Mario Testino doesn’t really need an introduction but if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few decades then here’s a little bit about him.
Mario Testino is a critically acclaimed fashion photographer. He has taken world renowned photographs such as the iconic portraits of Princess Diana, which then led to many other royal portraits. He has worked with the world’s most successful fashion magazines and his list of celebrities he has photographed is endless. He has been praised by many for his skills at capturing prolific and timeless photographs.
Basically, Mr Testino is a key influential player in the world of fashion and beauty. Therefore any brand that is backed or endorsed by Mario Testino is not only lucky but guaranteed to be acknowledged and considered note-worthy. So when we heard that the beauty brand 3INA (Pronounced Mina), whom Mr Testino is a brand guardian for, was launching its fourth global store in Melbourne this week, our beauty ears pricked up.
3INA is the new beauty brand that everyone is talking about. It was featured in Vogue in the first week after its launch and ranked fourth out of 150 top lipsticks in stylist, which is a pretty huge achievement for a newcomer in the industry. After opening its first store in London’s iconic Covent Garden in February this year, influential beauty bloggers are among those who have flocked to the flagship store.
The brand boasts 18 different foundation shades, making it one of the only beauty brands with the largest range of foundation colours. There are a whopping 90 nail colours to choose from, that’s enough to make our beauty heads spin. Their best seller is their pen eyeliner which has flown off the shelf for its unique brush, according to the founders Pablo Rivera and Mark Eve this particular product took the longest to make because they were determined to get the exact product they wanted; an eyeliner that was easy to apply, didn’t smudge, crack or fade. It was clearly worth the wait as the eyeliner pen glides on your eyelid like silk and lasts all day.
All of the products are 100% cruelty free absolutely with no animal testing, which is better than some big beauty brands which sadly do not follow this ethos. The high quality makeup allows you to create high fashion looks at an affordable price point.
There is a range of bold and daring colours from blue lipsticks to yellow eyeshadows. It caters for people who like the classic ‘wedding’ makeup look with lots of smokey and beige hues to the wild out there makeup lovers who like to create unique and daring new looks.
3INA want to encourage women to be bold and brave and hope that their varied beauty range will inspire women to do this. One of their slogans is ‘beauty without expression is boring’ which is an empowering message to women to be adventurous with their makeup.
Anyone who has seen the work of Mario Testino will know that he creates jaw-droppingly beautiful pictures, so if he’s behind this brand then so are we!
Mario Testino recently opened his first exhibition in Denmark, Copenhagen, named ‘Mario Testino: No limits’. The exhibition features 55 portrait pieces which unleashes the visitors into his rich and diverse world. Testino will never be pigeon-holed as a photographer as he is always breaking boundaries.
