Makeup artist against MAC/ MAC pushing independant artists out of the industry

msthrope

msthrope

Well-known member
i started using MAC in 1992 and i have seen a steady decline in what i feel was the integrity of the company. MAC used to pride itself on not being one of those companies that released limited edition products every month or two because then people would fall in love with a product and no longer have access to it. now almost everything MAC releases is limited edition and a good chunk of that limited edition stuff is so limited that people can't get their hands on it unless they are willing to pay inflated ebay prices. MAC watches people who sell on ebay and will ban people from buying directly from the website or the 1-800 # if they believe they are reselling products en masse on ebay. if they really cared about people having access to their products and not having to pay outrageous prices for stuff, they would ban the sales of their products from ebay altogether as it's quite a simple process to do. MAC spokespeople used to be more "fringe" characters like ru and kd and now they are mainstream recycled crap like pam. in the past couples of years trendy, gimmicky crap like the petit fours and the twirl lip glosses have started appearing more and more frequently and they give MAC a walmart/caboodles feel i don't think their products should have. when i used to go to the MAC counter, no one EVER tried to sell me stuff i didn't want/need or that wouldn't look good on me; that practice is commonplace now. i could go on and on. yes, i still buy from MAC; but i buy a lot more from other lines than i ever used to.
 
Shimmer

Shimmer

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by msthrope
in the past couples of years trendy, gimmicky crap like the petit fours and the twirl lip glosses have started appearing more and more frequently and they give MAC a walmart/caboodles feel i don't think their products should have.

I have thought this myself. No problem with having fun makeup, but at the same time, gimmicky stuff is really more along the lines of Jane than MAC.
 
101mynxes

101mynxes

Member
This makes for a very sobering read
(I did think MAC's marketing strategy this year has been pretty aggresive so far)
 
Wontpayretail23

Wontpayretail23

Well-known member
Lets see the facts here, Estee Lauder is all about the money. Thats why they don't want people making a profit off of their product on ebay they want that money. Thats why they crack down on little fan sites (sorry, I know Specktra isn't exactly little but you know what I mean here) of the product, and why they have such strict limits at the CCOs and won't ship from them. They want your money as quick as they can get it and they don't care who's throat they have to cut to get it. But thats big business. I read the posts about them putting MUAs out of business and I see it's true. MAC was all over pics at fashion week this year. I see how fast they pump out LE collections and the latest stunt they pulled with making Sundressing sold out on day 2 so now you think you have to run out on day 1 to buy anything now. It's all to build the hype and get your money. Will I still buy MAC? Yes. Will I be blind to what they are doing and what they have become? NO.
 
SMMY

SMMY

Well-known member
I agree with this statement. I think Estee Lauder is using big business practices to pull in more money. How many limited editions are slated for this year? I am beginning to be concerned that in the rush to get these out and make money, the quality and production values will be compromised. The problems with sloppily packaged pigments and the Lookboxs and poor designs such as a sponge applicator for the new cheekstains, make me wonder if enough thought is being put into the product in this rush to market them.

Personally, I would be pleased to see less collections with more thought put into them, than a whole slew of not well thought out products
 
geeko

geeko

Well-known member
well i feel that I don't think that MAC or EL is the only company that does this. I believe Loreal and other top leading cosmetic brands also do this. But why are the so called FL MAs targetting at M.A.C only? Maybe i'm being overly imaginative or whatever, but there could be "spies" or "supporters" of other giant cosmetic brands out there trying to discredit M.A.C.

No doubt some of these may be true. And no doubt that i do not like EL, the parent company of M.A.C. But all these bad talk about M.A.C will not take away my love for its products because most of the products are really good (except perhaps the lippies which i find too drying) compared to other cosmetic brands.

i support M.A.C because of the products and NOT because i like the company. That's 2 different stories. And yes i sympathise with FL MAs, but i guess there's other ways of earning their income from, other than fashionweek...e.g. photoshoots for magazines, weddings etc. i personally feel wedding is very lucrative for FL MAs...at least over here in my country.

But one thing i don't like about m.a.c BEING under EL is as what previous girls have posted...collections are being released too fast, undermining some of the product quality. And yeah...we don't have PRO store here in my country because the damned EL thinks our market is not big enough to justify a PRO store.

And some of my fav MA quitted MAC because they didn't like the management....and other reasons like pay. I do miss them and learnt a lot from them, but that won't stop me from buying M.A.C because it's a cosmetic that is so different from the other brands out there in the market. In fact some brands like MUFE and MUS are trying to "copy" M.A.C, but in terms of product quality and variety, M.A.C is still at the top for me.

And if i ever get married...and hire a MUA to do my make up for me...i would request that she use my MAC e/s to do the eyemake up for me...because i still think their eyeshadows come out tops in quality despite some letdowns.

I am aware of the atrocities that EL is doin but this won't stop me from buying M.A.C so any amount of "hate MAC" posts won't affect me. i don't give a damn about the company anyway but i give a damn about the product. If u give me a good product, u'll have my loyalty. Reason why i stop buying lancome is: colors are not pigmented enough, variety of range too limited and it's just not exciting enough.

EL is doing very well in terms of its marketing for M.A.C but in terms of business ethics, they have some brushing up to do. Especiallly when it affects stakeholders (not necessarily shareholders) like the FL MUAs.

Sorry for this long post.
 
giz2000

giz2000

Well-known member
In response to Makeupnewbie's post:

The FL MAs are upset w/MAC because they are losing their livelihood. What MAC is doing is approaching the fashion show promoters/designers etc., and offering their counter staff to work the shows, at little or no charge, in order to promote their products. All good for them, but the counter staff gets no credit for their work, and gets no extra pay (they get paid exactly what they would get paid if they were working a regular shift). So, everyone makes out well: MAC, the fashion people, the designers...everyone except the MAC MAs and the FL MAs (who used to be able to command big bucks to do a show). Remember, lots of professional MAs get free product from cosmetic lines (free promotion for the company), so their thinking is: if I'm not getting hired to do shows, why should I promote the line that's not giving me any work? Thus, the backlash against MAC...

As for other lines (like MUFE) trying to "copy" MAC, I have to disagree. MUFE is still a professional line (their professional line carries more products than MAC does), while MAC has gone more mainstream (with much success).

I happen to use a lot of MUFE products in my kit, because their quality is tops (yes, even their shadows). The Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas use MUFE exclusively (although MAC is now providing their makeup in their traveling shows). Plus, they've been around since 1984 (just like MAC).

I'm not knocking MAC at all because I love working for them, and their products, for the most part, are good. But there are other good lines out there....that being said, professionally, I will use whatever I feel works the best on my clients, whether it be MAC, MUFE, or Wet & Wild (their #666 lipliner is the bomb!) The sad part about this whole thing is that big business, like in every industry, is undercutting the "little guy" in order to make more money. MAC is a business, and their bottom line is to make money.

Ok...enough of my rant...
soapbox.gif
Happy New Year, all!!
 
cno64

cno64

Well-known member
I've noticed that the more recent collections haven't shown up as "sold out" on the MAC site as quickly as they used to.
I would love to think that MAC is responding to customer input and stocking larger quantities of their LEs.
Whatever it is, I like it!
For example, I was able to score two "Wild 'Bout You" lipsticks and three(Yeah, I know, but I'm insecure) jars of "Subtle" pigment.

The feeling that "If I even halfway like the looks of something, I'd better buy it the day it comes out!" feeling has diminished.
A little.
I'm not going to wait long before ordering the products I want from "Danse," not that it will take long.
winks.gif

What MAC does that really drives me out of my gourd is this abrupt pulling of certain "permanent" items.
I'm still bitter over "Moxie" and especially "Powerhouse."
 
giz2000

giz2000

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by cno64
I'm still bitter over "Moxie" and especially "Powerhouse."

Here's the funny thing...they'll come back...different names, but same colors...just be patient!
 
MisStarrlight

MisStarrlight

Well-known member
Totally OT, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Makeup Forever!

When I was going to leave MAC, I was going to venture over to them or FACE...but then I got a promotion, but that's another story.
 
cno64

cno64

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by giz2000
Here's the funny thing...they'll come back...different names, but same colors...just be patient!

Ooooh, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope!
That thought really makes me smile.
clap.gif
 
redambition

redambition

Well-known member
something that has struck me as a "what the?" recently was how MAC discontinued their Select coverup colour correctors. The only one left is Peach, and that has the triangle of death next to it.

Why? Although I've never bought them (I think it's going a bit too far just to do my own face), I know just how useful they can be in masking imperfections. why oh why would you discontinue a makeup tool that was fairly specific to pro artists? the other thing was is that they were liquid, which was pretty unique. pretty much all of the other colour correctors i've seen were stick or pan.
 
giz2000

giz2000

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by redambition
something that has struck me as a "what the?" recently was how MAC discontinued their Select coverup colour correctors. The only one left is Peach, and that has the triangle of death next to it.

Why? Although I've never bought them (I think it's going a bit too far just to do my own face), I know just how useful they can be in masking imperfections. why oh why would you discontinue a makeup tool that was fairly specific to pro artists? the other thing was is that they were liquid, which was pretty unique. pretty much all of the other colour correctors i've seen were stick or pan.

I don't understand it either...their green concealer was perfect...:confused:
 
cno64

cno64

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andain
There's another site up about the boycott...

http://www.macboycott.com

I have mixed feelings.
While I'm sympathetic, I'm most interested in MAC's no-animal-testing policy, so I plan to keep buying from them as long as that policy continues, and they sell products that work for me.
I may cut back some, but I need to do that anyway.
I wonder if it would do any good to write to MAC to express objection to this undercutting of freelance artists.
 
Beauty Mark

Beauty Mark

Well-known member
Not trying to sway you to be anti-MAC (I'm conflicted for shallow reason- I like Fluidline too much), but a lot of higher end makeup doesn't test on animals. Some of them aren't significantly more than MAC. There are many lists out there; even though PETA is nuts, they have a comprehensive list that I believe is accurate
 
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