WHEN Maine Mendoza was in Canada to create her lipstick for MAC Cosmetics, she had an accident after mixing and completing her creation.
“I wasn’t feeling too well and the beaker slipped from my hands. I was so embarrassed,” said Maine, who recovered from what happened through the help of MAC Cosmetics’s friendly and kind Filipino chemists.
“I really am a klutz,” said Maine during the intimate dinner for members of the press, vloggers and influencers hosted by MAC Cosmetics Philippines earlier this week. Being klutzy, aside from her awkwardness, is Maine’s self-confessed trait. Maine is not your traditional star. She became a star by accident, thanks to her perfect comedic timing and self-deprecating humor.
In person, the 23-year-old is more serious and, yes, awkward. It takes her a while to warm up to people but when she does, she is disarming and charming. You will like her even if you are a jaded person used to meeting celebrities. She doesn’t try to be nice because you’re a writer. She is really nice, if a bit shy.
“Ako po si Maine [I am Maine]” was how she introduced herself to everybody meeting her for the first time.
She hugged those she already knew, like Mega Editor in Chief Peewee Reyes Isidro. Peewee had told me previously how humble Maine was, as she had observed while they were shooting the Aldub cover for the magazine in Morocco.
“She was never mayabang [boastful]. She preferred to hang out and eat with the photographer, makeup artist and other members of the group. She was always very quiet and unassuming,” said Peewee.
The MAC Cosmetics collaboration was a surprise to Maine. She was in the US when her manager Rams David informed her about it in December. The collaboration became possible because of RB Chanco, who became the bridge between MAC Cosmetics Philippines and Maine’s management.
“MAC Cosmetics Global asked us to submit a list of names for the #MACMaker collaboration. This is the first time they are having an influencer from Asia. Maine’s name was approved from a list that we had submitted. The problem was that we didn’t know anyone from her management, so it was RB who hooked us up with Rams,” said MAC Cosmetics Philippines General Manager Gay Lao Chen, who admitted that she screamed for joy when David called her to say that Maine has said yes.
“I couldn’t believe that they asked. Sino ba naman ako [who am I]? I’ve been a MAC user even before I entered showbiz. I remember using my ate’s MAC lipstick and getting my first one in the shade Candy Yumyum,” said Maine.
“This is a dream come true for me. I can’t believe my name will be on a MAC lipstick. This is MAC, right? This is every girl’s dream,” she added.
Even before she left for Canada on January 17 with Michael Uycoco from her management and MAC Philippines PR and artist relations executive Nicole Tejano, Maine already knew what she wanted. It wasn’t a red.
“Red and Ruby Woo have always been associated with Yaya Dub. This lipstick is by Maine and I’m not really someone who’ll use red on a daily basis. I wanted something everyone could wear. I wanted to do something that would not intimidate women from wearing lipstick. Ganda lang [something that would make anyone and everyone feel and look beautiful],” said Maine.
Maine relates that on the day that she had to go to the MAC Cosmetics laboratory to create her color, she was surprised to see the other #MACMakers in full makeup and she was suddenly very shy.
“I only had lip and cheek tint on and my hair was pulled back in a ponytail. They were all so beautiful and glamorous. The chemists really made me feel at home. They were fans of Aldub and we talked for a while until I became more relaxed.”
The result of the collaboration is a pinkish-beige that can best be described as a cousin of other MAC lipsticks like Spirit, Brave and Velvet Teddy. It is simple and subdued.
MAC Maine lipstick looks different on different people. On a pale-skinned person, it is mauve-colored. On someone with medium skin tone, it looks beige. Those who have deeper skin tones can apply a dark lip liner on the lips before the lipstick, as Maine suggests. Lip liners that could work with Maine’s lipstick are Soar, Whirl, Boldly Bare and even Plum, depending on your skin tone. The special packaging of the lipstick, which is made up of kiss marks on a mauve-pink background, was Maine’s idea. She actually kissed a white sheet so you’ll notice that the kiss marks are of different sizes.
The texture is MAC’s modern matte formula so it glides on easily and isn’t drying. Those who wear makeup regularly would likely pair it with a strong eye for full impact.
“I have a feeling that I will cry on Saturday [today, September 22] during the launch at SM Megamall. Every time I think of how far I have come and how this collaboration came to be, I’m really overcome by emotion,” said Maine.
The MAC Maker/Maine Mendoza lipstick will be available at SM Megamall today and all MAC stores nationwide tomorrow, September 23. It will be available globally sometime in November via the MAC Cosmetics web site.