M∙A∙C Cosmetics celebrated its impressive 35th year in 2019—and looking at the brand’s history through the lens of some of today’s leading beauty trends, it was way ahead of its time upon launch. Not only was it one of, if not the first pro makeup brand created by artists for artists, it was a ground-breaker in many ways, such as with its principled messages of individuality, inclusiveness and philanthropic initiatives.

An acronym for Makeup Art Cosmetics, M∙A∙C was launched in 1984 by two members of the artist community—makeup artist/photographer Frank Toskan and salon owner Frank Angelo—expressly for their peers.

Created in their Toronto home, the founders placed makeup artists and artistry at the center of their radically new brand. Their first offering was 30 eyeshadows, lipsticks and polishes, as well as the first full range of professional foundations with 30 Studio Fix tints. The pair packaged their products in black pots, rather than traditional compacts, which quickly became the brand’s avant-garde look.

In 1998, 14 years post-launch, The Estée Lauder Companies purchased the then “Indie” brand and primed it for global success. That same year, a packaging makeover began, with the creation of the patented iconic black bullet lipstick package design, which remains an instantly recognizable staple of today’s range, although it has also morphed into colorful and textural iterations.

Today, M∙A∙C offers 7,000 product SKU’s globally, for face, skin, lip and eye. There are 50-plus collections each year including seasonal color stories, innovative collaborations, and more.

Globally, M·A·C enviably sells one lipstick every second, and one eye shadow every three seconds. M∙A∙C products are sold online, in free-standing M∙A∙C stores and at M∙A∙C counters at select retailers in more than 120 countries worldwide.

Philippe Pinatel, global brand president, M∙A∙C Cosmetics, tells Beauty Packaging, “The brand has grown to be the global makeup authority celebrating and supporting communities of All Ages, All Races, All Genders, so whether someone is a makeup addict or makeup minimalist, we have products and experiences suited just for them.” Further, through the brand’s online communities, PRO program and 19,000 artists in the world, “We are able to deliver the right products and a unique experience to each consumer.”

While many of its products are bestsellers, M∙A∙C sees itself as more than a brand. One that, according to Pinatel, lives, interprets, and creates culture.

“M∙A∙C doesn’t view itself as a beauty brand but as an embodiment of a global culture institution, tapping into various subcultures and the worlds of art, fashion, music and pop culture to create a conversation that resonates with our consumers and creates a conversation—and trends—larger than beauty,” he explains.

Evolving with the Consumer

While M∙A∙C is known for its ongoing creativity, the core tenets of the brand DNA have not changed since it was formed in 1984.

“Artistry, culture, community, individuality and social impact—however we bring those to life directly with our consumer has evolved as our consumer evolves,” explains Pinatel. He says today’s consumer is increasingly craving products, packaging and experiences that she or he chooses, versus being told what is right for them, which has provided a great opportunity for M∙A∙C as a trailblazer for inclusivity and individuality since its inception. In terms of packaging,

Pinatel says not only did M∙A∙C invent the iconic bullet lipstick, but also the classic Fix+ bottle—“and we are known for our creative collections and collaborations, which are collected by many M∙A∙C fans.”

No. 1 in Top 19 Markets

How does M∙A∙C maintain its edge in a saturated market? Innovation is key. Pinatel explains: “M∙A∙C is the pioneer authority in the beauty industry and to date we are the Number 1 prestige makeup brand in the top 19 markets around the world. In order to maintain our position, we bring constant product innovation to the market, set trends thanks to our designer support at 100-plus backstage shows every season and continue to invest and educate our unmatched global artistry model.”

A vibrant community of M∙A∙C enthusiasts has grown over the years—a very dedicated and engaged community online and offline, according to Pinatel. “We are the Number 1 most-searched beauty brand on YouTube and the Number 1 most followed beauty brand on Instagram with over 23.2M followers on our global account alone.”

Pinatel says, “Social media allows for M∙A∙C to have real-time conversations directly with our consumers regarding everything we’re doing, from packaging to product formulas to partnerships. As packaging is so visual, social media allows a great opportunity to showcase it front and center in our content.”

Packaging Excellence

When asked why he thinks Beauty Packaging’s readers selected M∙A∙C as ‘Beauty Company of the Year: Excellence in Packaging’ for 2019, Pinatel says: “M∙A∙C embodies creativity and artistry in everything it does, including its packaging, and our consumers are often waiting eagerly for the next thing we put out. We are known for our special-deco packaging with both collaborations as well as annual repeat collections like Holiday and Summer. Our packaging encompasses both creative and premium, high-quality materials that we bring to life through different visuals and textures.”

When made aware of Beauty Packaging’s readers selecting M∙A∙C for this year’s honor Nick Dormon, managing director and strategy director at Echo Brand Design, commented:

“What is so strong about M∙A∙C’s brand image is that they have stayed true to their values whilst remaining relevant and significant and have done this through their collaborations with leading talent from the worlds of fashion, art and popular culture.” 

Hitting the right design balance is always a full team challenge at M∙A∙C.

Pinatel says: “We are constantly challenging our suppliers and our internal team to continually update and innovate the way we look at packaging, decorating techniques, textures and overall design. We have almost 52 collections a year and have never repeated a design.”

Evolving Consumer Needs

The brand prides itself on keeping the pulse of its consumers in mind in order to develop relevant products. “We listen closely to what our consumers are craving and asking for,” says Pinatel, which is how they continue to come up with the constant inspiration and innovation for products, collaborations—and packaging.

Pinatel says, “We have evolved our product offerings over the years to adapt to ever-evolving consumer needs. For example, we developed the ‘Up For Everything Lash Mascara,’ which met a specific LATAM consumer complaint of their lashes pointing down.” The product ultimately ranked No. 1 in Mexico and Chile.

As M∙A∙C has stood for inclusivity since its inception, this accounts for the shade offerings for all of its global consumers. Pinatel says, M·A·C to this day offers more foundation tones than any other brand, making it the most inclusive makeup brand. “We have 400-plus foundations globally, in all different finishes and shades, and are constantly evolving the portfolio to cater to ever-evolving skin needs.”

The Creative Backbone of M∙A∙C

Above all, product quality and safety are the key priorities in product and packaging development, according to Pinatel. He tells Beauty Packaging, “Packaging plays a pivotal role from a functional standpoint, as it ensures that we safeguard the quality and portability of our products. We put quality at the forefront of everything that we do to give the consumer the best possible product and package. Secondly, as it is the first thing people see with our products, it is integral to the creative backbone of M∙A∙C. He cites the iconic Black Bullet lipstick as “the visual identity for the M∙A∙C brand.”

While the brand has perhaps been best known for its sleek predominantly black packaging, devoted consumers also covet special and limited collections released each year—and 2019 saw some especially eye-catching, sell-out launches. Pinatel says, “We created a lot of memorable bespoke collaborations that spanned throughout the entire product lifecycle, including packaging.”

Landmark Edition

Perhaps the product—and the social purpose—that most defines M∙A∙C is its Viva Glam lipstick.

For over 25 years, the Viva Glam efforts have continued to make M∙A∙C “the brand with a purpose.” Drag queen RuPaul took center stage as the first Viva Glam spokesperson in 1994.

Since then, a number of celebrities have taken part in Viva Glam campaigns, including Lady Gaga, Elton John, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna (who reportedly raised $50 million for the campaign), Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and Sia.

To mark the 25th anniversary of M∙A∙C’s Viva Glam in 2019, the brand created a limited-edition Viva Glam 25 lipstick—in the original, iconic Viva Glam I shade—encapsulated in red, glittery special deco packaging.

Every cent of the selling price of Viva Glam lipstick is donated to the M·A·C Viva Glam Fund to support the health and rights of people of All Ages, All Races and All Genders. To-date, Viva Glam has raised $500,000,000.

The powerful ‘Change your Lipstick, Change a Life’ slogan offers specifics—

• 1 Viva Glam lipstick buys 254 condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV
• 1 Viva Glam lipstick purchases a full meal for two homeless LGBTQ+ youth
• 1 Viva Glam lipstick tests 14 pregnant mothers for HIV to support the health of health

Special Collections

While the packaging for Viva Glam retains its iconic shape, the brand’s special collections range far and wide.

When asked about M∙A∙C’s packaging, Kayla Villena, senior beauty analyst, Euromonitor, notes: “The brand’s usage of classic colors black and white, and adherence to sleek and simple style in its packaging, help it stand out against newer, D2C brands that are also trying to communicate a prestige positioning.

M∙A∙C has strategically differentiated its limited-edition collections or seasonal items from its other mainstay offerings by including trend-driven, more vibrant colors or prints in its special collections. This helps the brand compete against D2C brands, some of which are entirely trend-driven, while also keeping with its classic, simple look in its packaging.”

Seasonal, special edition and collaborative collections require a strong joint effort between product development and marketing—and makeup artists.

For special-deco packaging and collaborations, Pinatel says:

“After we identify the collaborator, we’ll gather inspiration from them on how they envision the collection. While our product development and product marketing teams are working through the product lineup, our packaging team visualizes the collaborator’s inspiration. We pride ourselves on working with long-standing supplier partners who know the M∙A∙C brand and DNA and what we’re trying to achieve, working closely with them to bring the creative and the collaborator’s vision to life through the texture, design and artwork of every component.”

Pinatel says M∙A∙C takes pride in all their collaborations, but the two that jump out from a packaging perspective are the Disney Aladdin Collection by M∙A∙C and the M∙A∙C Pony Park collection with mega-influencer Park Hye-Min (Pony Park).

For the Disney Aladdin Collection by M∙A∙C, Pinatel says, “We created a special-edition, opulently packaged collection celebrating the much-anticipated, live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic. The packaging was inspired by the rich patterns and vibrant colors of the film, evoking the exotic, brilliantly hued desert kingdom where Aladdin and Jasmine’s exciting story unfolds.” He says the beautiful gold packaging looked like it came “straight out of the genie lamp.”

Allure magazine described the collection, saying, “For Disney fans or just for people who have been crushing on Aladdin since 1992, the best part is the packaging. Each product is swathed in royal gold and decorated with flowers and garlands that look like they were designed by Jasmine herself.”

For the M∙A∙C Pony Park collection, Pinatel says they worked for three years very closely with K-Beauty mega-influencer Pony to ensure that her vision came to life. She wanted to have the collection represent tarot cards as much as possible, so the packaging team developed the packaging with soft-touch materials, to ensure it had the feeling of old soft leathery tarot card books. To highlight the design, M∙A∙C also used a peachy-rose gold hot stamp to accent the colors.

Beyond entertainment and celebrity collaborations, there were also a number of sought-after special collections in 2019.

M∙A∙C’s Powder Kiss collection was the most successful launch in 2019, according to Pinatel, due to its “groundbreaking” formula and corresponding matte packaging. The new formulation introduced with the Powder Kiss Lipstick addressed “a key user gap,” according to Pinatel—moisture and matte. The award-winning formula contains moisture-coated powder pigments that condition and hydrate the lips for all-day comfort. To seamlessly underscore the formula,

Pinatel says, “We reinvented the standard black lipstick bullet packaging with a soft-matte finish twist to showcase the new formula that delivers on hydration with a matte finish.”

The combo resulted in the brand’s bestselling product of FY20: Powder Kiss Devoted to Chili Lipstick.

Another consumer favorite in 2019 was Electric Wonder, a limited-edition collection celebrating Summer and bronzing. “The packaging was inspired by nature,” explains Pinatel—”pink marble elements with wondrous bolts of golden lightning.” All components of the 19-piece collection—from multiple suppliers, on multiple shapes, across many different materials—”needed to live cohesively together.”

The marble effect was difficult to achieve. Pinatel explains: “We were challenged to get the marble effect to ‘wrap’ over the various shapes of our in-line components—from tapered cylinders to sharp edges to curved compacts—without making any modifications to our existing tooling.

Utilizing water transfer process, the effect was masterfully achieved—beautifully mimicking natural marble. The golden bursts of lightning were hot stamped on top of the water transfer foil within our somewhat limited hot stamping decoration areas so expertly that the casual observer does not notice that the bolts do not extend over the edges. Additional gold accents were achieved via anodizing on the lipstick a-shells and brush handles and via vacuum metallizing on the compact platforms. The result was a gorgeous collection that celebrates natural elements in a modern way.”

Secondary Packaging Stars

M∙A∙C is also recognized for seamlessly pairing primary and secondary packaging to tell a comprehensive story.

One of 2019’s standouts for secondary packaging shone with the Stars for Days Advent Calendar and Collector of the Stars Kit in M∙A∙C’s recent “Starring You” Holiday Collection. The Stars for Days Advent Calendar was wrapped in a special-feature, glittering purple, star-shaped box “for true cinematic impact,” says Pinatel. It featured a star-shaped set box produced by Knoll Printing and Packaging, covered in lavender glitter paper, lined with lavender mylar.

The interior cartons were 24 individual triangular shaped cartons that puzzle-fit together to complete a 24-day gift. The Collector of the Stars Kit held 20 lip products in a glitter-covered set box, which folded down as a keepsake box/display produced by MG New York. Additionally, each of the 10 M∙A∙C lipsticks had color-matched glitter topped caps matching the product shade and imbuing the holiday spirit.

For face, M∙A∙C relaunched the Studio Fix Franchise in 2019 with new color-matched folding cartons, and added two new product forms. The brand added a new product called Studio Fix Soft Matte Stick, which also has shade indicators on the carton and on the primary package, providing the consumer with a better experience finding their shade.

Euromonitor’s Villena sees a relationship between M∙A∙C’s packaging for color cosmetics and skincare. She notes: “It’s interesting to see how M∙A∙C’s skincare packaging evolves, relative to its color cosmetics products. The packaging of moisturizers, lip care, and cleansers, for example, take advantage of lighter, brighter tones, such as being packaged in transparent or translucent bottles or jars, or incorporating some sort of reflective design element on the packaging.

In contrast, its color cosmetics line relies more heavily on the usage of black to suggest a more dramatic look expected in makeup, whereas its skincare products are packaged in such a way that communicates ‘light’ to denote a lightweight, clean feel. These approaches also help the brand stay cohesive in its packaging while keeping to the classic colors of black and white.”

Sustainable Packaging

As is the case with many brands in the industry, M∙A∙C is always looking for sustainable ways to evolve its primary and secondary packaging. Pinatel says, “We contribute to The Estée Lauder Companies’ corporate goal of having 75-100% of packaging be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable by 2025 through innovative sustainability solutions and our longstanding Back 2 M∙A∙C program.”

Back-to-M·A·C is a program, in which participating stores and retailers in North America use recyclable material from old makeup packaging to create new compacts. What cannot be recycled is incinerated to create new energy, ensuring that none of the packaging returned to M∙A∙C ends up in landfills. Additionally, M·A·C sources its forest-based fiber folding cartons from a leading sustainable paper mill, according to Pinatel.

What’s Next for M∙A∙C?

“As a market leader,” Pinatel says, “we are always looking for ways to light the flame again because we know that if M·A·C doesn’t set a new standard and new reason to go explore, then no one will.” 

5 Milestones for M∙A∙C

• M∙A∙C has stood for inclusivity since its inception, and offers more foundation tones than any other brand.

• Globally, M·A·C sells one lipstick every second and one eye shadow every three seconds.

• M∙A∙C has almost 52 collections a year and has never repeated a design.

• The patented iconic black bullet lipstick package design was created in 1998 when The Estée Lauder Companies purchased M∙A∙C.

• 2019 marked 25 years of M∙A∙C Viva Glam. Every cent of the selling price of Viva Glam lipstick is donated to the M·A·C Viva Glam Fund to support the health and rights of people of All Ages, All Races and All Genders. To-date, Viva Glam has raised $500 million. 

M.A.C’s ‘Single-Minded’ Packaging

Nick Dormon, Managing Director & Strategy Director, Echo Brand Design, offers his pro point-of-view on ‘how the M.A.C view of the world is reflected in its packaging:’

M.A.C’s success is rooted in its DNA and the way the brand’s assets and communications have been managed; as such it is difficult to separate the packaging from the holistic brand experience—and it is the brand experience that is key.

The appeal of the brand is founded on a great product story (lasting color intensity), a compelling human truth and a set of linked brand values to which they have remained true.

‘All Ages, All Races, All Sexes’ and the positioning around diversity for all is perhaps more relevant today than it has ever been. They champion a person’s individuality rather than imposing or selling a particular image. The message is clear—just be yourself, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

What is so strong about their brand image is that they have stayed true to their values whilst remaining relevant and significant and have done this through their collaborations with leading talent from the worlds of fashion, art and popular culture. Their long-term Viva Glam activation to help fight HIV/AIDS is one of the best and most successful examples of brand purpose before it was even invented, raising over $500m to date! Other initiatives such as MACnificent Me have also helped the brand stay immediate and relevant.

The M.A.C view of the world—’let you be you’—is reflected in the packaging, too. Understated, high-quality, quietly aspirational it does not ‘sell’ a particular look or image—unlike say Benefit or Urban Decay. The packaging itself is deliberately not ‘edgy,’ self-consciously fashionable or glamorous. However, it is quite single-minded in its own way.

In the lipstick, the brand has an iconic core that has not really changed, and the bullet shape is unique and distinctive. Whilst the original design has evolved, the main lipstick range has always been black, which allows the product itself to do the talking and be the center of attention—a restrained foil against which the vivid, bold, confident colors, themselves a core brand equity, can play. It seems to say that if we have the confidence to be ourselves, then so can you.

It could be described as a ‘modern classic’ inheriting perhaps a timeless quality one might associate with a brand like Chanel.

Unlike other brands, the M.A.C brand story is not overtly played out through its packaging—it is much subtler than that and probably the better and more appealing for it.

The iconic 3-letter acronym, and its styling, quietly and confidently embody the whole of the brand story and experience, which is being played out via the brand’s activations and communications.

This is branding at its best.