I think it’s pretty safe to say MAC Cosmetics is like the village bicycle, pretty much everyone has had a collaboration with the beauty giant at one time at another. Brands, designers, musicians, movies, cartoons, toys, superheroes—there’s really not a facet of the beauty industry they aren’t afraid to dive into. And while we fondly remember the Hello Kitty collaboration or the RiRi Loves Mac collection (that’s still sitting in our vanity drawers somewhere), we have to admit they seem to be stepping up their designer game. Their latest pairing is with couture-darling Giambattista Valli, with whom they’ve already designed a five-piece line of flower-inspired lip colors—and the collection isn’t even due out until summer of next year. Yes, we have to wait at least another six months until those plushy pinks, soft mandarins and sultry reds can be ours—it’s almost cruel to announce it so early.
The designer admits he was hesitant to begin a collaboration with anyone, and with next year marking ten years at the helm of his own brand, he’s used to taking control of a collection’s direction. “For a creative person, collaborating can be frustrating because you feel that you’re limited or stuck within someone else’s ideas, but with MAC it was 100 percent freedom and 100 percent support just to make my idea become a reality, to pull out my flowers and my sense and my emotion and put it into the color,” Vailli told Vogue. Known for his feminine touches and floral inspiration, the designer wants to create a line of cosmetics that can not only work for any skin tone and occasion, but that can be transformative all on their own. “The best thing about makeup is that a lipstick can really change your look. If you never wear color on your lips and then one day you wear red, everyone just goes ‘wow!’” Valli adds. “I made these for a woman with personality, a woman who lives her life and isn’t afraid to wear color and isn’t afraid to kiss!” While the collection isn't available until next summer, you can pre-order the lipsticks at MAC locations today and you'll be puckering up in no time.
