Where MAC Messed Up - The DownFall Of MAC Cosmetics
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Hello everyone! we are doing a deep dive into MAC and I'm taking you on a very personal journey talking about my experience with the brand.
LET’S STAY CONNECTED! -
Instagram - @RobertWLSH
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00:00: Intro
02:59 The History Of MAC Cosmetics
06:17 Viva Glam
07:20 Working For MAC Back In The Day
10:47 The Beginning Of MAC’s Downfall
21:25 The Re-Rise Of MAC?
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I have to add because someone reminded me in their comments. I still use MAC foundation shades when I’m describing people to my makeup artist friends or the shade I like my tea/coffee.
Answering my own question - my first ever MAC product was a quad eyeshadow palette (the old see through lids) from
Their “naughty nauticals” collection! 🖤
Mocha lipstick! Smoked almond was my second lipstick. From the liptensity line, Im still sad is been discontinued🥲
The first time I wore makeup was MAC. Everything, right from foundation to their brushes!! 😃
I had that same quad from “naughty nauticals” lol
Their new concealer/foundation pen is so good!! They have some excellent products. My first product was the studio fix powder and I still love it.
Mine too!! I loved that pallet and used it everyday lol I couldn’t afford much makeup then and that was my go to. I really respect what you had to say about Mac. I live in Canada so I had access to Mac products and I loved their eyeshadow pallets. I had a few and kept them way beyond any expiration date. Absolutely love your eye look today. Stunning and one I will copy 🖤🖤🖤
If i’m wrong for wanting a Strip Club Makeup Artist Storytime Series, i don’t want to be right. With all the negativity in the world (especially here in the US) we need this in our lives. 🖤
Yes!
Came to the comments section to see if anyone else had the same thought 😂
YAS!
Oh yeah.
Agreed!!! 👍👍
The first MAC product I used was their loose pigment. This was in 2006. At the time I couldn’t afford MAC and this was years before I worked for them, and since these pigments were so big and lasted years people would ration them into small jars and resell sample sizes of them on eBay. In hindsight, buying potentially used makeup off eBay is very questionable lmao but at the time I did what I had to do honey! You really could not tell me nothing about MAC back then!
I remember buying a little teaspoons of Milk, Old Gold, Frozen White and Blue Brown pigment from.. I think it was called The Body Needs? 😂😂
Yesss omg !! 😂 I had a collogue who would sell the small MAC sample pots full of pigments and glitters on eBay! 😂😂 even when they changed their pigment packaging .. it was till so big! Those sample pots were the perfect size!
❤ I wish someone had told me about eBay in 2006 😂❤
And once I got my employee discount it was over ❤😂 working for MAC was iconic -
@@SophieeeeeeHOgood grief that took me back! That’s the place I too ordered from and paid so much for customs and shipping. 😂
My millennial mind will never not love mac. As a black girl in the 90s mac was literally the only brand that I could wear. When I discovered them my mom bought me everything!!! I was so fortunate. I still have the brushes she bought for me and use many still. Tbh I still buy Mac religiously. They have never done me dirty (except that one time the discontinued my fave blush “love crush”) and I will never stray.
Same here! Mac was inclusive before it was trendy. I’m so white, the only foundation that I could wear was their foundation in shade zero (pro colour). Their lipsticks are underrated as well and I will always have Mac cream colour base in hush.
I'm a gen z mac lover lol. they just make the best products for me i love love love mac 🫶🫶 their pressed powder is the only one that doesn't make my makeup patchy, their foundation is one of the only (besides nars) that really matches, their eyeliner actually stays in my waterline, their lip products will forever be the best and the paint pot is the only thing that covers my dark circles. if mac was somehow taken off the market I think I'd stop wearing makeup fr idk what I'd do😂😂
I worked for MAC when the social media makeup boom happened and the liquid lipstick phenomenon was absolutely the first time they dropped the ball. MAC got too big for it’s britches and didn’t feel they needed to “keep up” because they were already on top, but every year we were told Urban Decay is coming for our eyeshadows, new brands are coming for our foundations, etc. It was sad. They stopped hiring people who loved makeup and were genuine artists, and started hiring people based on sales numbers. They gave us unreasonable sales goals and never delivered what customers were asking for. They would launch lines with very little wearable shades. They got cheap with their products. Personally I think Estée Lauder destroyed the brand, every brand they’ve acquired has cheapened. Then when Covid hit they let go a ton of tenured artists and offered to hire them back for LESS pay. It was outrageous.
I feel like they panicked when it set in that they have competition, and when they realized that fact it was already far too late. And then they made poor decisions from that place of panic which has led them to where they are now. They got complacent, they stopped innovating, and worst of all they stopped giving any and all fucks to put it coarsely. They stopped caring about their customer, they stopped caring about their own people and they stopped caring about makeup.
Estee Lauder has raised its prices to the roof while simultaneously failing to keep up with the new makeup trends. Like... 70 euros for an eyeshadow quad of mediocre quality and boring color story? I think not....
I feel the same thing happened to Mac, it has gotten more expensive but hardly anything they come up with anymore is inspiring...
Those greedy bastards at EL ruin everything. Since they bought Jo Malone, the prices went up and the fragrances just don’t smell as good. Their old French Lime Blossom was absolutely heavenly. Most of my favorites have been discontinued, the new stuff usually sucks and the prices are stupid.
@@ashleylala4293Jo Malone is so expensive
I worked for MAC for 10 years and my last two years was during the pandemic. I was a store manager and can confirm that this happened to the FSS and counters in my region. They fired some of the most tenured employees and then offered them their jobs back…at starting pay. These people put years of work in and got merit increases each year and were told they had 24 hours to decide if they wanted to keep their jobs at starting pay or walk away. This excluded them from having to pay unemployment if the employee refused- because they didn’t want to be paid less than what they were offered 10 years ago as a new artist. They gave no explanation on which employees were effected, but I can say in my region specifically- the only people affected by this all happened to be people of color who were getting paid more than some managers. I left the brand shortly after because I couldn’t stand how toxic the work environment became. I was told to write specific employees up for the smallest infractions in order to get rid of weak sales performers and whistleblowers. It’s been two years and I still loose sleep over it
I remember thinking MAC was the highest end makeup ever. My husband got me a Ruby woo and I almost died.
😂
Heroine for me was my shade! ❤
Love Ruby Woo - gorgeous shade!
Velvet teddy 😍
Ruby Woo was my first MAC product as well, along with Vegas Volt
I worked for MAC 1990-1998. It was right at the beginning, just before they went international. Best job I ever had. The two Franks were very hands on and made us feel like our input was important.
We were always so busy that a 8 hours shift went by in a minute.
Everything changed when Estée Lauder took over.
Estee Ruined MAC
estee slaughter ruined mac pro.2003-2011
100% agreed with this and other comments. EL keeps making MAC worse and worse. I don't think they care about cosmetics - only consumer profit. I got to the point that I avoid the brand now. Ben Nye is still very good, as is so many other brands that haven't sold out and continue to slay.
Lauder.. 🫣 I grieved that sale.
@@nonenone5413 true story
You are very professional in honoring MAC with all they e accomplished and what they did for you while holding them accountable and giving honest critique.
Thank you i appreciate that!! 🖤
‘All they’ve accomplished’, exactly what DID they accomplish by refusing to go cruelty free for NO reason & whom or what does that cruelty ‘honor’? 🚮
Mac is ugly & so are the trolls that wear it. It’s ALWAYS been that way.
@@Thecodexnoirlmao
@@Thecodexnoircalm down
@@Thecodexnoiri only see one troll. If you go to a mirror you'll see it.
I worked for MAC for 10 years as a freelance artist in California starting in 2000. I noticed a HUGE change from an emphasis on artistry to an emphasis on sales when Estée Lauder bought them. We were made to do a consultation, skincare, full makeup, color in the makeup chart, pull products, and then hand them over to be rung up, all in 30 minutes. It became all about the money and nothing about the artistry and creativity that originally made them so successful.
Exactly!
Exactly this - corporate takeovers ruin everything. Viva glam shade of lipstick that I can't even remember the name of (it's been discontinued), but it was the first lipstick that really worked with my coloring ever....
It definitely has only got worse and it seems like nobody wants to even acknowledge it and say like "okay hold up. Let's pause, assess and reroute". The people who have the power to change course aren't listening to the customers or their employees on counter who are dealing with customers day in day out.
I’m not surprised. They trashed Becca too.
Same reason Tom Ford perfumes suckes so bad these past years.
I feel like there was a point where I wanted new and exciting products. Where I am now in my makeup life is that I want CONSISTENCY. I want to know what my foundation shade is, find something that works for my skin, and know that the product is going to be the same every time. It feels like the industry is trying to jump to the next thing so quickly that the next time you go to buy a product it's been "improved" and no longer works the same as it did before.
100. I have found myself moving back to "classic" brands like Dior, Clinique and Lancôme for the reasons you listed. I want consistency in ingredients and quality. They have their issues but overall no major surprises.
That's exactly what I want with makeup as well. Not the fanciest packaging, luxury ingredients or whatever. Just a consistent quality. Not all the "innovative" things they cook up now. I might look into more "classic" brands as well
💯I want to buy my favourite foundation in my shade again and again and know I'll get the same formula and same shade.
@@YarX0 there is nothing worse than finding that one foundation that just meshes so well with your skin and nicely matches your tone, being loyal to it for months or even years, to only go and buy it and read on the package or hear the salesperson say “oh, they reformulated this and it’s supposed to be a really good improvement” to get home, use it, and it be the biggest disappointment ever to where you’re rationing what little bit you have left of the old formula and scouring the internet for sellers that have yet to restock it with the new one.
Been burned way too many times over the last 15 years with this crap. Even the old classic brands go through changing out ingredients or changing the shades a tad bit to where everything gets borked. Just let us have one good thing!
This is actually really sad hearing how such an iconic brand lost its way, knowing how much they meant to you and what a big part they played in your life. 🙁
Absolutely!
@@RobertWelshMac really lost me with their employees. Sorry I haven't listened to the video yet. And I'm so excited to give my two cents. Please forgive me.. 😂
This company shocks me. That they didn't have better relations. Yet it seems that they led their staff to be extremely snobby..
I do not go out looking a mess.. I am an older woman at this time. But I get mistaken all the time for being a woman that's close to 29 or 30. I'm 46..
I'm a very sweet upbeat person. I love to connect with people. And as soon as I get into the Mac center. It's all downhill. Everyone has an attitude. I couldn't believe the last time I went there. A young man tried to steal 20 bucks for me. I kid you not If you looked at me and said. God I'm having a bad day. I'm not being paid enough. I'm really hungry this afternoon and I need lunch. I kid you not. I would hand you 20 bucks for lunch. Or I would go buy you lunch and deliver it to you. This man stole $20 for me. What the hell? I mean there's good and bad and everything. But every single time I go to Mac I have a problem. That was the last time I went. Four years ago. Drop them like a hot potato.
CHANTECAILLE, La Mer. Two of my favorites... Oh I dropped money on what goes on my skin. Things that sit closest to my skin. Socks hosiery underwear bras everything that sits close to my skin. I want it to be the best..
Thank goodness my grandmother always taught me. Quality over quantity.
My Mall. Very small. Very very very tiny.. one evening my husband and I had to run to Macy's. That evening I was dressed to the nines. I was helping My son's school. I know exactly what I wore that evening a beautiful dark academia pin skirt Tweed suit. Who knew I had a style. Gives me the giggles.
Walking by the Mac counter. All three of them hit me. My husband was like wow look they're talking to you.😅 Yeah. Judging a book on a cover. And I get it. Oh I get it. But in retail. That is one of the stupidest things you could ever do. No one should judge a book by its cover ever. Never..
One of the girls there I was really sweet too and said sorry sweetie. Your employees have ruined it for me over the years. Went over to the other makeup counter and ordered some Chanel. Yeah I could order it through the Mac counter. Nope wouldn't dare give them a dime. Nope not even close. So sad. They really should have worked with their employees. Two Panda to the masses. They tried to be in an elite brand. With an elite attitude. And I truly feel that that is the nail in their coffin..
MAC didn't really lost it's way tho like they're still really popular in korea and just recently they're partnered with a very popular korean tv show called street woman fighter 2
I used to buy the MAC foundation stick. Loved it. But almost every single time I went into a MAC, I was treated so poorly. Ignored while others who looked more "expensive" got all the attention and help. Once, after I was told I'd be helped but proceeded to wait another 30 minutes, i went to the counter and reminded them again that i had come before many of the customers that were now being helped. I was literally told that if I couldn't wait to be helped, I was free to leave. I never went back.
I was ignored repeatedly at different Mac locations. I understand exactly what you mean. I was rushed after being ignored it was ridiculous . I stopped going to Mac because of the poor treatment.
@@renaewestbrook3152 Wow, I'm so sorry you went through that. I can literally go to my local Sephora in sweats with just moisturizer on, and they would still eagerly offer to help me. This "snobbery" is one of the reasons I avoided MAC, to be honest. They still aren't huge in the USA anymore, and they did it to themselves by being so condescending.
Russian Red was a lipstick I wanted for years. I was a freshman in high school and this older popular girl pulled out the MAC lipstick tube and I immediately wanted it. It was iconic. You were cool if you had a Mac lipstick. I saved up my babysitting money and one of my first purchases was Russian Red. I wore it to death. I flattened out the tube. I still have it because of the memories I have with it.
Ur not alone, I still have my Russian red too....I even wore it for my wedding 😅
I still have 25 year old Mac compacts that I never opened. I always stocked up. I cannot throw them out even though I don't sunbathe anymore and NW30 is dark! Keeping them though lol!!
I’m 42 years old and when I was 17 I bought a Mac powder brush. When I bought it I believe it was $35 and I felt that was pretty steep. The person selling it to me told me about the quality of the brush and assured me I would keep if for years to come so long as I took care of it. I’m happy to say I still have it and it’s the one brush I carry with me in my daily makeup bag. I take care of her and she isn’t showing signs of going out anytime soon.
My 3 MAC brushes are more than 25 years old. They really are amazing!
Good brushes are forever. ❤❤❤
Same. I told a friend recently I have brushes older than all 3 of my kids.
I have a 15+ year old face brush I still daily. I also have an eyeshadow brush and a liner brush that I use pretty regularly. I’ve had to glue a few of them, but they still work as well as the day I got them. I went in more recently to look at their current brushes and they don’t seem like they would be the same quality. I mean my face brush has weight to it, it is huge, and can stand on its own (the handle has a very wide base, and the brush itself is very big). The current brushes don’t seem much different than anything you see for much cheaper at Sephora.
@@leovirgo4538your brushes are the best version because their made with animal hair while today m.a.c brushes are made with fake hair & the quality has gone drastically down hill sadly
Okay so as early as my teenage years to my early 20's, I always wanted to be a 'MAC girl.' I would walk through Nordstrom and just imagine being a makeup artist for MAC! I got pregnant at 17 and I had a great opportunity to go into the mortgage industry, which would pay enough to help us raise a child. I just didn't see a way whereby I could pursue makeup artistry with a family when I was blessed enough to be able to get into the mortgage industry at great pay, health insurance etc. Fast forward to today, my oldest daughter has graduated college and I have another one in middle school. We are more financially stable today and during COVID I decided to pursue my creative dreams again! I started doing makeup on CZcams and about a year ago got a job working for ULTA as a Prestige Beauty Advisor. I saw an opening for a MAC artist on our internal job postings and decided to go for it! 8 other people applied for the job, but I got it!! I just feel so happy that I get to finally start living out my actual dream job -- and helping women & men feel beautiful inside and out!! 🙏🏽🙌🏽❤
I am a current MAC Girl. I love love love my job. The sales goals are still high however coming from a cocktail server background I love the pressure. I used to swear that we were so behind the times especially NOT jumping on the influencer band wagon but now those brands that did (Morphe, COLOURPOP, Benefit, ABH and more) people are just so tired of! Their rapid releases combined with losing trust in the influencers has been their downfall! MAC has gone viral a few times this year and all of us girls are always shocked because it’s so fun for us to see an influx of new MAC lovers coming in and having interest in the brand again! We just LOVE talking makeup with the teens/younger adults! They know their stuff! Although we ALL agree about the collections missing the mark! This holiday season we’re coming back baby!!! Can’t wait for y’all to see!!!!
Oh yes and my first MAC product I ever owned was VIVA GLAM I back in 2011! Then Studio Fix powder (I still think it’s the best powder in the world😂)!
i wish i could have you as my mac assistant while shopping! i love people who are genuinely passionate about what they do.
did benefit partner with influencers? i hardly remember any tbh. and i’m also glad mac hasn’t gone the influencer route. we’ve all seen how that turned out. ie morphe, jaclyn cosmetics etc etc.
I'm really pumped for this holiday season now. Thank you for working so hard! It shows how valuable you are at your store and to your customers, esp the young ones! ❤
Mac stack, studio Fix Foundations, lip liners, lipsticks and the new bronzers and blushes are stunning!!
Also being a former MAC artist, to me the start of the downfall was selling out to Estee Lauder. And my first product was Saddle eyeshadow.
See… I cut it out but I did say… Estée Lauder ruin everything … but couldn’t back up my claim so I cut it 😂
@RobertWelsh Artistry has gone by the wayside. Counter locations are not even MAC employees anymore here in the US. I miss the old days, we worked hard but had so much fun and loved what we were doing. But I still use a lot of their products!!
Hi Robert, My first purchase was Chili Matte Lipstick many many years ago. I still use it to this day. It was discontinued for a while but brought back. I would always have my makeup done with them for special occasions💛
Saddle is the shit! I still use it to this day 😅
@@detroitdymeSaddle is still one of my ride or die products! And I always have to have a couple TEDDY eyeliners.
I started with Clinique in 2005 and I still do some brand rep today for the them. It’s 2023, I’ve been in the beauty industry for almost 20 years and the MAC reps still intimidate me 😂😂. Those artists are ferocious. Stay glam sister.
I love Clinique. Their New Clover blush has been my one true blush love forever. Women at their counters have always been so helpful and kind in teaching me what works best for me. It seems like they aren’t as present with beauty influencers but I’m always going love Clinique.
I used to work for Clinique as well, I liked their face products like foundations and lipsticks etc. but im mainly a skincare person. And it was always so frustrating to be because Clinique used to be innovators in the skincare space but they fell so far behind. I ended up leaving them cause I couldn’t keep selling skincare I wouldn’t use. I also hate the damn lab coat. I got asked CONSTANTLY if I was a dermatologist 😅
mac reps are trained to intimidate you so you buy more make-up.Also trained you to look at customers shoes to see how much they can spend and how long to waste time with them.
Loved Robert’s story telling…”You were slightly arrogant cause you knew you were the best and customer service was rubbish” this had me rolling 😂
That was my favorite part 😂😂😂😊
Reminded me of Johnny Ross’s reels
I vote for Robert to take over MAC marketing. As a Canadian, it is a brand I want to see succeed again.
I second this lol ❤❤❤
If it's owned by EL, it's not Canadian anymore 🤷🏻♀️ So, I will take my pride elsewhere 😂
@@annas4714exactly. I’m Canadian and don’t give a crap if MAC makes a comeback. None of their products were my favorites.
I was a make up artist at the Chanel counter in the Macy’s flagship store in San Francisco in the 2010’s. Chanel was cute but the MAC girl were so fly and cool. And yes it was definitely like a party at the MAC counter everyday, the music sounded like a live DJ 😂
If MAC expanded their best foundation ranges to included green and blue undertones and desaturated skin tones, they would change the game once again. They can do it!
They have. I think the SFF line now includes olive undertones under "C"
@@notimportant123 Huh, I always thought those were the "cool" (famously backwards from all other brands) undertones. I see this formulas has a green pigment in some shades... I'll have to find the nearest full size store and get matched, thanks!
@@notimportant123their olives are bad in my opinion. Olives can have other undertones too, so i am a neutral olive. I found the colors to be too limited to W or C without having the correct neutral tone for me which is upsetting because not many brands get neutral tones right. Still too cool or warm.
@@prettypyrenees their C olive shades have a very strong undertone. GREEN lmao. I don't know too many people that color.
Agreed!!!
I worked for MAC Cosmetics from 1996-2000 and it was epic. Once Lauder bought the company from the remaining Frank, I knew it would be changed forever ( not in a good way).
I resigned and went on to work with another brand and grew but I will FOREVER credit MAC for helping me become the artist I am today.
The standards were impeccable and getting certified with them was everything.
The new launches were inspired, rare and like no other.
It’s hard for me to go into stores with the brand I now represent and see the vast difference.
However, to me, MAC will always be… Back to Mac, Kids for Kids, MAC AIDS fund and a tribe that embraced ALL SEXES, ALL AGES, ALL MAC.
Thank you for this tribute, your channel is my favorite. ❤
I went to a MAC store after I had my first baby, and I just didn't recognize myself anymore. The amazing artist at the counter taught me how to redo my makeup and taught me how to contour 😅. I left, never feeling prettier and finally feeling like my old self. I bought everything she used on my face and was an exclusive MAC user for years. I watched MAC turn and haven't really gone back. Everytime into the store now there is such pressure to buy things regardless if that what you really want or not.
I feel there is pressure now too.. it was like a weird change that I didn’t even notice happening but I used to be able to just drop in and have a good time exploring shades, and now there is a person that works there who kind of bothers you constantly as though you have to buy something
I’ve talked to so many friends about this. MAC and Urban Decay were HUGE. I remember every product I purchased when I was younger. It’s so disappointing to see them fall. They stopped being revolutionary, they stopped being creative
No, they have just been around a long time. If they changed their name they would be all the rage again . That is just how it works.
I kind of feel like everything stopped evolving not just makeup brands. It’s sad that creativity isn't profitable these days 🙈
I’m old and out of the loop and just want what I know works, and MAC is great for that. I don’t mind them being a bit ”boring” as long as they stay consistent with their signature products
@@starlite556 if they came out today no one would notice. They make the same palettes over and over again. Their collaborations flop because they put zero effort in to them. They used to be at the forefront, their creativity was a beautiful thing to see.
@@jackdaw99 it’s not about boring though. It’s that they stopped putting effort in. I would love to see what someone creative could come up with since so many of their formulas are solid
You you described them as an older actor trying to remain in teen roles, but I’d actually say they’re more like an actor trying to do silent films even after movies got audio. They’re not an old brand trying to be young, they’re suuuper out of date and stuck in their ways. It’s a shame! There’s soooo much they could do! I’d love to see them dive back into their history, rediscover their roots and divulge in artistry!
I like the way he described them better
I wasn't a make up girly but MAC was the first time I became aware of an 'important' make-up brand, all my friends wanted the lipsticks, and my friend who wanted to be a make-up artist always spoke about it.
A MAC shop opening at Lakeside Shopping Centre was big news.
My first Mac product was liquid studio fix foundation. I’m nc30. As a medium golden olive ethnic woman , mac made me feel accepted, they taught me to do a smoky eye , my first “‘office look” makeup for my ethnic skin. They also taught me through appointment how to do a formal evening look on my asian eyes and brown skin I have always used MAC and MAC and bobbi brown were the OG of making colors for us women of colors. They made me feel my ethnic features beautiful and i was not the problem it was the makeup industry who made no colors for us at the time. I still love both and both brands have never done me wrong :)
They have a color that doesn’t make us yellow?!
@@a.r.mproductions5616 I was gonna say! Everything I've tried so far has been still way too orange.
As a neutral olive woman of Caribbean descent, I would love if they included other undertones by now (2024)...
I was a bridesmaid in the 90s and the bride arranged a makeup artist for all of us. I brought my covergirl clean makeup foundation because it's the only thing that didn't break me out with my acne prone skin. The artist had only Mac products. She gave me a million reasons to let her put MAC foundation on me and swore there's no way it could break me out. It melted off my oily face a couple of hours in and I had acne for weeks after. I liked the eyeshadow and lipstick though
Back in the day all of MAC Liquid products made my face breakout. I learned to skip that part of the store. I still love their powder foundation and eyeshadows, and their Retro Matte Lipcolor Lipsticks.
It was very overrated make-up, the only positive was the pigmentation in most cases which was terrible in most drugstore brands, and the shade range for various skintones was better and done with undertones in mind. Once other brands caught up to this, they were irrelevant with their endless limited edition crapola, most of which ended up bulk bought up by resellers anyway.
Some of the best memories of my mom before she passed was going to the MAC store with her. I would watch her do her make up every morning as a child. I stayed loyal to MAC until very recently. I know they were done when they cancelled their back to MAC program. But I still hope they’ll be revived one day
Bless your mom's soul, what a wonderful memory 🙂I know what you mean re back to MAC - I've been hoarding my empties to get few lipsticks and suddenly found out the programme stopped. I was actually ready to fully switch back to the brand just for their recycling programme.
2005, I was in year 6 with my first school formal approaching and I asked my kindergarten teacher to show me the basics of makeup as she’d always been a favourite teacher of mine and I knew she was also an MUA. She did teach me the basics, with the biggest rule being go for quality at all times. For brushes, this meant MAC. She wrote down exactly which number brushes I’d need to start off with etc., flattering shades of various products from various brands. Still to this day I have the original Dior mascara and MAC brushes I bought in 2005 on her recommendation. The brushes I use regularly and it’s as if they’re still brand new, the mascara hasn’t been touched since 2006 or so, but I keep it out of sentimentality as I remember how I felt buying my first grown up beauty product, and seeing the silver tube even now brings me joy
I never knew MAC was a Canadian company, and I am Canadian. MAC needs you as their Creative Director. If anyone could take them to the top of the makeup/beauty industry, it would be you.
I think the scary attitude towards customer service really hurt them too. I don’t want to spend top dollar on products that someone who was rude and treated me like I was beneath them to get a commission on 😂. That being said, their paint pot in Painterly and their Face and Body foundation is still my holy grail 🤷♀️
In my city the Mac employees were super nice, but I was still scared of them bc of their cool makeup 😂 This was in 2011 when I was a teen
OMG!!!! I LITERALLY had to stop the video a few minutes in. I am a former MAC artist as well and your presentation about the creation of the brand, "Frank & Frank" and the Viva Glam info I could almost recite with you verbatim!!! SO ON POINT!!! I was an artist there for 7 yrs. And I too have to credit them with much of my success as a counter artist and freelance artist. Right there with you sir. Including the HORRID shirts, the blasting music and hate from other counters!!! Ah yes, the good old days. 😂 Thank you for the trip down memory lane!! I worked there from 2002-2009.
I agree whole heartedly with your view. MAC fell off during the time of infuencers. The whole emphasis of MAC was artistry. Now the average customer was becoming an artist in their own right thanks to social media. And I too remember when internal changes began in the company. Many people I knew lost their jobs. It was insane. MAC put up a pop up counter in my small town and I went to check it out. (This was after I left the company.) Their counter manager was NOT WEARING ANY MAKEUP!!!! 😮😮😮 I was blown away. The staff acted like they didn't care, didn't want to be there, the VIBE was gone. This was NOT the company I knew and had worked for. They had become lost in the world of social media influences. The collections were boring. Just as you said, a repackaging of already existing products and colors. The innovation was lost. I still love the products and quality. I still buy MAC products. But I want to see a resurgence of that incredible level of innovation. I would love to see them embrace their uniqueness. I miss that so much. I hope to see them rise up once again as a leader in the beauty industry. Thank you so much for this video. I agree whole heartedly with your assessment. ❤
The first MAC product I ever purchased was a single chrome yellow eyeshadow. The employees were so mean and I literally cried after leaving the store lol.
That's horrible 😢
That’s so unbelievably sad.
Story time?
@@orewahouston2143 Oh jeeze this had to be close to 20 years ago. Two of the store employees kept following me closely through the store asking if I needed help. When I said no thank you, one of the employees said, "are you sure you can REALLY afford these things?" and the other employee laughed. I asked them, "What makes you think I can't afford it?" The employee then gestured towards my general self with that sort of circular hand gesture. I just took my single eye shadow to the check out bought it and then cried in my car. Keep in mind this was the early 2000s, in a rich neighborhood, in the Midwest, and I was sort of gothy in my early 20s with a baby face. Not that, that excuses their behavior, but there was a certain mentality at that time and place.
@@hollyshoemakerthey could be snobby af, especially at their prime. I’ve met some phenomenal people who work for MAC and some not so much.
I had such an awful time working for MAC. I don't know what I expected in the job but only doing skin matches or stock every day was not it. I was told to hurry up when I was spending time with customers who were going to make big orders and I didn't get to use my skills at all. Such a shame as working for MAC was an absolute dream of mine, i cried with happiness when i got the job. It was heartbreaking when i realised what it's really like!
One more thing…Robert, I fully agree that MAC was stubborn regarding change, but I think their downfall can be summed up with one word: PRIDE. It was their downfall, BUT now, like you said, this very pride is where they could experience a revival. They kept their pride and standards throughout this crazy “influencer” period. I fully agree that this is where they can step into a leadership position again!!!
Their pride worked and didn't work for them in the sense their pride protected them from becoming like Morphe who had nothing but issues with their influencers they worked with granted they worked with Patrick Starr that was a gamble that paid off. Now imagine if they worked with Laura lee, Manny mua, jeffree star, James Charles and etcetera long term like the way morphe did would have been absolutely horrible for m.a.c hands down..
Pride comes before a fall 😅
@@mercedesvelasquez8781 Right, the Patrick Starr collab was iconic!!
@@kagitsune but imagine if they had worked with anyone else it would have failed and sure my favorite cosmetics company has fallen over the years but I believe they can have a come back. Or even be like clinque, Dior and similar companies where they still have their name and loyal consumer base but don't need to try so hard like rest of these try hard companies that have over produced product's..
@@mercedesvelasquez8781I don't think MAC is comparable to Morphy. The downfall of Morphy was based on many pre-existing issues, main one being poor quality, so various collaborations problems were just a drop in a sea.
First MAC purchase: 2005. I was 26 and went to the closest MAC store - about 45 minutes away - and bought two blushes: Melba and a rose-colored shade.
Those two blushes I wore for YEARS without much else on my face. When I went through my two pregnancies and people inevitably gushed about how I was glowing, I always credited the MAC, lol.
Oh amazing! Melba is a beautiful shade!
I bought my first MAC lipstick a month ago. Owning something from MAC was an impossible dream due to my financial conditions growing up. I have a white collar job now and I fulfilled my long time dream of finally buying a MAC product. I know it's a miniscule achievement in the grand scheme of things but it's something I'm really proud of. Like you said, MAC was the "it" brand. The showstopper of the makeup industry. Everyone wanted to own something from them and so did I. Even though there's a wider pool to choose from, none of them hit those nostalgia buttons like MAC does❤
Congratulations on achieving your dreams!!!
My first time stumbling over MAC was sometime in the mid or late 2000 in Stockholm Sweden (in a very expensive store) and as a dark skinned woman this was a dream come true. The makeup artists working there made me finally feel like I was seen. They smacked on these beautiful eye shadows that were actually pigmented and I looked stunning. Back then I was a single mom and still I spent about 450 dollars in one go. The artists in the store actually understood undertones and shades so I didn't look like a ghost.
I will always feel love for the brand since that day, they changed the game.
That’s such a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.
It's wild because I got into makeup when I was past 20, and at the time MAC was kind of like a fairy tale, it felt unattainable to me because I didn't know about "high end" makeup. So I've just realized that I've never owned a MAC product! But I did definitely see them everywhere and admired the products; I was just broke. 😂😂
I've had the same experience, also my town didn't have a MAC we had sephora lol but those new lip balms that everyone was breaking I want to try some so that might be my first MAC product lol
@@Dionysus999that is because their misusing them not handling them properly so their breaking
You are such a captivating storyteller! I’m from Toronto and I have a vague memory of seeing MAC cosmetics being sold at a summer exhibition in the 80s when I was a kid. Fast forward to the early 90s when I was a makeup obsessed teen. I was sitting in my European History class, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson when in walks the coolest creature, wearing this rusty, brick red MATTE lipstick! Such a change from the technicolor tackiness of the previous decade. I’d never seen such a finish and the shade blew my freaking mind! I didn’t know this girl well but I started bombarding her with questions. I just had to find out about that magnificent colour. She told me it was MAC’s Chili lipstick that could only be found at The Bay downtown. And it was expensive. But debt be damned, I hightailed it to the department store that weekend and found my cosmetic nirvana.
Yes! Chili was my intro to Mac too!
@@thefoxyscentury Such an iconic shade!
I remember shopping in a MAC store and asked about their display, which at the time incorporated lots of beakers/chemistry lab equipment. I was getting my undergraduate degree in chemistry so yay! Also i was interested in working in consumer products as a formulation chemist so this could be a way.
I was shopping and asked about who designrd the display the artist snapped at me about how mac is scientifically designed high end brand these displays show that with PURE condescension.
I responded that I am getting a chem degree, noticed the glassware and thought it was cool. She hustled me along and that was the last experience I had with them.
Why would I spend my money where it’s not want?
Yup pretty puff 💨 agree with you! Fuhricken ingrate
i live in south africa and my friends and i have also noticed some rude customer service from mac employees and artists over the years. seems like it’s a worldwide thing 😂 i also love those beaker displays for their brushes and other products. customer service has been getting a lot better recently here though. so i hope it is also improving elsewhere!
I got this experience literally everywhere except for their counter at Berlin's KaDeWe shop, like they're having worse attitude then dior old ladies 😐
Yep, sounds like an undereducated MAC girl all right. I just got the eyerolls and sneery sighs for asking politely for a shade match or a product I wanted to buy! I never went back after two incidents at locations 8000 miles apart. Pathetic to be like this in ANY job but comically insulting from a bloody shop girl in a department store shilling lipsticks.
I feel like the consistency of being able to get a ‘tried and true’ product from Mac makes them stand out now. Their extended play giga mascara is one of the best mascaras. I’d like to see ‘trend consumer’ culture have a little downfall.
I currently work at MAC after years of being a customer, and what you said about it not being fun and about the art anymore is so on point! I didn't have the words to explain how the brand have changed, and you NAILED IT! I feel like MAC is also like German engineering: In the past they were the best, so they got used to the fact that they're still the best and there isn't really a competition so they don't have to make an effort. They seem to not realize that the world have changed and these days 1- people do go by trends, like it or not, and 2- you can get really good quality stuff really cheap. I love MAC brushes but I totally get not wanting to pay 33 Euros for something that costs a third of the price next door... I hope they'll wake up and make some changes (and more lipliners. MAC desperately needs more lipliners).
In some people case, the fact that MAC was cruelty free and had a really strong statement about it and someday, for some reason, they were no more cruelty free and selling in China. That did them wrong and it was at the beginning of influencer time too.
Maybe that was when Estée Lauder bought the brand? These huge corporations like EL and L’Oreal are cheapening everything, even previously really sought after brands. It’s very sad. On the other hand so many indie brands have a new opportunity to replace brands that used to have those principles and move with the times too.
I came here to say the same.
@@HotFlushSummer It wasn’t, ELC bought them in 1996 and they started selling in China around 2015
@@melissaortizbeauty1067 I see - I had absolutely no idea they were bought out so long ago, I’m quite shocked!
My mother was a professional ballet dancer and I remember seeing her kit and it being filled with MAC. My daughter and I used to love going and buying new MAC lipstick every time me went shopping. Definitely a core memory
my mom was an actress and my first mac product was an eyeshadow i swiped from her kit! stage makeup was always so magical- she even had prosthetic pieces in there! mac was so magical as a little girl, even in a very well loved, messy stage kit
my mom was an actress and my first mac product was an eyeshadow i swiped from her kit! stage makeup was always so magical- she even had prosthetic pieces in there! mac was so magical as a little girl, even in a very well loved, messy stage kit
my mom was an actress and my first mac product was an eyeshadow i swiped from her kit! stage makeup was always so magical- she even had prosthetic pieces in there! mac was so magical as a little girl, even in a very well loved, messy stage kit
I left Mac 3 weeks ago. Before I started work, I dreamed of it as a career opportunity where I could show my makeup talent and discover new things. Yes, I knew about the goals, but I didn't know they were quite hard to reach it was making me extremely stressful every each day. Not only the target but also the mobbings from managers to employees, not even mentioning them promoting their own lickspittles. Moreover, nothing is about the artistry anymore, you just have to reach the quantity and amount sold, it doesn't matter to whom you sell it. It's not even ethical. I feel mentally relaxed since I done with Mac.
Yeah it makes it uncomfortable as a customer, I feel so much pressure to buy stuff and like I’m letting them down if I change my mind about a product. I notice potential customers coming in and running out due to this discomfort as well. Like I feel a ton of pressure from the salesperson who makes me feel bad and like I don’t have enough space to decide what I really want.
My mom took me to a MAC counter when I was 13 and I still use what they taught me. He took the time to teach me about my hooded eyes and where to apply shadow. And the burgundy shadow he chose to emphasize the hazel color! I am a forever MAC fan. 💖
Aww my mom did the same for me at that age! I still remember having a full face of makeup done by the MUA, and my mom getting me what she used; then taking me to Clinique for my first skincare regimen before school ❤ ….and she wonders why I have an unnecessary obsession w/ makeup & skincare now 😂
@@amandaleigh3307wow that is so awesome. My mother didn’t do any of that for me… I learned everything from Seventeen and YM magazines 🫣
You guys were very lucky to have a Mum like that 😊
My first MAC product was the "Sin" lipstick. I was 13 and discovering my interests; I had started to adopt the grungey/alternative/edgy look. I remember falling in love with the deep shades and wanting to only use those on my face. The deep blue red was so beautiful to me, and I made my pale skin look so vampy. Even now it continues to be my favorite red lipstick of all time, and it's 13 years later.
I started getting into this look too at 14 and I started wearing dark burgundy lipstick and my mum thought the one I bought looked awful, so she said if you’re going to wear these dark colours at leat make it a good one 😅 so she bought me Diva matte lipstick from them ☺️
yes!! Russian red was my first Mac product! I LOVED it. I still like the brand, especially because their cool foundation shades are truly beige ans not pinkey.
But if you're like me and have an olive complexion, Mac doesn't do undertones so well...
Oh wow! That made me so nostalgic. I’m Canadian and was a model in the 90s-2K. MAC was THE makeup everyone used, the store and staff were cool. And boy were we proud it was a Canadian brand. Thank you for sharing your experience with them, you’re so interesting and talented ❤
I was looking for your comment 😊🇨🇦
@@lenlewis76 hiiiiiii! I hope you’re well and happy 😃 🇨🇦
My first encounter with MAC was when I accidentally broke my mom’s Spice lip pencil. She’s an Asian mom so now I have a permanent hatred with that particular pencil because of the ass whooping I got😂😅
Omg my heart dropped just reading that first sentence! 😂
I still have my Spice lip pencil, lol.....
😂❤ omg I had the same kind of mom ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😅
how did you break a lip pencil? 😂
I was using MAC in 1996. I was in love. Studio fix powder NC41, myth lipstick and spice lip pencil with a black flick on my eyes. I felt like it was a Bridget Bardo combo. Iconic!
I was 19. I’m still using certain Mac products but it’s really changed I’ve the last 7-10 years
The first time MAC was used on me was makeup school, someone used a shade called Cranberry on my eyes and it brought out my eye colour immensely. That’s when I discovered the use of colour to subtly enhance your eyes. I still use burgundy shades to this day because of it.
Are your eyes green? I know burgundy really brings out green eyes.
My first MAC project was clear Lipglass and in the shade Squirt, I think it was called. It was lime green in the tube but went on in this reddish brown that turned me into Aaliyah (in my mind girl, RIP). Y2K iconic.
Spring bean Lustreglass?
mac was one of the first brands that got me into makeup. my first products were matching whirl lipstick and lip liner. still have that liner going strong 6 years later 😂
tbh i don’t think mac fell off at all. they’re a reliable legacy brand that people are always gonna feel they can depend on. but it’s definitely not been the most popular brand in the influencer space.
Yea 100% agreed. But from working with them, and seeing targets year vs year for the UK… they were definitely loosing in popularity at that period of time!
@@RobertWelsh oh i didn’t know that! i guess popularity differs in all markets across the world. thank you for covering this 🥰
My first experience with MAC was during the Jersey Shore era where I would go through St. Germain lipstick like it’s nobody’s business. If you know, you know 😂
Omg!! 😂😂😂 that white/pink/pastel/neon 😂
Snooki, is that you?
@@RobertWelshmust try😮
@@RobertWelshooof. There is a picture of me with my family in a church directory. Around 2000, age 11 or 12, wearing that pastel neon color. Not mac, cuz 12 but that color. Probably no other make up at all, looking out of place and frosty. I can't believe my mother let that happen.
OH GIRL I DEFINITELY KNOW 😅😅
Thank you for using the word iconic accurately. I hear dozens of influencers over use and misuse it. Madge and
Then Rupaul and Viva Glam was epic, so huge so iconic truely💕
The reason I don’t use them anymore and probably why others don’t either, is that MAC are not and have no plans to become cruelty free and there’s just better brands out there that don’t test on animals 🤷🏻♀️
Same! I really wish they would be fully cruelty-free but until that day comes (or maybe never) my money is spent elsewhere. Listen up, Estee Lauder & MAC!
Same here!
What bothers me is how some brands will say they are cruelty free & are in every aspect *except* they sell their products in China(& in order to do that there must be testing on animals bc it's a standard/law in China!) So how does that work exactly you kno?! 🤔
I was never a fan of MAC, but wow I thought they would have become cruelty-free by now. Lol definitely won’t be buying anything from them
I was going to say this too!
This was a GREAT video- I love the personal stories mixed in with factual information. It’s like listening to a respected friend telling of their knowledge/experience!
Thank you! 🖤🖤
MAC Russian Red was my very first "nice" makeup product as a teenager, and I'm still in love with it a decade later. I had no idea it was developed for Madonna, though, that makes me love it even more!
I absolutely LOVED my time working at MAC. Loved the dress code of wearing all black so I'd come in wearing alternative/goth/techwear stuff and paint up my face and get to do people's makeup. I was living a dream for a job 😭💖 And the employees that worked with me were so lovely. I grew up with MAC too! My heart yearns for this experience again 💔
❤❤❤ congratulations on hitting over a million subscribers Robert, you really deserve it ❤❤❤
Thank you so so much! 🖤🖤🖤
I first used their ruby woo lipstick. Still my fav shade of lipstick!
Yes! All of this! I worked for MAC from 2014-2021 and same. Social Media was taking over and I remember being in Update and them basically saying “We don’t need to send out PR we are MAC”. This is when I noticed a shift in foot traffic and how customers shopped. The rise of the beauty guru was happening and people had a new knowledge. Then there was a contract change that caused people to quit instead of accepting a pay cut and they were struggling to get employees. I remember being a RM and being told I needed to hire this girl. No makeup experience, but she could sell. My job became teaching my employees how to do makeup at a busy counter that was wildly busy. I checked out in the last year and a half that I worked for them because they begin threatening my job and threatening to close my counter if we didn’t make our numbers. I dropped down to freelance after having my daughter and eventually just stopped taking ours. Because it was like every time I went back it was like going back to an abusive ex-boyfriend. I credit them with refining my skills and my ability to work with clients. But it’s no longer a good place to work and a lot of shifts have happened to where they will just continue to struggle.
Yessss please post more about these makeup brands' history from the beginning to the downfall
🫡 absolutely!!
@RobertWelsh I'm happy that I found you through the pandemic in 2020... I love your content, especially "the makeup techniques I hate video." It's hilarious😭
I love your take on this. I still feel respect for MAC despite not using them much in the last two decades. You've inspired me to take a visit to the counter soon to see what I can learn.
MAC really needs to hire you as a consultant to help them figure out their updated identity, market goals, and business strategy and work with their internal teams to refresh the vision!
My only issue with MAC is their labeling for foundation shades and their undertones. It's so backwards and confusing
Sometimes it is but it’s based on art - red is warmer toned and yellow/olive is usually cooler toned in the art world
The single shadow called Woodwinked. It was the most perfect sparkly taupe. I’d wear it all the way up to the brow. I discovered it in 2007 and I was obsessed.
As a huge Courtney Love fan as a teenager in the 90s, my first MAC product was a bullet lipstick of Russian Red someone gave me in the early 2000's - I had never seen such a perfect matte red in my young life. I also vividly remember the Viva Glam ads with Ru, that campaign was around when I was 11 or 12 and I was soooo into "To Wong Foo" at the time
EDIT: Omg you just started talking about the lipstick 😂❤
I still have my original Ruby Woo lipstick 💄 & have never found another red that rocks as hard….
First product I ever bought was velvet teddy matte lipstick because of the kylie Jenner lip trend! I also remember when I first started watching CZcams makeup tutorials I went in to MAC as a 13 year old and asked for a “transition shade please” 😭💀 the girl looked at me like I’d grown two heads, a fair response given I had no more info on what I wanted or what I was looking for just a clueless teen 😂😭
I worked for MAC when I turned 18 and I was floored that I got the job. I felt like I was a celebrity so honored to work for them, after a few years the fun was sucked out when it became only hitting your sales goals for the day and that’s all they wanted from us. Such a sad experience but I will never forget that feeling of getting the call after my in person interview and application interview they chose me!!! Great video Robert you’re incredible ♥️♥️♥️
My first main Mac purchase was all my wedding makeup back in 2012. They did a bridal trial and I felt so special showing off my Mac brushes and makeup afterwards. It’s really sad that a brand that was THE brand back then is not even in my top 10 now
Yessss I used to love doing those trials on counter! It really was a special thing to have a while Mac set back then!
I’m 35 and back when I was like 16/17 my entire makeup bag was MAC and a little bit of benefit. I was OBSESSED! The first thing I bought from them was like 5 of the little individual eyeshadows I remember getting a black and a silver..
you are right though a few weeks back I thought I’m going to buy the MAC foundation I used to use back in the day instead of my usual NARS one and I forgot how lovely it was!
I think they could defo be big again. X
I completely agree!
I was 13yrs old (1998) and had my makeup done at the counter. My very first eyeshadows were rice paper and cork. I used those for years.
As a former MAC manager I agree with you 100%! I remember the glory days of working for such a fun company and then it went to shit. I’ll always be grateful for the knowledge and experience that I had. Great video!
Mac truly died for me when they lost their store in Dublin. My whole life they had a massive nearly standalone store in Brown Thomas a luxury department store. They had their own entrance and everything then they got moved into the main beauty area with just a normal counter.
yesssss
I think my first MAC product was the first Viva Glam collaboration with Lady Gaga, that sheer pale pink. I literally got it out of town while visiting a friend because there wasn't a MAC counter anywhere near where I lived. I visited a friend for the first time in a whole nother state and I was on a MISSION at the mall to get my hands on it!
Stopped going to Mac because the customer service was so terrible. In fact it was that very same pro store in Covent garden that was the final straw. I was so upset by the way I was treated. I left and went round the corner to Benefit and have been loyal to them ever since. I always leave a Benefit store/counter feeling really good. I cant ever say I have felt the same after leaving Mac.
Absolutely MAC was a the dominant brand in my collection in the 90s through the 2000s. Was THE alternative to the old-lady brands that I won't throw shade on here. I got blush and lipstick back in the day. Oh, I am pretty sure I wore a MAC lip combo to my wedding in the late 90s!
I would honestly love to see Mac make a come back! The amazing lip liners, concealer and foundation from liquid to powder are products that i always find my way back around to. *lip liners are forever a constant in my life😌. I first found myself at the Mac counter in 2010 . I was an insecure 8th grade student that had dark circles that made my skin look “uneven”. They help match my concealer and powder foundation color seamlessly. And i didn’t let any of that foundation go to waste! Even when it did crack while being tossed around in my baby phat bag 🤭. Love you and wish a good weekend to come!
I will NEVER forgot my green sparkly Mac lipgloss, which was my first ‘real’ makeup product and I remember my mom thinking I was so weird picking the neon green shade but I swear the color was magic on!! ✨💚
My first MAC product was the 217 brush. I amped myself up to purchase is in 2008 - I was 18. And I almost choked when she rang me up and said the price. But I was too embarrassed to decline, so I made the purchase and left half excited half wanting to cry. I still have that brush.
oh Mac 217 brush! the best brush ever! pitty they stopped with it and 217S is not the same good. I want my favourite 217 back!!!
Oh I forgot the 217 - I didn’t know they had stopped it . I still have about 3 of mine
U know ur favorite CZcamsr is so good when CZcams randomly picks a video of his to watch and u don’t even check to see the topic u just click play😂😂 love u❤
My first MAC experience actually was kind of iconic for me. It was 10 years ago in 2013; I had just gotten out of a two week stay in the hospital and I was going to be a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding in about a month's time. I set up an appointment at MAC to get my makeup done professionally for the first time in my life, to learn some new tips and tricks and buy some products for the wedding. It was honestly a great experience and the artist taught me a lot. It was kind of what I needed at that point in my life.
In about 1994, I went into the Mac professional artist store in Carnaby street and they refused to sell me the foundation I wanted because it was too heavy for my skin/need. They insisted to show me how I could do it more naturally and better for my skin. I was so inspired I became a make up artist myself. I have returned many many times and I have to say the quality of the artists are not the same as they were. Sad really, they were stand out artist compared to the beauty counter artists with plastered faces. I hope it revives itself. Ode to the 224!
My best memory of MAC will be my mom only buying their lipstick. We were poor, and my mom would only have enough to buy a lipstick. I love going with her when she buys a new lipstick because that was the few times when we would go to the more posh side of the mall. As a preteen I asked why she buys MAC and not the more affordable local brands (we lived in Manila). She said that it is worth it. MAC had better ingredients and that taking care of our skin was worth the cost.
Its funny really because i remember MAC being such a staple and out there brand compared to other high end makeup due to their competitors aimed at more "mature" consumers. I think where MAC went wrong is shopping with them wasn't a pleasant experience for most people, you'd go into their stores and was treated like they were doing you a favour by being in their presence (not saying this for everyone who worked for them, but was most peoples experience who shopped there).
But then the beauty started booming and I started noticing MAC stores being empty/closing, i even remember saying to someone MAC has a sale on, they never use to have a sale on?! Think MAC had a massive slice of humble pie but the damage was already done as them being seen as the nasty mean girl no one wants to be friends with.
The MAC counter always intimidated me. The club atmosphere made me feel like I wasn't cool enough😂edit: they still have some bomb mascaras
Same here. I much preferred the settings where I could browse and try what I want, and ask a question, when and if needed 😂😂 Not a big fan of a bunch of people ganging up trying to sell me something I don't actually need/want 😂😂
MAC Russian Red was my first big girl makeup. Its crazy how they haven’t really stayed up with trends
I worked for MAC from 2015 to 2018. The last year I was there was horrible when it came to pushing sales. Sales goals were unachievable and that's all that mattered. Definitely agree that it changed from being about the makeup and artistry. Then after I left I heard all these trainers were being "let go" and crazy stuff like you said.
Another thing that was sad was they supposedly were all inclusive. I was body shamed and no one backed me up. That was prob my last straw to quitting.
I’m 54 and adored MAC back in the day! I worked in Glemby salon in the mall and during the holidays did makeup at Estée Lauder and Lancôme. I tried to get into MAC but wasn’t willing to completely give up doing hair at that time. I hope they do come back stronger because like you said the formulas and artistry are still great.
I wanted some new makeup so I was really excited to go the MAC store and buy directly from them to support my local store. The experience was terrible. Nothing like the old days. I felt like I was shopping at an ulta.
the "give me sun!" bronzer and a turquoise blue liquid eyeliner that I had saved up for by doing chores for my parents for a few weeks and it was absolutely a moment!
Omg yessss the feeling of owning your first MAC product!
I started with MAC during their very early years. The first person I met with was Frank T. The education (by actual MUA’s) vs “selling” culture was groundbreaking at the time, as were the products. Years after EL took over the culture eventually changed and it became less about artistry, education and innovation. Then other brands came in to fill that need. They still have some great products, it’s just not the brand it once was.
I’m 51-years-old, and I’ve worn MAC cosmetics for 25+ years. Every five years or so I go in for a 60 minute consult to modernize my makeup. This year was a huge change, and at 51 I think I’m looking brighter, fresher faced, and more flawless than I ever have.
Love these deep dives! My poor hubby had to get 2 crowns today, so you're keeping me company while I wait at the dentist. Take care!
Oh no I hope he’s ok!!! 😩🖤
@RobertWelsh Thank you!! He'll be better now his teeth are getting fixed up!!!
MAC was absolutely the first nice makeup I ever bought for myself, It was 2007, I was 19 and had disposable income of my own for the first time in my life and I was SO excited over the two single shadows I bought, and I ended up buying two more. They were like $16 each at the time, I think? Which was a big splurge for me.