Lick's collaboration with M.A.C champions a colour that everyone should try in their homes

When Lick, a home decor brand, and M.A.C, a make-up brand, announced they were teaming up it felt like the dream collaboration. However, I'll admit when they announced the colour they were teaming up on I was a little surprised.

M·A·C Black40 is the limited edition shade that Lick has launched to celebrate M.A.C's 40th anniversary. The shade is inspired by M.A.C iconic branding and the new M·A·Cximal Silky MatteLipstick in the shade Caviar (a.k.a black). This is effectively the black paint version of Brilliant white, it is an unapologetically rich, matte jet black.

In a year when paint trends have been dominated by vibrant and playful colours, celebrating black paint felt like a curveball, but Tash Bradley, Director of Interior Design and Colour Psychologist at Lick successfully persuaded me that it is actually the perfect compliment to these new adventurous colour schemes.

'M·A·C black 40 is the colour that everyone can have in their homes. It’s truly versatile: it adds dimension and contrast to any room, and will effortlessly accent your furniture and decor, whatever your style,' she says.

'Black pairs with every other colour, so you can have a bit of fun with it. Pattern play helps to open up a room and vertical stripes will elongate your space. Whatever your style, black is a truly versatile colour with lots of potential for creativity.'

Our Editor-in-Chief Heather Young's black-painted living room is a perfect example of this. It is anything but dark and dull, instead the black makes the decor of the room shine and the walls recede into the background making the space appear bigger.

Tash explains that black is actually a great colour for a small living room idea as it can easily make a room feel bigger. 'Colour drenching with black will help to create a very calm environment. If you have a small, north-facing room, this is a great option as black will absorb the shadows, blue the edges of the space and add heaps of personality.'

I had the opportunity to see M.A.C Black40 in person and try out a small tester pot of it at home. I can't emphasise enough how rich and velvety this matt shade looks in person. As a renter, my plan is to use my tester pot to upcycle some of my furniture as an accent in my living room.

The limited edition shade will only be available only on Lick.com and in store at Lick, 65 Northcote Rd in 2.5L tins.

I agree that everyone can use this black paint in their home, but will you be following Tash's advice and trying it out on your walls?