Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Art Is Coming to Your Makeup Bag With M·A·C’s Latest Collection
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: MAC Cosmetics
M·A·C Cosmetics is dipping into the art world for its latest limited-edition collection, celebrating the work and creative legacy of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Created in collaboration with the Basquiat Estate and the artist’s family, the collection translates Basquiat’s unmistakable visual language into lipstick, eye paint, face chalk, brushes, and accessories. And yes, his famous crown makes an appearance.
The collaboration feels particularly fitting for M·A·C, a beauty brand that has spent decades treating makeup less like a finishing touch and more like an artistic medium. Basquiat approached art with a similarly experimental spirit, mixing words, symbols, color, texture, and seemingly ordinary imagery into work that became instantly recognizable.
“Basquiat took ordinary things and put his spin on them, and that’s very similar to what we do here at MAC,” M·A·C Global Creative Director Nicola Formichetti said of the collaboration, describing the collection as a “love letter” to Basquiat and his work.
Rather than simply placing Basquiat artwork on existing products and calling it a day, M·A·C developed new formulas specifically for the collection. The Oil Effect Eye Paint, priced at $30, gives the eyes a glossy, paint-like finish that can be blended and layered, essentially turning the eyelid into a miniature canvas.
There’s also the Pastel Painting Eye + Face Chalk, another $30 multipurpose product inspired by artists’ pastels. Its buildable formula can be used across the eyes and face, encouraging the kind of experimentation that sits at the heart of the collaboration.
Lipstick lovers haven’t been forgotten. M·A·C’s signature lipstick bullet gets the Basquiat treatment with a crown adorning its cap, referencing one of the artist’s most recognizable motifs. The MACximal Silky Matte Basquiat Lipstick arrives in two exclusive shades: Ruby Woo-ster, a brighter interpretation of M·A·C’s cult-favorite Ruby Woo, and Bowery Brown, a New York-inspired brown.
The Bowery reference is especially appropriate as Basquiat’s story is inseparable from downtown Manhattan, where he emerged from New York’s late-’70s and early-’80s art scene before becoming one of the most important artists of his generation. The collection also includes a professional-inspired Basquiat Artist Brush Set and the Famous Bag, a $50 case designed to carry your artistic essentials. Consider it a very chic paint box.
The more interesting part of this collaboration, however, is its emphasis on making something. “Our goal wasn’t simply to celebrate his artwork, but to honor his creative spirit,” Formichetti explained. “Every product is designed to capture that fearless energy and invite people to create something that’s uniquely their own.”
The beauty launch also arrives during another cultural moment for the artist. A new Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary is expected to premiere on Netflix later this year after its Tribeca Film Festival debut, which took place in June.
More than three decades after his death, Basquiat’s influence continues to move far beyond gallery walls. His imagery has appeared throughout fashion, music, design, and popular culture, while his work remains intimately connected to the creative mythology of New York City.
Now, it has found its way to the beauty counter.