These two things have nothing to do with each other. At all. So, when I saw this post on MAC and Rodarte, I had to wonder what the writer was thinking. (*Okay, it's apparent in the article what she's thinking, but, I still think she's blowing this up.)

Here's my opinion, and of course, only MY opinion. Naming products is a tricky game, I would think. It has to be witty, descriptive and sometimes provocative, but still representative of the product. Collaborations with outside artists/people can be even trickier, as you have to include their "vision", too. I hear that the collection was inspired by Mexico's colors/locations/culture/etc. One of the "places" was Juarez - of which they named the nailpolish.

Now, Juarez is known for it's violence - that is no secret, what with the movies, books, numerous news articles, etc that can tell you all about how it earned it's nickname of "the most dangerous place in the world". However, it also happens to just be a city in Mexico, nothing more than that in this instance. Sure, it may be an unfortunate name if you look into the history of the City, but if you take it at face value, it fits into the theme of the collection.

Do I agree with violence towards women (*or hell, anyone for that matter)? Of course not. Do I think that MAC does? Hell no. I also don't think they were deliberately trying to bring attention to, and raise awareness of, the murdering of women problem in that town, either. MAC isn't the only company to name something after somewhere with a violent history. Take for example Bond No. 9 - they have a fragrance called "Little Italy". Do you think they named it that because Little Italy, Manhattan is known for it's Mafia connections? No, that's dumb - they named it that because Little Italy is a part of NYC, which is what their collection is about. Just like this nailpolish is to the MAC/Rodarte collection based around Mexico - a name that ties together. Nothing more, nothing less.

But, if you are moved to help the murdered women's families, and efforts, in and around the Juarez area, contact Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez to see how you assist down there. I will also remind you that while (*I don't believe they do) MAC doesn't assist directly to this cause, they DO continue to help people worldwide affected by HIV/AIDS via their MAC AIDS Fund.

*UPDATE*:MAC and Rodarte have both issued official statements that Christine from Temptalia.com has posted and I will repost here:

Temptalia has reached out to MAC for comment on the collaboration with Rodarte, and if and when we receive more information, we will be certain to share with you. We received official statements from MAC and Rodarte @ 11AM (pst), which we share below:

STATEMENT FROM M·A·C COSMETICS ON THE M·A·C RODARTE COLLECTION
We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. M·A·C will give a portion of the proceeds from the M·A·C Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.

STATEMENT FROM RODARTE ON THE M·A·C AND RODARTE COLLECTION
Our makeup collaboration with M·A·C developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The M·A·C collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled.

Bond No. 9's motto is "Making Scents of New York", and boy do they ever. All of their 40+ fragrances are all named after something/someplace in New York.

This fall, they will be adding two new scents to their "neighborhood" of fragrances: "Cooper Square" and "Washington Square".

I don't really have any info on what the scents smell like, or their "notes", but we all know I don't really know much about those anyway, right? So, I'll just say that the bottles look pretty cool - esp the "Washington Square" one with the arch on it.

"Cooper Square" launches September 1st, 2010 and "Washington Square" launches November 1st, 2010 at your local Saks Fifth Avenue Bond counter, any of the 4 NYC retail locations or online. I don't know exact pricing but I am sure it will run along the same lines as the others, between $45 to $300+, depending on size. I know it's not exactly budget, but, Bond's packaging (*and scents, of course) can almost make a collector out of anyone.