People want make up products that multitask: MAC's Romero Jennings

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Over the past five decades, New York-based Romero Jennings has seen the way people consume and view make up. He moved to New York from Jamaica at the age of 6.

When he joined cosmetic company MAC as a make-up artist in the 1990s, he let his past and current heritage shape his aesthetic. Today, Jennings is the director of make-up artistry at MAC. In an interview with Lounge, Jennings talks about the changes in the industry, the trends and why diversity cannot be ignored today in the make-up industry.

Edited excerpts: To perform! They want the product to wash the dishes, sweep the floors, vacuum, and take care of the baby (laughs), consumers want the product to do everything, they have to perform. This is also why we reformulate certain classics too. They also want products with good-for-you ingredients.

They no longer just want coverage, but also hydration, plumping and protection. All genders want products that overachieve. A lot of this stems from K-beauty, they sort of set standards and now the entire world is looking at them.

It’s important to evolve and innovate. It was exciting. It was a time when glowy, glossy skin was not the norm.

It was about being matte. If you looked matte, it meant that you had elevated status, because you weren't shiny, and you weren't working. It's different today.

Many brands didn’t have the shade range (for base or other makeup like lipsticks) like MAC, like the Ruby Woo was and is iconic. It's as relevant now as it was then, that's because we created a shade that had a pigment load that could work for light, medium or deep skin. Because of that, we had different consumers and continue to have diversity.