World-leading trendsetting M·A·C Cosmetics meets the visionary artistry of Dubai based, French-Tunisian street artist and sculptor eL Seed. The collection launches exclusively in the Middle East before dropping to the rest of the world.

M·A·C continues to celebrate artistry through its culture of collaborating with visionaries who ignite trends and inform the zeitgeist. M·A·C gave eL Seed complete freedom to create this exclusive collection. eL Seed’s inspiration comes directly from the streets, the same place where new trends and colour palettes are born: “I draw my inspiration directly from the streets and from the communities in each location I’m painting. The calligraphy I paint are words infused with profound meaning. Their universal messages cross cultures to inspire and reinvigorate neighbourhoods.’’

With this new make-up collection, el Seed hopes to inspire trendsetters and individualists not only to unleash their own inner creativity but, like eL Seed himself, to use beauty and colour to change their perception, by painting their world. “Like art, make-up can change one’s perception,” said eL Seed.

Growing up in the Parisian suburbs, hip hop culture and graffiti were his means of self-expression. Fusing soulful Arabic calligraphy with bold graffiti led to creating a new visual language. From Paris, to New York and Dubai, eL Seed’s work invites us to examine physical appearance, self-perception and calls for open-mindedness and social unity. eL Seed condensed these inspirations into a unique make up collection grounded in his signature colours of high-octane pink and black. “eL Seed’s extraordinary Arabic calligraphy art is rooted in these high-contrast shades so we couldn’t have had a more inspiring palette to work with,” says M·A·C Senior Artist Mariam Khairallah, who was instrumental in the co-creation process with the artist to translate his unique colour palette into richly pigmented fashion-forward makeup hues.

While pink, black, orange, blue, and black were his starting point colours, the versatile palette also consists of deeply wearable neutrals. “Whether your look is monochromatic or ultra-colourful, matte or metallic, the artist in you decides.” says Khairallah.

While this intensely personal collection bears eL Seed’s art, he also shares his soul. His wife inspired Dima’s Glow, the Extra Dimension Skinfinish. The eyeshadow colour Gabriela is a homage to Brazilian poet Gabriela Torres Barbosa, whose work inspired eL Seed’s vivid pink calligraphy in a previous work in a favela in Brazil. The lipstick Maya was named after his daughter, while the lipstick ‘Declaring Love’ is a reference to a sculpture that you can find behind the Opera of Dubai.

M·A·C x EL SEED is the embodiment of makeup artistry meeting street artistry to create on-trend makeup that leads to creativity and self-expression. The collection features four Lipsticks, in hues ranging from fuchsia to warm cinnamon; a Cheek & Eye Palette, one calligraphy-debossed Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighter and as fitting for a renowned artist, his collection includes a four piece make up brush set. All packaging showcases eL Seed’s signature vibrant pink, emblazoned with calligraphy based on a quote from Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero: “The face is a picture of the
mind with the eyes as its interpreter.”