Older Girl Beauty Blog

MAC and the Mexican Drug Wars

oldergirlbeauty — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:30:00 -0500

These two things have nothing to do with each other. At all. So, when I saw this post on MAC and Rodarte, I had to wonder what the writer was thinking. (*Okay, it's apparent in the article what she's thinking, but, I still think she's blowing this up.)

Here's my opinion, and of course, only MY opinion. Naming products is a tricky game, I would think. It has to be witty, descriptive and sometimes provocative, but still representative of the product. Collaborations with outside artists/people can be even trickier, as you have to include their "vision", too. I hear that the collection was inspired by Mexico's colors/locations/culture/etc. One of the "places" was Juarez - of which they named the nailpolish.

Now, Juarez is known for it's violence - that is no secret, what with the movies, books, numerous news articles, etc that can tell you all about how it earned it's nickname of "the most dangerous place in the world". However, it also happens to just be a city in Mexico, nothing more than that in this instance. Sure, it may be an unfortunate name if you look into the history of the City, but if you take it at face value, it fits into the theme of the collection.

Do I agree with violence towards women (*or hell, anyone for that matter)? Of course not. Do I think that MAC does? Hell no. I also don't think they were deliberately trying to bring attention to, and raise awareness of, the murdering of women problem in that town, either. MAC isn't the only company to name something after somewhere with a violent history. Take for example Bond No. 9 - they have a fragrance called "Little Italy". Do you think they named it that because Little Italy, Manhattan is known for it's Mafia connections? No, that's dumb - they named it that because Little Italy is a part of NYC, which is what their collection is about. Just like this nailpolish is to the MAC/Rodarte collection based around Mexico - a name that ties together. Nothing more, nothing less.

But, if you are moved to help the murdered women's families, and efforts, in and around the Juarez area, contact Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez to see how you assist down there. I will also remind you that while (*I don't believe they do) MAC doesn't assist directly to this cause, they DO continue to help people worldwide affected by HIV/AIDS via their MAC AIDS Fund.

*UPDATE*:MAC and Rodarte have both issued official statements that Christine from Temptalia.com has posted and I will repost here:

Temptalia has reached out to MAC for comment on the collaboration with Rodarte, and if and when we receive more information, we will be certain to share with you. We received official statements from MAC and Rodarte @ 11AM (pst), which we share below:

STATEMENT FROM M·A·C COSMETICS ON THE M·A·C RODARTE COLLECTION
We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. M·A·C will give a portion of the proceeds from the M·A·C Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.

STATEMENT FROM RODARTE ON THE M·A·C AND RODARTE COLLECTION
Our makeup collaboration with M·A·C developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The M·A·C collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled.

Take me away.... MAC "To the Beach" collex

oldergirlbeauty — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:00:00 -0500

MAC's upcoming collection, "To the Beach" is packed with so many summer products, including a LOT of bronzing options. They are in colorful lime-ish green and orange packaging & have a highlighter that it just too pretty to use, in my opinion. I mean, look at it over there <---.

I'm not kidding when I say it is a big collection - I tried to show you as many of the prods, that I had a chance to try, as I could in my video, but it still seemed a bit rushed. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything and I'll be sure to slow down a bit and answer you. :)

Company's can care, too

oldergirlbeauty — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:26:31 -0500

Corporate Responsibility: "The concept that an organization has obligations not just to conduct its business and adhere to legal guidelines, but also to look out for the welfare of its employees, the community, and society at large."

So often we don't hear about what a company does to give back to society, it's generally handled internally and everyone moves about their business. Luckily, in the beauty arena, we get to hear about some of the great things that companies do to help out in their communities, states, countries and even overseas. There are two programs going on right now that I want to spotlight: MAC and Elizabeth Arden.

MAC Cosmetics established their "Viva Glam" campaign in 1994 - it supports the MAC AIDS Fund, which supports men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS. It does this by donating all monies from the selling price of their Limited Edition "Viva Glam" lipsticks & glosses each year. They have featured many famous people to be their spokesperson (*from Fergie to Dita Von Teese & RuPaul, to name a few). This year's spokepeople were Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga, each with their own shade. You can check out what they look like in my video, if you haven't seen them yet. You can pick them up at any MAC counter or online for $14.

Marking their 100 years beauty innovation, Elizabeth Arden is releasing a new Limited Edition Anniversary lipstick - "Red Door Red" - "a universally flattering, sheer lipstick, the Red Door Red hue stylishly represents strength and femininity – a beautiful way to pay tribute the Elizabeth Arden woman". This lipstick is packaged in a luxurious gold case, and offers a triple-emollient moisturizing formula that contains vitamins A, C and E, along with aloe. It can be picked up at counters , where available, and online for $20.

Miss Arden believed in total beauty and in honoring that, all of the proceeds from the sale of this lipstick will go to benefit "Look Good...Feel Better". "This organization helps to improve the self-image, appearance and quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatments by teaching beauty techniques, which help them to cope with the beauty-related consequences of cancer and boost their self-confidence."

Please consider supporting these programs by treating yourself to a new lippie - it will give you another reason to smile.

It's not always a powdery world

oldergirlbeauty — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:04:50 -0600

When I was growing up, the only kind of blush I ever used, or was even introduced to, were powder blushes. I have come to learn that there are so many variations besides powder now, that I want to make sure you know, too.

In this video I mention several different types of blushes/brands. They are:

Three Custom Colors Crème to Powder Blush in "Morning After" (*PR provided)
tarte Cheek Stain in "True Love" (*discontinued - boo! - GWP)
Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick in "Shy Blush" (*mine is a mini-tube GWP)
MAC Blushcreme in "Florida" (*PR provided)
Benefit "Posie Tint" (*from a gift bag)
NARS Cream Blush in "Penny Lane" (*from a giveaway)

I forgot to mention a couple of brands/products that def deserved to be shown, too. The first is the Sue Devitt Starbrights Lip & Cheek Gel in "Capella" (*got in a gift bag). This cheek gel scared me when I first saw it becaus it is *purple*. But after the lovely MUA put it on my cheeks and showed me how pretty it could be on my skintone, I was hooked.

The second one that should have been in the video is the Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush. Besides being a creamy blush that goes on easily, it is also the only blush that incorporates Olay's Regenerist Serum into the mix - making it not only pretty, but good for your skin, too. (*of course, I can't help but to mention that I was lucky enough to have celebrity MUA Jake Bailey apply it on me and it looked *good*). (*warning: I may be biased).

Like I said in the video, the colors are going to look more intense in the package, but with a light touch, you make just about any color work for you. Also, don't forget what I said about layering - you can start with an alternate type of blush, finishing off the top with your powder blush for a longer lasting cheek.

Let me know if you have tried any of these, or if you have heard of another blush type that I didn't list here. I would love to hear about it.

NYFW Fall/Winter 2010 without me

oldergirlbeauty — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:25:00 -0600

Today is opening day for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week - New York and I'm not there. Boo! With all of the crap snow going on out there (*as if we haven't had enough here in Oklahoma), I'm going to pretend that I am *super* happy not to be out there in all of that mess - which is a boldface lie. Unfortch, due to some issues here, I didn't get to go this season - even tho I actually got credentials in my own name this time. However, I have been able to pay it forward, just like I had done for me last season, and give some of my access to Meredith, from Retrodiva's Beauty Bar, who will do a fab job reporting from behind the scenes.

This also means you will not to get read my direct tweets about what I am doing in NYC. BUT! I *will* be retweeting a lot of the action from some of the other lovelies that are there at the tents. In addition to those, MAC Cosmetics has provided a twiter widget, which you can see in the right sidebar, that showcases tweets from their artists directly backstage at the tents. Also, if you have a particular MAC makeup artist you want to follow exclusively, check out MAC Artists Tweets and follow them individually. And if *THAT* isn't enough fashion week info for you, you can search twitter #NYFW hashtag and see what EVERYONE that uses that tag is saying. (*WARNING* - could definitely lead to information overload - esp when several are at the same show at the same time.)

Oh, speaking of twitter/information overload - American Express, one of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week sponsors has provided an electronic board, inside the tent, that displays live tweets that use the hashtag #amexmbfw. I think it is really cool for such a big company to embrace people tweeting - a great way to instantly show the people in the tents immediate reaction to things. Love it!

So, there you have it lovelies - even tho I am not there, I will def be here, using a bunch of different means, to still bring you my perspective on what goes on at NYFW. I hope you enjoy it. :)

*UPDATE*: While I was writing this today, news broke that fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, had committed suicide. (*You might remember that I discussed his Armadillo Shoes back in November). It came as quite a shock & put a black cloud over the start of Fashion Week. RIP.