Mickey Contractor and MAC

I don't think 2011 could have started in a more exciting manner for me!  First off, YES!!!! I DID get a Clarisonic for my birthday (itching to open it on the the 8th, so I'll post more on that once I've tried it out).

Possibly (no, make that DEFINITELY) even more exciting is the new collaboration between Mickey Contractor and MAC with the launch of the new range of foundations, concealers, lipsticks, eyeshadows, lipglasses, fluid lines and much more!

I'm sure you avid beauty junkies will already know, but for those of you feeling a little in the dark, let me enlighten you. Mickey Contractor is THE make-up artist in India, the one that all the Bollywood actresses turn to and trust to make them look not just a million dollars, but a billion $$$ (or should that be rupees?.....anyway.....).  Think Priyanka, Rani, Kareena, Shilpa, Aish - you get the picture.

Suffice to say, he is the first make-up artist that MAC has created a whole line in conjunction with, so that tells you all you need to know in terms of his work, his profile and the high regard in which he is held.

He has won awards aplenty for his work, which is seen all over the world, as he is the man behind the flawless faces you seen on screen in some the biggest Bollywood films around. While these actresses never look anything less than perfect, it's sometimes difficult for the regular girl on the street to replicate these looks, especially when she's searching for the right tone and shade to compliment her Indian/olive skin tone. And this ongoing search for the corrects colours is what has driven to Mickey Contractor to create the new line.  He has said of the new range:

"My USP is skin.  I am one those makeup artists who focuses a lot more on the complexion and contouring rather than just colour, so I wanted to split the collection into two parts: 'Face' for creating the perfect skin and 'Colour' to add definition.  The inspiration for this collection really came from what I felt Indian women needed.  Pigmentation and discoloration problems around the mouth and under the eye is something that most people in India have a problem with, so creating the concealers was really important to me." says Contractor, who is also MAC's director of make-up artistry for India.  "Outside of India, they'll also work beautifully on Hispanic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern skins, which can also have similar issues with pigmentation."

So hopefully, that chalky concealer under the eyes will soon be a thing of the past!

The eagerly awaited collection goes on sale on 6th January, and I'll be posting reviews of my favourite products as soon as I get my hands on them!  Below are images of the whole range, followed by face charts and model shots, so that you can get a really good feel for what's to come!  I'm loving the fact that so many of the names are Indian (the eyeshadow qud is called Athma, my favourite lipstick is called Gulabi (medium/dark fuschia pink), the neutral pink is called Mehr - I could go on, but you see what I'm saying?

What will you be buying? Currently, I'm loving all the lipsticks, the fluidlines, the blush and can't wait to try out the concealer.  Be aware that some of the range is limited edition, (strangely, some of the face shades, which I can't work out why - what do you do if you find one that is your perfect shade, only to find it's gone after a few months?), and some of the shades, i.e. Carbon in the Athma Eyeshadow quad, Folie Eyeshadow, Lust Lipglass and Mocha Lipstick are already available in the permanent range of colours.

'Face" collection

'Colour' colletion

Gulabi Lipstick

Mehr Lipstick

Mocha Lipstick

Yash Lipstick

Flesh Lipglass

Lust Lipglass

Athma Eyeshadow Quad

Marvel Eyeshadow

Oomph Eyeshadow

Rani Eyeshadow

Saffron Eyeshadow

Ivy Fluidline

Siahi Fluidline

Gana Blush

Sur Blush

Neutral face

Day-time dramatic face

Night-time dramatic face