Shimmery baby blue eyeshadow is back. Before you chalk this up to yet another beauty brand hoping to jump onto the Y2K bandwagon, it’s worth noting that British designer and print extraordinaire Richard Quinn is the mastermind behind said eyeshadow, as part of his new collaboration with MAC Cosmetics. In fact, it has little to do with TikTok’s current obsession with all things noughties nostalgia and is, instead, a way to channel Quinn’s dopamine-inducing designs into another creative outlet.
‘The obvious choice for us was to go really bold, but we wanted to do it in a softer, more beautiful way. We tried to show in the new collection that you can do a statement eye but it has that frosted look in a modern way,’ Quinn told ELLE UK over a video call. ‘It’s tailored to each person’s skin tone and has that porcelain texture. With that eye, it gives a doll-like kind of beauty, which we liked.’
The collection he’s referring to is his recent AW23 outing, which saw Quinn transform Edgware Road's Seymour Leisure Centre into a Frances Hodgson Burnett-inspired secret garden where models promenaded in looks that married bridalwear with BDSM, plus the designer's signature flower prints.
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Meanwhile on make-up, revered make-up artist Terry Barber created floral botanical eyes in a rounded, 1920s shape. Barber also sought inspiration from Christina Ricci’s character in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, which led to the hazy, haunting 'poisoned pastel' looks seen on the runway. Naturally, the MAC x Richard Quinn 'Quinning' eyeshadow palette made its debut here.
‘Bold’, ‘pastel’, and ‘unexpected’, is how Quinn describes his first collection for the fashion week favourite make-up brand. Apt, considering the colour-ways within the range are a technicolour departure from previous, more muted, MAC collabs.
Here, you’ll find sorbet shades of mint, buttercream, lavender and ‘granny’ blue in pigmented formulas with a delicate, shimmery finish; a modern frost that promises to light up every skin tone. There are also four pastel eyeliners and four lipsticks in brand new MAC x Richard Quinn colours including playful tones of bubblegum, salmon, fuchsia and magenta, perfect for spring time.
ELLE Edit: MAC x Richard Quinn Collection
MAC x Richard Quinn Extra Dimension Skinfinish Limited Edition Highlighter
This isn’t Quinn’s first foray into beauty. Back in 2018, the royally-endorsed designer collaborated with ELLE UK to design an exclusive advent calendar dressed in one of his signature prints.
That same level of artistry is brought into the MAC collection, with the packaging and boxes all done up in Richard Quinn. ‘We selected my favourite prints from previous collections. We wanted something graphic, hence the polka dots and an embroidery print which was a riff on the Pearly Kings & Queens collection,’ says Quinn, who’s worked with MAC since his first LFW outing. ‘It’s authentic for us to collaborate with a brand that’s really inclusive and is an icon in the industry’.
As we lean into make-up maximalism once again, it's perfect timing for Quinn's more-is-more collection to drop. He agrees, noting that the range was partially influenced by the energy of queer and drag culture. ‘We designed clashing colours, it’s the feeling of being unafraid. Let's do clashing prints, let's do print inside. Let's do pastels. Let's do things you don't need to go together,’ he muses.
MAC x Richard Quinn is available now
Medina Azaldin is the beauty editor of ELLE and Harper's Bazaar UK, working across print and digital features. She has more than seven years journalism experience and has previously written for Red and Good Hoousekeeping. When she's not demystifying the latest skincare ingredient, sniffing out the next big perfume trend or uncovering the science behind wellness practices, you'll most likely find her in Hatchards Piccadilly or watching a crime series with her cats. Oh, and she's a competitive cheerleader, too.
