MAClaunches Selena cosmetics collection
CORPUS CHRISTI — Jennifer Martinez-Cruz was busy at work when an unexpected package arrived. The 34-year-old legal assistant opened it to find a purple box — inside were white roses surrounding the new MAC Selena limitededition cosmetics collection. Martinez-Cruz tried her best to keep her composure, but tears streamed from her eyes.
Martinez-Cruz was one of a few lucky fans who got a preview of MAC’s collection named for Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, who was fatally shot at age 23 in 1995, at the height of her career. Selena loved white roses and the color purple.
“I’m was so happy and surprised that even 21 years after her death, she continues to make an impact. Selena is an icon,” said MartinezCruz, a Selena fan who at age 10 met the singer backstage after a performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
MAC has collaborated with celebrities over the years, but the 14-piece Selena collection — which includes a lipstick, bronzer-blush, shadow, lip gloss — is special. When the company unveiled the collection Friday in Corpus Christi, Selena’s hometown, it was the largest product launch in MAC history. It has produced eight times more product than usual for the launch.
The collection is available online and at MAC counters in department stores through Nov. 17. Product prices range from $17-$35.
Martinez-Crus attended Friday’s event with her husband and 6-year-old daughter.
“This is something extraordinary,” she said. “We’re fortunate to be able to go as a family to celebrate a legend.”
The MAC collection came after a Change.org petition to create a Selena line drew nearly 40,000 signatures. The petition was the idea of Los Angeles radio producer and Selena fan Patty Rodriguez. She noted MAC’s 2012 collection honoring Marilyn Monroe, and she thought young Latinas should have a brand for their icon.
Selena’s older sister, Suzette Quintanilla, worked with MAC to create the collection.
“This line is Selena on and off stage,” Quintanilla said. She is the president of Q Productions Inc., the entertainment label founded by her family. “She was my best friend. We talked a lot about everything. Clearly, we’re girls, and makeup was one of the key things we liked to talk about. This is something she was working on when she was taken from us.”
Quintanilla took photos of the contents of Selena’s makeup case, which she kept after her sister’s death, and sent it to MAC to create the Selena collection based on the products and colors she used.
The collection reflects what Selena wore on and off stage, Quintanilla said. Each product is named for a song title.
“I love the fact they named the products after her songs and kept them in Spanish,” Quintanilla said. “There’s no English subtitles on the products. That speaks volumes.”
The collection will be available at Dillard’s stores.
“To be able to introduce a collection worldwide with Texas roots is a big part of our business,” said Gary Borofsky, Dillard’s vice president and general merchandise manager of cosmetics and fragrances, who attended the Corpus Christi launch. “We have roots in Texas, we have a store right here in town, and we grew up with Selena.”
Some 15,000 Selena fans waited hours to gain entrance into the MAC Selena launch event at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi Friday. The concert arena was transformed into a Selena paradise with purple lights, purple rugs and purple Dillard’s kiosks, which sold the MAC collection and T-shirts. There were 120 makeup artists available for touch-ups for guests as they waited in line.
Rosa Vasquez, Anna de la Garza and Veronica Flores drove from Houston for the launch, arriving at the center about 3:30 a.m. Friday.
“When we were growing up, Selena was someone who looked like us,” said Flores, who, aka Miss V Haven on social media. “She was humble and made you believe you could do anything.”
Selena had hoped one day she’d have her own fashion and makeup line, Quintanilla said. The Selena Museum contains original fashion sketches she drew as a teen, as well as the red-lipsticksmudged microphone she used to record.
Quintanilla is amazed how celebrities, including Drake, continue to page homage to Selena by wearing her likeness on their clothes.
“I remember when I saw Kylie Jenner was wearing a vintage shirt with Selena on it,” she said. “It’s interesting to me that so many of the people who are wearing this were too young to know her. But everyone knows who Selena is. It’s awesome. It shows that Selena is definitely an icon.” joy.sewing@chron.com