Maine Mendoza going ‘nude’?
‘I have never done anything like this in my life’
Showbiz stars are launching their own makeup lines, but Maine Mendoza does one better by creating her very own lipstick with a much-loved global beauty brand, the first Filipino celebrity ever to do so.
Fans have been in a frenzy since Mendoza first posted a photo on Instagram of her visit to the MAC Cosmetics laboratory in Toronto in January. She was one of only 12 influencers—and the only Filipino—tapped to be a #MACMaker.
The #MACMaker program was offered to various markets, according to Gay Lao Chen, brand general manager of MAC Cosmetics Philippines, and Mendoza was the top local choice to represent the brand because she’s been a MAC user.
“It was very important for us to have a genuine partnership, and to have someone who is a real
MAC lover, and Maine was a MAC girl even before we approached her,” said Chen. “She was really a MAC Girl from the very beginning.”
The actress-comedian, 23, who had a quick and phenomenal rise in showbiz in 2015, had been sort of an (unpaid) endorser long before she was tapped for #MACMaker.
The pillow-lipped beauty was the unofficial face here of MAC’s Ruby Woo, a vivid red matte lipstick. The shade quickly sold out when her legion of fans learned it was the lipstick she always wore on TV.
“I was always associated with Ruby Woo during my early days in show business,” Mendoza said. “It was because I wore that lipstick to work every day for months. It remains one of my favorites—I mean, red lipstick is a beauty bag staple.
Opportunity
“It was fun! I have never done anything like this in my life, and I never imagined that I’d be given an opportunity as big as this—witnessing how cosmetics are made, creating your own lipstick from scratch,” Mendoza told Lifestyle, via e-mail, of her experience creating the #MaineForMAC lippie at the MAC Cosmetics and Estée Lauder manufacturing facility in Canada.
She said it was a challenge creating the perfect shade for her limited-edition lipstick. “It was trial and error,” she explained. “Even as I already had in mind what shade I wanted, there were just so many things to experiment on to get the right shade. It was hard, to be honest, but definitely worth it.”
She even got the privilege to name the shade, though she declined to name it exactly, so as not to spoil the launch on Sept. 21 via Lazada, Sept. 22 at SM Megamall, and Sept. 23 at all MAC counters.
“It’s actually a no-brainer,” she said. But she gave a clue: “Well, I have always been the nude matte lippie kind of girl. Enough said, I guess?”
She mentioned MAC’s popular nude lippies. “I really love Spirit, Taupe, Velvet Teddy, Faux. I love that I can wear them any day, regardless of the occasion.”
It’s likely she chose a shade that would appeal even to colorshy Filipinas—a universal, alloccasion hue, not one in her signature red. ( MAC Cosmetics Philippines also teased as much in its Instagram Stories.)
“Makeup has always fascinated me,” Mendoza said. “For the most part, I wear makeup because I belong in an industry where it is essential. I see makeup as a form of art. Just as you can express yourself through the clothes you wear, you can also do the same with cosmetics. It’s one thing to be made up for shoots and editorials, and another when you’re doing your own and for yourself.”
Mendoza stressed the importance of skincare. “Take really good care of your skin. Cleanse daily, tone, moisturize, and exfoliate. Skincare is essential. Makeup always looks much better when your natural skin is well taken care of. Oh, and don’t ever forget the sunblock!”
Chen said the #MaineForMAC lippie will be limited to 20,000 units, at P1,100 each. To check hoarders, resellers and rabid fans, the number of purchases per customer will be limited.