Zac Posen's MAC Makeup May Be the Brand's Most Glam Collab Yet

"What is modern glamour?" It's the question designer Zac Posen asked when creating his debut beauty collection, a color collaboration with MAC Cosmetics. And let me tell you, when we met in LA to chat, he definitely answered it. The limited set of basics (mascara, powder, eyeliner, blush, and brushes) and color (three perfect lipsticks and a to-die-for eye palette) are beauty superstars, or, as Posen put it, "red carpet essentials for every day."

Looking every bit like the charming designer he is in a dapper lavender shirt, purple tie, and burgundy suit adorned with a gold and coral brooch (a gift from his boyfriend, Christopher Niquet), he got really excited about his inspiration for branching into beauty.

"When I think of glamour and I think of Hollywood, it goes back to the 1930s when color and sound came into the picture," he explained. "That I think is a very powerful moment for women globally, because it gave women a voice in a different way and represented them as powerful forces. I'm always about female empowerment and using beauty and glamour to highlight that."

The collection has been a long time in the making. MAC was part of Posen's very first runway show almost 15 years ago, but after many years of saying no to teaming up for a makeup collaboration, Posen finally said yes.

"It was time to tease the world with what our beauty world would look like," he said.

Read on for Posen's thoughts on what makes each element of his MAC collection worthy of that world.

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Lipstick in Darling Clementine, Dangerously Red, and Sheer Madness
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Lipstick in Darling Clementine, Dangerously Red, and Sheer Madness

“We needed our iconic orange-red — that pop — but it’s matte,” he notes of Darling Clementine. “And then a blue-red [Dangerously Red] that can work great on more tan or darker skin types. Sheer Madness is our nude, I wanted the non-lipstick look too 'cause I think that’s quite elegant as well. That has a sheen to it but it’s ultramoisturizing. I wanted to do like the ultimate luxury ChapStick that you can have every day that makes you feel special and can also then be layered on top of the colors to bring sheen. I thought about process.”

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Makeup Brushes
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Makeup Brushes

“I chose this square format because I thought it looked great as an object, but it also gives you the mobility," he explained. "You can really hold it at different angles and ways that control it. They’ve never done such a plush, lush brush before; I pushed them there.”

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Powder Blush Duo
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Powder Blush Duo

“The blush just gives a great Hollywood glow,” he said.

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Eye Z You Palette
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Eye Z You Palette

“A more mysterious eye palette that can work on almost all skin types,” he noted.

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Fluidline Pen
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Fluidline Pen

Said Zac: “From years of being friends with Dita [von Teese], [I created] the ultimate eyeliner pen that you could even just write like a love poem with [laughs]. The poetic side of makeup!”

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Prep + Primer Transparent Finishing Powder
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Prep + Primer Transparent Finishing Powder

“My own experience from doing so much TV and being on Project Runway for the last four years, [inspired] an invisible powder," he offered. "This is really the unisex product here. This is something I think everybody can and should have. It brings down the sheen and it’s HD ready.”

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Zoom Lash Mascara
MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics x Zac Posen Zoom Lash Mascara

"Everybody needs a great mascara; it’s an essential," he said. "I got really into the composition of every product. The mascara is the perfect thing to give elongation, not to clump, how the brush works — it was inside out.”