M A C Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company has been headquartered in New York City since becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998. MAC is an acronym for ''Make-Up Art Cosmetics''. It is named one of the top three global makeup brands, with an annual turnover of over $1 billion, and 500 independent stores, with over thirty stores in France. All stores are run by professional makeup artists. MAC is an official makeup brand, used to create makeup for movie actors. The most popular products by the brand are Studio Fix Fluid and Ruby Woo Lipstick.

History

The company's products were intended for makeup professionals, but are sold directly to consumers worldwide. Frank Toskan stated that he "first manufactured makeup for models, but then the models wanted this makeup for their sisters, friends, and so on... ". In the 1990s, the brand had more than one hundred stores worldwide, earning 200 million

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. The development of the brand internationally, the opening of new points of sale, and the adaptation of product lines tailored to each continent, left little time for the founders to create new products. In 1994, the Estée Lauder Companies took control of 51% of shares of MAC Cosmetics and began managing the business end while the two founders retained creative control. In 1997, co-founder Frank Angelo died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

during surgery at the age of 49. Estée Lauder Inc. completed the acquisition in 1998, and Frank Toskan sold his remaining shares shortly thereafter before leaving the company at the end of the same year. The MAC AIDS Fund was established in 1994 to support men, women, and children affected by

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

globally by addressing the link between poverty and HIV/AIDS. According to MAC Cosmetics, the fund has raised over $400 million through the sale of MAC's Viva Glam Lipsticks and Lip glosses, donating 100% of the sale price to fight HIV/AIDS. The Viva Glam product line has been a best-seller for the MAC Cosmetics brand. MAC has collaborated with many celebrities for its Viva Glam line, on limited edition lip glosses and lipsticks to support the

Mac AIDS Fund M∙A∙C AIDS Fund (M·A·F) is a public charity established in 1994 to support people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. It donates funds to communities and organizations that offer services to people with HIV/AIDS and help to prevent the disease ...

. Every year MAC selects a new spokesperson for Viva Glam. The first was drag queen RuPaul in 1994. RuPaul’s Viva Glam lipstick was the first product MAC Cosmetics advertised. Controversy arose in September 2010, over the anticipated release of the MAC Rodarte collection, a collaborative effort with the fashion label Zara Rodarte, based on the border town of

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

. The city had been plagued by

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

including hundreds of female homicides. MAC first changed the names of Juarez-related products and eventually pulled the line before distribution, and instead set up a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

which raised over $3 million in two years. In November 2010, MAC was a sponsoring partner of the Inside Film Awards held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In September 2012, MAC Cosmetics launched in India firstly the "MAC Selena" collection in collaboration with the estate of Selena Quintanilla Perez. A petition on Change.org proposed the idea of this collaboration to MAC Cosmetics. Selena's sister, Suzette Quintanilla, worked with MAC to create a collection that represented Selena. The collection sold out within hours not only at MAC stores, but also at other retailers that carried the collection such as

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

Bloomingdales Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

, and

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

. Due to the high demand for this collection, MAC restocked the collection in December 2016. Her posthumous collaboration with MAC Cosmetics became the best-selling celebrity collection in cosmetics history. In May 2017, MAC Cosmetics became available for purchase online at

Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty, Inc., formerly known as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. and before 2000 as Ulta3, is an American chain of cosmetic stores headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Ulta Beauty carries both high- and low-end cosmetics, fragra ...

. Products became available in stores in June 2017. On August 24, 2017, MAC Cosmetics announced that a collection involved with the estate of late singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

will be made available in the summer of 2018. The Official release date for the "MAC Aaliyah" collection was made available on June 20 online and June 21 in stores. Along with the MAC collection, MAC and i-D Magazine had partnered up to release a short film titled "A-Z of Aaliyah" which coincided with the launch. In May 2018, Sephora Canada announced it will carry MAC Cosmetics online and in its stores. In March 2022, MAC Cosmetics released their new spring Wild Cherry Collection and launched it for Japanese consumers. In January 2024, MAC opened in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 establishments in Canada Canadian companies established in 1984 Companies based in New York City Cosmetics companies of the United States Cosmetics brands History of cosmetics Estée Lauder Companies Beauty stores