MAC makeup artist John Stapleton’s last visit to Manila was in 2009. According to him, Filipino women’s attitude toward makeup has changed dramatically in six years.
“Filipino women were kind of afraid of bright lipsticks then, and now everyone’s wearing them,” he says. “The advice given to me was, ‘They’re a little more conservative.’ That was six years ago. And now every girl out there has a bright or red lipstick on.”
He also observed how the women went from preferring a completely mattified face to embracing a little shine. “At that time, for us, we were crazy about a lot of glowy skin and mineral skin, so maybe the Kardashians changed things, too, with the highlights.”
Speaking of the Kardashians, Stapleton says that in today’s Insta-world, brands and makeup artists don’t just look to the runways for inspirations, they tune in to Instagram, too.
“What is interesting about social media is that things are readily available at the snap of a finger, so we have to stay on top of that as a brand and make sure that we are up to date. Sometimes that we have to launch products quicker, because trends will come out of nowhere,” says John.
Expectations
He cites Kylie Jenner as a clear example. When Kylie posted a photo of her very full, pouty lips, everyone seemed to be trying everything from makeup to suction to emulate it.
“We were suddenly selling out of Whirl (lip) pencil and Mehr lipstick because those were the colors that were featured. All of a sudden her nude lip became a thing and it happened overnight. I think that’s pretty cool,” says Stapleton.
He also remembers how Amy Winehouse’s trademark winged eyeliner resulted in brands releasing black pencils. “What I think is cool about it is it gives you a glimpse of what needs to happen and you have a little bit more urgency to come up with those products, so I think it’s good.”
The only thing that’s not cool about the Instagram fad, according to him, is the unrealistic expectations women have, no thanks to beautifying filters.
“You have a lot of people coming in and saying ‘I wanna look like this.’ If I hold up a piece of silk screen in front of them, they might, but that’s tough because sometimes the filtering is hard to achieve in real life.”
Still, if you’re bent on getting that porcelain-smooth filter in real life, Stapleton advises looking for products that use optical diffusers and blurring technology.
“One of our great breakthroughs was the Mineralize Satin Finish foundation, because to me it looks like ‘Instagram in a bottle.’ It makes the skin glow and gives it that glowy filter, which is really pretty.”
Want to learn how to get this glow? Watch this video:
’70s-inspired
For fall-winter, MAC has four key looks that revolve around a ’70s inspired orangey-red lip, worn-in, smudged gray eyes, glowing skin with barely-there bronzing, and a high-maintenance use of black on the eyes—and lips.
Yes, to those who missed their glory days of black lipstick, you can rock the inky pout again.
Black on the lips, Stapleton admits, is a high-maintenance look, but completely doable. “It’s probably severe for most people to try black, so they may want to do a black pencil and work a red lipstick into it. Lorde made a huge impact with that dark lip.”
He adds, “The lip, which seems ‘oh my god scary’ to a lot of people, was embraced by everyone after Lorde wore it. A lot of women were wearing it and are still wearing it.”
MAC’s AW15 collection is available in counters. Follow John Stapleton on Instagram @johntstapleton.