Looking Back on 2017, Mehron's 90th Anniversary
30th Dec 2017
As 2017 comes to an end, we look back on the events, launches, trends, and highlights that shaped our 90th year.
Celebrating 90 Years Strong!
Mehron's roots in the beauty industry run deep and wide. The first seeds of the brand were sown 90 years ago when Mehron Melik set up shop in the heart of New York's theatre district. He would send Mehron Ladies to visit actors and dancers backstage to introduce them to Mehron products. Mehron quickly became the exclusive makeup brand among performers and celebrities, such as Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Streisand, Lena Horne, and Mia Farrow. Today, we continue to lead - both in the performance and beauty arenas - because of our commitment to innovation under the helm of Mr. Melik's son Marty, who modernized Mehron's brand, image, formulas, and manufacturing techniques. The Mehron product line now includes 1,200 theatrical, beauty, special FX, face and body paint, clowning, and education products, none of which are tested on animals and many of which are vegan.
Next Face of Mehron Contest
With such a milestone anniversary, we celebrated all year long in a variety of ways. The Next Face of Mehron contest was part of our 90th anniversary celebration. Throughout the decades, our roots, which were firmly planted in stage and screen makeup, have grown to include beauty products MUAs rely on across the globe. The split-face image on our website’s home page incorporates our two worlds - Beauty and Performance. We held the contest to find an artist who could encapsulate these worlds into a new look that embodies the brand. The winner was Yana Kravchenko. Her artistic abilities shone in each of her exceptional submissions - there were eight! The winning X-Ray look stood out the most for its creativity and realism. Yana's effort, excitement, and passion truly personify the Mehron Girl. We also want to thank everyone who participated. Each of you continue to inspire us everyday to create products that allow you to express yourselves artistically and motivate others to do the same.
Product Launches
90 years inspired us to launch 9 new products in 2017:
Celebré Pro HD Correct-It
Celebré Pro-HD Correct-It is a six shade neutralizer palette. The cream formula is perfect for neutralizing and correcting discolorations, sallowness, dark circles, and other imperfections. The shade variations allow for targeted customized correction to even-out any skin tone. A refined oil-free and fragrance-free blend, Correct-It is infused with the nourishing and moisturizing properties of vitamin E , pomegranate and aloe vera. This deluxe palette is sure to become an important staple in your makeup collection
Celebré Pro HD Conceal-It
Celebré Pro-HD Conceal-It delivers satin smooth buildable coverage for every skin type. This versatile cream makeup is perfect for concealing any type of blemish or discoloration. Just like its Correct-It partner, Conceal-It contains no refined oils, is fragrance-free, and infused with vitamin E, pomegranate, and aloe vera. The six concealing shades allow for customized coverage for any skin tone.
Brazen Mascara
All eyes are on Brazen Mascara. It is Bold Without Shame! Mehron's chemists have been working tirelessly to create a mascara to complement the rest of our beauty line. It had to be effortless, have powerful pigment, be long lasting, and produce instant results. Brazen does all that and more! With Brazen you get incredibly defined lashes that make eyes pop with just a few strokes. From root to tip, lashes are coated and extended with beautiful black color. Brazen's feather-light, nylon-infused formula creates gorgeous volume by clinging to the finest of lashes allowing for maximum extension. The flexible bristle brush fans out each individual lash for a smooth, even application.
1927 Liquid Vinyl Makeup
In homage to the House of Mehron, which was established in 1927, we developed 1927 Liquid Vinyl Makeup. Taking the iconic 1920's heavy black eyeliner to today using the latest technologies, Mehron's chemists created a jet black, paintable liquid makeup that delivers a high-shine, vinyl-like finish for intense looks that last. 1927's unique quick-drying, water and smudge resistant formula and two-piece brush allow you to create endless textures and designs - from precise eye-lining detail to elaborate bodypainting creations. The limited edition retro packaging is only available for a short time.
1927 Liquid Vinyl Makeup is:
- Made in the USA from quality ingredients
- Vegan
- Cruelty-Free
- Paraben Free
L.I.P Liner Pencils
Mehron's new L.I.P Liner Pencils give you the effect of a matte lipstick, plus the design flexibility of an artist's pencil. These ultra-smooth, long-lasting liners define, frame, fill and prevent feathering - all while providing our world famous vivid pigments and velvety finish. Specially formulated by Mehron and produced in Italy, L.I.P Liner Pencils glide on effortlessly and offer optimum blendability and a smooth, silky feel that lasts. The color-rich, non-drying formula, which is enriched with Olus Oil, naturally moisturizes lips.
Mehron L.I.P Liner Pencils create lips that look luxurious, feel velvety smooth, and flaunt bold brilliant color!
- Paraben Free
- Cruelty Free
- Water Resistant
- Perfect Size for Precise Application
Professional Beauty Brush Collection
To make your makeup look its best, you need the right brush - and Mehron has it! We are excited to share our brand new Professional Beauty Brush Collection. These super-soft synthetic brushes are the perfect addition to your makeup kit. Whether you are a professional makeup artist or just a makeup maven, this collection has everything you need for flawless application. MUA designed comfort-grip handles allow for precise control, while the cruelty-free synthetic bristles enable makeup to glide on. Now you can blend the way you want. And, the stain-resistant bristles are easy to clean.
There are 9 brushes in the collection - Powder, Foundation, Contour, Concealer, Blending, Shadow, Liner, Bullet, and Lip.
Mehron RIKI Portable Vanity Mirror
Good lighting is everything when applying makeup. So we are super excited to introduce our RIKI™ Vanity Mirror made by Glamcor. The RIKI is the only lightweight, Bluetooth capable, rechargeable, and completely portable lighted mirror of its kind. Designed with the latest technology, this LED mirror has five stages of dimming to give you full brightness control for any situation or environment. And it comes with innovative attachments that further enhance makeup application. The attachable magnetic 3X MAGNIFYING MIRROR enables you to get up close and personal for the most effective makeup details. A magnetic PHONE CLIP easily mounts right onto the mirror and works perfectly with the integrated BLUETOOTH SELFIE FUNCTION. Your makeup, selfies and videos never looked so good!
The @Dehsonae Collection
Mehron collaborated with Dehsarae Mahrae to bring you a combination of products with which you can create countless face painted looks. The colors and textures comprise the perfect foundation for a multitude of costume ideas and artistic creations year round. The @Dehsonae Collection by Dehsarae Mahrae includes:
- Paradise Makeup AQ 8 Color Palette - Basic
- Mehron Clown White Lite
- Paradise Makeup AQ Glitter in Cabernet
- Mehron Colorset Powder
Mardi Gras Makeup Kit
The deluxe Mardi Gras Makeup Kit contains everything you need to create your look - even the beads! Just follow the 6 simple steps to create the perfect masquerade makeup look. This comprehensive kit includes:
- Mehron's 6-Color Paradise Makeup AQ Palette
- Barrier Spray
- Gold GlitterMark
- Two Great Brushes
- Two Mardi Gras Eye Stencils
- L.I.P Cream
- Two Beaded Party Necklaces
- Makeup Remover Towelettes
- Easy Step-by-Step Pictorial Instructions
Special Collaborations
2017 saw Mehron collaborate with some incredible artists. We once again paired up with Jordan Hanz and Alex Faction for our Valentine Challenge. This year's theme look "Death Do Us Part" was created by the dynamic duo using Paradise Makeup AQ, PRISMA, and our limited edition Cupid's Crush beauty collection.
Jordan and Alex selected TWO winners: one beauty and one performance. They reviewed thousands of MehronValentine hashtags with a focus on concept originality, eye catching design, and detail. You Mehron Boys and Girls didn't make it easy for them! The Best Valentine Beauty Makeup Look winner was @pigeon_pie_art and Best Valentine Performance Makeup Look winner was @samshineart.
Hail Halloween - the season for special effects and makeup enthusiasts. To jump start your creative juices flowing for this spookiest of eves, the Mehron team collaborated with some incredible artists - Jordan Hanz, Argenis Pinal aka @argenapeede, Karolina Maria aka @karolinagriciute, Nadine Mayerhofer, Dehsarae Mahrae aka @Dehsonae, Kat Sketch and Emma Pickles. They created to die for looks using Mehron Makeup, along with how-to videos. Here are a few samples:
Jordan Hanz
Argenis Pinal
Dehsarae Mahrae
Nadine Mayerhofer
Kat Sketch
Karolina Maria
Emma Pickles
This year's #31DaysofMehronHalloween Instagram contest inspired some of the most incredible creativity we have seen to date! We were blown away by the thousands upon thousands of submissions. The variety of looks created with Mehron products never ceased to amaze us. The Grand Champion was Rigoberto Yepiz aka @ry_fx, who won for his scarecrow. Rigoberto is a 28-year-old makeup and special effects artist from Tucson, Arizona. His submission was inspired by a desire to create an evil and creepy version of a classic scarecrow. The idea was to represent a different side of this traditional character. Rigoberto's look evokes the most evil man in town who people are afraid of because he is coming for their brains. It is hard to believe this makeup was done by someone who has only been practicing this art form for a year.
We also shared some Halloween makeup how-to tips with outlets including Life & Style and She Finds.
We ended our 90th Anniversary celebration with a giveaway. We teamed up with GLAMCOR, the maker of the Mehron RIKI Mirror, to show our gratitude for your endless Mehron love and support over the years. 8 winners received Mehron products valued at over $400, including the Mehron RIKI mirror.
Fabulous Blog Features
You, the artists, continually inspire us. We want to spread that inspiration. So, we frequently featured art that moves us. Some of this year's blog features included:
Lip Art by Karla Powell
Lip Art Leading Ladies Series. When you talk about lip art, there are a few amazing artists that come to mind. In fact, four of them were highlighted in Cosmopolitan's Look-at-Me Lips feature: Vlada Haggerty, Johannah Adams, Ryan Kelly, and Karla Powell. We are so inspired by these artists that we decided to do a Lip Art Leading Ladies series. The idea behind the concept was to get a glimpse into what is involved in creating these works of art - the length of the creation process, how so much detail is put into one lip, inspiration, and more.
Mehron Figures. A series from photographer Francisco Estevez, titled Mehron Figures, exquisitely captures the graceful poses of dancers bathed in hues of Metallic Powder. Estevez was looking for a fresh idea to bring together the arts of dance and photography. The idea for the Mehron Figures series was born as he was watching one of the X-Men movies. The blue body-painted character Mystique spurred the idea of dancers in full body paint. Mehron's Metallic Powders were chosen as the medium to bring Estevez's idea to life by trial and error.
"As I started to research paints, the metallic powders really added a surrealistic statuesque element to movement that I thought would be great for dancers," said Estevez. He did his research and tried a few brands, and chose Mehron's Metallic Powders. "Mehron had the best metallic powder that I found," he said. "I love the finish and the brilliance is really great. The colors are rich and show up nicely on camera. I also love how the Mixing Liquid made it so easy to put on, dried quickly, and kept it fixed on the skin."
@makeupbykelfey. We LOVE scrolling through social media and seeing all the amazing art created with Mehron products. The constant creativity astounds us. This year we became aware of an artist who goes by @makeupbykelfey aka Kelsey. Her incredible bodyart definitely caught our eye. We caught up with Kelsey to learn more about this artist and what inspires her creativity.
Valentine Queen Daryna Barykina. In the hands of most, our holiday Cupid's Crush collection would be used to create bold or flirty beauty looks. After all, this limited time collection contained L.I.P Cream in red and pink hues, Precious Gem Powder in Garnet, Red Paradise AQ Glitter, and E.Y.E Lashes - the perfect makeup for a romantic evening or a fun night out with friends. When MUA Daryna Barykina got her hands on the collection, however, a totally different idea of what to do with the contents popped into her head. She envisioned a Queen of Hearts - followed by a Queen of Diamonds ... and a Queen of Clubs ... and a Queen of Spades.
A Mother's Day Tribute to a #MehronMom. In celebration of Mother's Day, we shared an amazing story about an inspirational mother-daughter duo who make the world a little brighter. Dehsarae and Kayah, otherwise known as @Dehsonae, started an Instagram page and YouTube channel to post everything they do in life, including makeup tutorials, mother-daughter bonding, and life hacks. We have always found their loving interaction and creative looks emotion evoking and inspiring - as we are sure so do their hundreds of thousands of followers. Their sheer love for one another and what they do together shines through in every adorable photograph and video.
Randastic Art - Makeup to Raise Awareness. We are moved by a young artist who is making change through makeup. Rand Jarallah is an advocate for women and children. She creates powerful imagery through makeup to spread awareness of human rights issues. Serving in the United Nations Population Fund, Rand worked on a series of campaigns and videos, titled Reversing the Trend and #7DaysofMakeup. Her work on the series was featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Marie Claire, Vogue Arabia and Elle France. Growing up in occupied Palestine, access to quality makeup and tools was limited, but that didn’t stop Rand from experimenting. She went on to create her own human rights platform called Randistic. It is a series of photos, tutorials, and videos inspired by a Fight Club Halloween tutorial. She mimicked the video by painting bruises all over her face. The photo and message went viral, so she decided to keep doing similar projects with looks that explore pressing global crises. When we learned Rand uses Mehron to create some of her avant garde looks, we just had to learn more about this fascinating artist.
Movie Madness. 2017 saw the release of some much anticipated movies - and makeup by those who couldn't wait to see them. As we scrolled through social media, we were captured by the character makeup created with Mehron products in tribute to Beauty and the Beast . . .
Wonder Woman ...
New York Fashion Week
When Dick Page is keying a look, you know it is going to be incredible. The makeup legend, who is a backstage fixture at New York Fashion Week, has painted the faces of countless supermodels and A-list celebrities. When we found out he would be keying the Linder SS'18 show, which Mehron was sponsoring, it was like a dream come true! We couldn't wait to see what this amazing artist had planned to complement the edgy, skin-baring designs that comprised Linder's latest collection. What Page created was bold, but natural - the perfect makeup pairing for all the pieces.
Mehron ended New York Fashion Week with a bang at the Luar Spring '18 show. Designer Raul Lopez debuted his first full women's ready to wear collection. And, wow! Those models looked like lady bosses! As Vogue's Brooke Bobb said, he carried "over his cheeky, deconstructed office-wear vibes from his main men's offering." Lopez's focus for the collection was on women who are in touch with their hypermasculine side, who are on a power trip. The pieces definitely had that feel - as did the makeup to complement them, which was keyed by Raul Otero using Mehron products. Otero's strong, fearless eyes with attention-grabbing lines spoke volumes.
Top Trends
In true Mehron fashion, we also focused on education. We shared how-to's on the latest trends, such as layered liner, metallic brows, graphic eyeliner, copper eye makeup, lived-in liner, eye-popping eye makeup, and embracing orange. Our show seminars enlightened attendees. Wendy William's MUA Merrell Hollis shared his secrets for flawless skin, Bethany Townes taught our Correct-It and Conceal-It: The Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face seminar, and Megan Hill Luman demonstrated in-depth Techniques for Classic and Timeless Bridal Makeup.
The Best in Body Painting
The 20th World Bodypainting Festival
This year the World Bodypainting Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary. The international event was a colorful potpourri of captivating body art. As in past years, the festival drew in crowds from across the globe. Artists from 54 different countries competed for world titles. Nicole Aspradakis, who was sponsored by Mehron UK, won 6th Place in the Brush and Sponge category.
Mehron Makeup sponsored Jinny's Cirque Style Facepainting seminar. Jinny has been the artistically creative influence behind such Cirque du Soleil productions as Love, Delirium, Corteo, Oveo, and Totem. Drawing from this experience, she guided each student in creating their own masterpiece using the face, neck, and shoulders. Students learned how to blend, select the best color combinations, highlight and shadow, and create different expressions to match the concept.
From the classroom to the runway - Mehron Makeup also sponsored the Odd Territory Fashion Show "Into Pieces Collection" from the Dutch latex clothing designer Kim Leeftink. Four Mehron MUAs - Monique Lily, Chris Meerburg, Diane van der Kooij, and Natascha - created the looks for the models using all Mehron products.
The Porcelain Body Art Fashion Show was another main festival event. Mehron Makeup sponsored two of the show's artists - Karen Yiu from Hong Kong and Raphaella Fieldhouse from Wales. They, along with Mehron's Monique Lily and Daniela Seiner, painted the models for the show.
FABAIC
Face and body artists from across the globe gathered in Orlando, Florida for the 15th annual Face and Body Art International Convention (FABAIC). Each year the event brings together those passionate about the art form so they can share their talents and grow even further artistically by connecting with the best teachers and artists. The convention oozed energy from the minute you walked through the door to the final gala banquet. We were excited to play a part in FABAIC 2017 with artists Jinny and Mark Reid. Jinny taught an intensive six-hour Creative Artistry workshop, intensive Animal Markings workshop, Floral Design class, and a Kick Ass Designs class. She also kept busy with the hams.
Convention-goers got to see Mark Reid in action. He demonstrated his famous painted jeans technique at the Mehron booth and kept things going after hours at the jams.
FABAIC is not just for adults. There are also classes for children - which we were happy to sponsor. It is so incredible to watch these young artists so passionate about the art form.
