Fashion designer Gareth Pugh is known for bending the rules when it comes to creating his signature structural pieces for his collections. His ability to combine the toughness and masculinity of traditional menswear with a sexy femininity has made him beloved of fashionistas and celebrities alike.
Now his first foray into the world of makeup has arrived. The Gareth Pugh for M.A.C. collection encompasses seemingly ordinary items ‒ eyeshadow, lipstick, lipgloss, eyeliner and nail polish ‒ but Pugh’s signature “weird-but-pretty” touch turns them into something out of the ordinary.
The packaging alone ‒ heavy, black and embossed with sharp, graphic shapes ‒ makes this collection stand out. But it is the colours and concepts behind the colour mixes that move this makeup collection into the cult, “must have” group.
“M.A.C have supported me since my first show and are such a great company to work with, so when they came to me with the idea of doing something collaboratively I was obviously very interested,” explains Pugh.
“Initially, the idea was to create makeup products linked to a particular catwalk show, where they would come backstage and take colour swatches from what we used on the catwalk and then create products from that. But I wanted to do something much more specific, something that distilled my aesthetic in a wider sense than just being about one particular season – something that was a complete package.”
Although Pugh is known for his personal love of black ‒ both in his collections and for wearing it himself ‒ he didn’t want the M.A.C collaboration to be only about this one shade.
“I think if people had heard about me doing a makeup collection that’s exactly what would have sprung to mind, but make-up requires a very different approach to clothing! I really wanted it to be unexpected, and beautiful,” says Pugh.
According to Pugh, the M.A.C collaboration is very much about contradiction, the play of light and dark and opposites. “In this makeup range there are two very distinct groups – there’s one group based around purples and dark blues which is very powerful and strong and then there’s the group that’s more about a silvery steel iridescence which feels a lot more fragile.”
The shades of this range are amazingly versatile and actually wearable, despite ‒ or because of ‒ the strong concept behind them.
M.A.C’s duo-chromatic nail polish that flashes from emerald to amethyst is amazing and can be worn by everybody as it goes with just about everything. It would make the perfect glittery accompaniment to your festive season wardrobe.
The Beauty Powder which is a “greyed” pink adds a sophisticate matte glaze to all skin tones, makes a great base for more dramatic evening makeup looks and the multi-tonal lipglasses can be super-subtle when worn alone or used to add a dramatic shimmer over lipstick.
“I didn’t want the products to be one dimensional or too specific. I think it’s nice that the textures have a level of diversity, so that you can bring uniqueness to the look you achieve for yourself,” says Pugh.
If you do want to go all-out over-the-top fashion-forward, you need to get your hands on the Gareth Pugh for M.A.C. collection eyelashes. They are severely geometric in cut, with a sharply angled edge and are certain to make a major statement; these false eyelashes are not for the shy.
“The idea with the lash was my way of getting something very graphic into the actual product. I just took a load of the biggest lashes that M·A·C makes and started chopping them up into different shapes,” explains Pugh.
“The thing with lashes is that they tend to be a very ‘lash’ shape whereas I wanted to do something that looked more non-conventional and angular: not something you tend to see a lot with lashes.
“From shooting our video and seeing how they work on the film, I really feel that these triangular lashes make the eyes look very beautiful. Worn top and bottom, they give this very angular, horse blinker, effect,” he says.
For those of us a little less adventurous, try the gorgeous eyeshadows; Deceit is a “blacked plum with pink pearl” which is perfect for a smokey eye, or try the Guise, a frosty grey, for day wear. Combine it with the Metal-X cream shadow in Obscura, a frosty gunmetal grey, to really lighten up the eye. Use with either Greyprint ‒ a rich pewter grey with frost ‒ or Graphblack ‒ a strong black ‒ to better define the eye.
And of course, you can always lash out with the funky, cool nail colours; Inert is a creamy mid-tone greyed nude, Ascension is a grey with blue violet reflective pearl and Hyper is a deep blue with violet pearl.
There are also makeup accessories available in the same collection including a square-handled buffer brush with has been created especially for use with the Beauty Powder, Elude, and a special makeup bag.
But you better get in early to reserve your choices; as always with M.A.C’s special collections, the Gareth Pugh for M.A.C. makeup is sure to sell out ‒ probably even before it arrives; it’s happened before.
The Gareth Pugh for M.A.C. collection will be available exclusively from M·A·C Tangs Orchard, Tel: 6235 7718 from December. Call in advance to reserve particular items or go to www.maccosmetics.com.sg for more information.
See the complete list of Gareth Pugh for M.A.C. collection items and prices below:
LIPSTICK
Fervent ‒ Glossy blackened berry (satin)
Restrict ‒ Creamy greyed nude (cremesheen)
$44
LIPGLASS
Vacant ‒ Sheer light lavender grey with violet pearl
Outrage ‒ Sheer berry with blue pearl
$44
METAL-X CREAM SHADOW
Obscura ‒ Frosty gunmetal grey
Ardent ‒ Frosty blackened burgundy
$60
PIGMENT
Guise ‒ Frosty grey
Deceit ‒ Blacked plum with pink pearl
$59
MASCARA
Studio Fix Boldblack Lash ‒ Blackest Black
$26
TECHNAKOHL LINER
Greyprint ‒ Rich pewter grey with frost
Graphblack ‒ Rich graphic black
$36
POWDER BLUSH
Strada ‒ Mid-tone nude
$54
BEAUTY POWDER
Elude ‒ Translucent neutral beige
$115
NAIL LACQUER
Inert ‒ Creamy mid-tone greyed nude (crème)
Ascension ‒ Grey with blue violet reflective pearl (frost)
Hyper ‒ Deep blue with violet pearl (frost)
$43
LASH
Flight Lash ‒ Dense, geometric triangle-shaped lash
$28
BRUSHES
Square Handled Buffer Brush
$108
ACCESSORIES
Gareth Pugh for M·A·C Makeup Bag
$120
