Founded in 1984, MAC Cosmetics was intended to be a make-up line that would fulfil professional needs. The founders, Toskan and Angelo, had found a lack of colours that would shoot well with photography, and so became the 'ultimate colour authority.' MAC's target audience, although originally intended more for professionals, is now mainly young women with a passion for make-up. However the brand's credo, ‘All Ages, All Races, All Sexes,' is accurate - the brand's image and innovative products are very versatile and can fit the needs of everyone. MAC describe themselves as ‘a makeup brand defined by appreciation of individuality, artistry and self-expression,’ with their main appeals including creativity and high standards, perfect for professional make-up artists. They are also a brand that believes in 'giving back,' evident through their AIDs/HIV fund. Their products blend casual, street styles with glamour and flare, and their honour of individuality and self-expression introduced a sense of drag and theatre; again, suiting the needs of a wider audience. To me, MAC symbolises colour, modern fashions, confidence, standing out and ignoring conventions. They are appealing due to their bright, dramatic, abstract, eye-catching, but also often simple image.
 |
| https://www.instagram.com/maccosmetics/ |
MAC's look is sleek, chic and simple. Their packaging, store image and advertisements all demonstrate this; for example the black pots and boxes with the simple logo that products come in. This makes products more affordable than other luxury brands. MAC is usually promoted via magazines or online; they rely on the integrity of their 'carefully formulated' product line rather than using conventional or traditional adverts or promotion methods.
This advert campaign from June 2014, named Mineralize, 1, 2 and 3, shows lots of shadow, and black negative space - similar to MAC's packaging style.
In the first image, which is selling a lip product, the shadow covers the top corner of the model's face, revealing only one eye, her nose and lips. Her head is tilted back slightly, further pushing forwards her lips, and her eye is almost closed, taking focus away from it and leaving all the attention on the lips. The model appears to be nude, meaning no distractions of clothing, and her hair and body is covered in the shadow anyway. The lipstick is the brightest and most eye-catching part of the photo.
In Mineralize, 2, much more of the face is shown as it is advertising a foundation. The model faces the camera directly, and the skin is flawless. The eye and lip colours have been chosen to flatter and compliment the skin tone, and more of the model's body is visible, emphasising the focus on skin. The shadow cast still hides the hair, preventing any distraction and focusing attention on the skin.
Finally, in the last image, promoting eye shadow, the model stares directly into the camera, despite having her face turned away slightly - this draws attention to the eyes. The eye make-up is vibrant and strong, much more dramatic than in the previous two photos, and the lips are kept nude, to keep the focus on the eye shadow. The lighting, again, hides the model's hair and body, preventing distraction.
When the images in this campaign are considered as a whole, despite being mostly black and shadowed, they have actually got quite a warm vibe; the make-up colours and lighting are warm and vibrant.
I found these Paris Haute Couture images from MAC's Instagram page quite inspiring and relevant to my work. The shadows, dark colours and moody poses suit well with my word 'penumbra.'
 |
| https://www.facebook.com/MACcosmetics/photos_stream |
This photo of Mariah Carey, advertising a lip gloss, has the caption 'One shimmery swipe of this luminous frosted nude lipstick makes your lips as fierce and timeless as the icon herself.' I like how the brand do not need to use colour in order to show off and sell a lip product. Despite being black and white, the lighting hitting and highlighting the lips and also the open-mouth pose both bring attention to this part of her face. Her hair covers her eyes and skin, meaning the focus is not on them, and much of the photo is left in shadow, as is common in MAC campaigns, only the left side of her face being softly illuminated.
When watching this 'To Live' commercial, the word 'abstract' springs to mind. Everything about it is very arty. The colour scheme is pale and white, contrasting the black and shadowy themes seen so often in MAC promotions. The models seem to float around with almost lifeless facial expressions, while their hair and clothing is intricate and powerfully styled. To me, I think this video is intended to showcase MAC's abstract artistry, and focus on self-expressionism and MAC's message and image, rather than any actual products. This video perfectly fits my word 'penumbra.' Despite being all white, pale and seemingly angelic, there is a sense of darkness and almost evil undertones to the video - perfectly matching the 'light meets dark' concept of penumbra.
For my work I will be selling a lip product, and so, taking inspiration from Mariah Carey's image and also the Mineralize Lipstick photo, it would suit the brand's image to use shadow to cleverly reveal the lips and keep them as the focal point. I will also make sure the lipstick is the most eye-catching part of the photo by keeping the rest of the make-up subtle, and my model will pose in a way that makes the lips look appealing - for example with their mouth slightly open or their head tilted upwards. It is important that the product looks wearable, eye-catching and appealing.
No comments:
Post a Comment