish on top. Pinch O Peach blush was used on the cheeks and Dark Brown Mascara with Ebony Pencil lightly lined the rims of the eyes. Brows were filled in with Velvetone Pencil and and Petro also used some Dark Brown Mascara to keep them in place. Lips were plain and simply coated with a bit of Lip Conditioner, something we've seen a lot of this season. What are your thoughts on preppy beauty? Do you think it's pretty or would you prefer to pass?

Terry Barber, Director of Artistry for MAC Cosmetics took time out of his busy backstage schedule at the Jean-Pierre Braganza show to tell me how much he loves FabSugarUK! Thanks Terry, we love you too! He also told me that the inspiration for this outrageous makeup style was "not grunge rock and roll, but mannequin rock and roll. Think Thierry Mugler ... and Gerry Hall with red lips and red eyes to keep it modern. It's not a decadent look, but more reminiscent of the 80s and 90s. I love a show being a fantasy."

To create a fierce, sculpted, couture-style face, Terry used Colour Corrector Concealer and then pressed a new Electric Coral MAC Pro Pigment from next season into the eyes and cheekbones. Superslick Black Liquid Liner was used to draw a feline shape and #36 false lashes were cut in half and shaped into an angle. Lips were designed to look like a lacquered electric guitar so Cherry and Vino Lip Pencils were used along with Runaway Red AW '11 (a new lipstick) under Clear Lipglass.