Learn it from the Pros! MAC Masterclass A/W 12 Trends

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend! A little while ago I was invited to the MAC Masterclass to find out about the trends for A/W 12. Masterclass normally targets MAC artists, but this year they thought it would be fun to include a small handful of bloggers, and I had the great pleasure of attending this class and seeing how things are done by the real pros!

The two masters on stage include Elke, the senior artist for the Benelux who is no stranger because she did the in-store demonstration of Hey, Sailor and Baltasar, the director of makeup artistry. Just so you know, they’re both incredibly nice! I know that the questions I asked weren’t be the same as what professional makeup artists would, but they still answered very patiently!

According to MAC, the trends for the latter half of the year would be about portraying women who are in love and happy (though I think they meant in love in a broad sense). Fall is all about texture, structure, natural contour, eyebrows, and being edgy. There will be new Mineralize Skinfinish, and the Pro-Sculpting Cream will finally hit the market after having been tested out backstage.

This is the Pro-sculpting cream that was passed around. Unfortunately it was a sample and the shade was not written down anywhere. It was also melting a little with the heat from the spotlight, so at least when I swatched it the texture was creamier than that of MAC Cremeblend Blushes.

Metallic jewel tones will stay big for autumn (yesss!), as you can see in the pigment Elke used:

Kelly Green and Naval Blue Pigment swatch:

This is Rose Gold Pigment mixed with a water-based mixing medium. Elke used it on the model’s eyebrows. I loved the look already without this, but it was certainly a magic touch! That thing also swatches like liquid gold, and I was mesmerized!

This is Elke’s finished model. Besides the jewel-toned colors, she also deconstructed the shape she created with a Q-tip and makeup remover. See the two white lines on the side? Just in case you’re curious, Elke used In Synch Lip Pencil. I think it works so well with the model’s skin tone! Despite the fact that we probably can’t walk around like this, a jewel-tone eye look might not be over the top especially when you pair it with minimalist cheeks and lips.

Baltasar defined the word “edgy” in a very different way. He wanted to create something graphic, and he used a lot of his favorite product, MAC Blacktrack Fluidline to achieve it. He also mentioned a concept that revolutionized the way I look at makeup. You know how people always tell you to keep your lips toned down if your eyes are strong? Baltasar doesn’t see that as a form of balance. Instead, he thinks there is also balance in pairing strong eyes with strong lips. The lip shade is Smoked Purple mixed with Girl About Town.

I specifically asked Baltasar if us regular girls could aspire to translate this look into something we can wear for everyday life, and he said it is totally possible to do something with a stronger eyeline and vibrant lips. Now, I am not a pro, but I think in this case it would work because the eyes are only strong with an eyeliner. If we’re talking about pairing highly colorful eyes with dark lips, then it might not be something for everyday life!

I know it might be slightly depressing to talk about autumn/winter already, but at least I’m happy to see that they will bring us great trends! From a clean complexion to jewel-toned metallics, from natural contouring to getting creative with that eyeliner, I don’t think I’ll wait till summer is over to experiment with these concepts!

If you want to see more pictures from the Masterclass, including how the everything looked halfway, please head over to the Facebook album!

What do you think? Are these trends you would like to explore? Would you be interested in trying for example the Pro-sculpting cream?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx