Makeover Time! A PV Girl gets her Miss Universe makeover from MAC
Photography by Sam Gonzales
We’re only a few days away from the year’s first big event, and we’ve got the scoop on all things Miss Universe! With the pageant scheduled for January 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena, tons of preparations are being made for the official tours, live telecasts, security protocols, and traffic schemes. As beauty girls, what we’ve most been excited about is finding out that the official makeup partner is MAC Cosmetics!
Photo courtesy of MAC Cosmetics Philippines
Sparing no expense, the official team of makeup artists for the contestants will include big names like Al De Leon, Anacleta Paredes, Angel Manhilot, Apple Fara-on, Byron Velasquez, Don De Jesus, Emer Buenaventura, Emman Concepcion, Gela Laurel, Gery Penaso, Jaycee Matias, Kusie Ho, Leah Casio, Mikee Raymundo, Omar Ermita, Pong Niu, Raf Bardon, RB Chanco, Ria Aquino, and Ryan Wong. They will be in charge of keeping the girls gorgeous all throughout their stay, and of course, on pageant night as well.
For the judges, hosts, VIPs, and current Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, a separate special MAC team will be handling their looks as well. And that’s not all - MAC has also put together another team for the Special Events, which include makeup artists Renen Bautista, Pia Reyes, Bea Colet, Alex Lisbona, Jorence Delimos, Cielo Desamperado, Erin Cabrera, Mhike Gonzales, and Jaja Pangilinan.
Photo courtesy of MAC Cosmetics Philippines
Not only will the contestants be handled by some of the most talented artists in the country, but each is going to receive a special treat: a Miss Universe MAC Cosmetics Kit which includes a primer, skincare, foundation, powder, contour, highlight, eyebrows, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lashes, blush, and lipstick - everything she will need to slay her makeup game at all times.
MAC has also lined up something very special in honor of the 2016 Miss Universe Pageant. A #MACLipsLipsLips pop-up store will be at the Main Atrium of the SM Mall of Asia from January 18 to February 2, 2017. The famous Viva Glam lipsticks will be sold there, and each lippie purchase will go towards the MAC Viva Glam Campaign, a cause that helps in the research and battle against HIV/AIDS.
Now, a Miss Universe candidate can probably claim #wokeuplikethis and truly work it, but looking their absolute stunning best for pageant night requires both skill and the right products. Pageant makeup is a different ballgame; we just had to know how they do it, in the hopes of picking up a valuable tip or two! Lucky for us, we got a chance to get an official MAC x Miss Universe Makeover with makeup artist Jart Mercado!
MAC artists start by prepping and priming using the Prep + Prime range for both the skin and lips. As per PR & Artist Relations Assistant Gaby Azarcon, pageant makeup is all about enhancing the natural beauty of a woman and focusing on key facial features. The winning combo is a bold eye look paired with a nude lip, so MAC strives to give each contestant a classy, daytime beauty look, or as they call it, the “Natural Beauty Queen.”
Jart recommends starting off with your concealer first, and then applying your foundation after. Placing your foundation after your concealer allows your entire base makeup to blend together and look more natural while still giving full coverage.
Once the base is blended and powdered to a T, the artists will then go to the most important part of the face (in this writer’s humble opinion, at least): the eyebrows. And here’s Miss Universe Hack #1: Jart recommends that you use three different shades of brow pencil in order to achieve queenly brows!
Gaby explains, “To achieve a more dimensional brow, using three different shades of eyebrow crayons would be the best kept secret of most beauty queens. A great combination is Fling, Lingering, and Spiked. The lightest shade, Fling, would be the color to use on the inner brow area, while the mid-brow area would be filled in with Lingering, and the tail of the brow will be the darkest shade, Spiked.”
When it comes to eye makeup, contestants who have warm undertones are matched with the Amber Times Nine Palette, while the contestants with the cool undertones are matched with the Dusky Rose Times Nine Palette. The look consists of a smoky eye complete with gel winged liner and fluttery lashes.
Miss Universe Hack #2: To ensure that your eyeshadow and eyeliner stay put, blend in some shadow primer on your bottom lash line! Smoke out the bottom lash line with some brown eyeliner and shadow, then blend a cream highlight or light concealer underneath in order to achieve that glowy smize.
Don’t forget to carve out your cheekbones with some contour powder. Jart says that Miss Universe contestants pack on their blush in order not to look washed out on camera and under those strong stage lights.
Once the smoky eye and flawless base are set, all that’s left for each contestant is their choice of lip color. According to Jart, most contestants opt for a nude lip with just a hint of gloss in the center. Some will rock a bold statement lip like a red or hot pink, but very few choose to do so on nowadays. He lined my lips with cult classic (and pageant favorite) Boldly Bare liner and filled them in with Velvet Teddy lipstick.
Finally, Miss Universe Hack #3: For fuller lips, overline just the edges of your upper and lower lip. Then add gloss at the center of your lips to give a plumper and “juicier” look.
And there you have it! This is the MAC x Miss Universe makeup look that the contestants will be wearing on pageant night, and it made me feel every inch like a beauty queen! There’s a such fresh quality to how the products come together, and it looks well-balanced both on-cam and off. The transformation just took 45 minutes but it creates an incredible impact. Thank you again to MAC Cosmetics and Jart Mercado for taking time to teach us the ropes on all things Miss Universe!
Did you ever dream of becoming a beauty queen? What do you think about copping this look? Wouldn’t it be perfect for a special daytime event?
