Before GPS’s “LoVe London Showcase” last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Stev Chong, one of MAC’s Special Events Artists and the one and only MAC makeup artist who was with the GPS team during their fashion shoot in London a few weeks ago. Stev is the man responsible for coming up with the look for the 40 models (20 male + 20 female) at the “LoVe London Showcase”.
How would you describe the look for the “LoVe London” Showcase?
The look isn’t too creative, it is more of a beauty look to match the clothes.
How much planning went into coming up with the look?
It took (just) a few weeks. I already knew what the clothes looked like as I was the makeup artist for their London shoot so it wasn’t too difficult coming up with a look to match the clothes.
What is your schedule like for a runway show?
We start at 3pm. 4 models come in every 40 minutes, we have a team of 5 makeup artists including myself.
How different is the makeup for the London fashion shoot from the runway look?
For the London campaign, there were 3 different looks. For the runway show, there is one standard look. For the outdoor fashion shoot, we have to take into account the weather, it was in sunlight and windy. For runway, the look is stronger because of the yellow light and it is a more dramatic look.
What was your London experience like?
The London trip was very interesting as we went to different locations such as the London Tower Bridge and that was exciting. The outfits are nice and they were a perfect foil against the background view. The challenge was that the weather was too cold but it was fun to work with allan Chan, Larry Yee the Creative Director and H. Lin Ho the photographer, all of whom are true professionals so the results (of the shoot) were perfect. Things went smoothly even with the challenges and the campaign was able to meet the deadline.
How do you ensure that the models look fresh and remain that way until the end of the show?
We do a final touch-up before they go on stage.
Which of the 4 Spring/Summer 2012 Trends does this look reflect?
This is a Gothic look with Neon/Nouv-eau elements.
What are the key products used to create the look for the “LoVe London” Showcase?
For the eyes, we used the Paint Pot as base and Crush Metal Pigments from the Vera Collection applied over the Shop MAC Cook MAC Colour Added quad. We’ve also added glitter on the lids and liner is Pearlglide Intense Pencil in Petrol Blue. False lashes are Lash 7 and we tone down brows with 204 brush and concealer so that we can bring out the eye shadow colour.
For cheeks, we used Très Cheek in Full Of Joy, the palest pink shade for a cute look, it’s also a good shade for highlighting.
For face base, we used Studio Moisture Fix but skin can’t have too much moisture otherwise foundation may oxidise.
For lips, we used Lipmix which is a PRO product.
