Morphe Cosmetics, also known as Morphe Brushes and legally known as Morphe Holdings (stylized as MORPHE), is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based cosmetics and beauty manufacturer founded in 2008. The company specializes in direct-to-consumer distribution of beauty and personal care products through digital retail, leveraging partnerships with social media influencers. Morphe has severed ties with multiple partners following controversies involving several influencers. In August 2019, Morphe Holdings announced a new partnership with

General Atlantic General Atlantic, legal main entity General Atlantic Service Company, L.P., (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. T ...

, which acquired a majority stake in the company. The additional terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Morphe' existing shareholders continued to be investors in the company. On January 5, 2023, Morphe announced on social media that all its U.S. stores would close immediately, citing criticism of employee working conditions and a shift to focus more on their digital storefront. A week later, on January 12, 2023, Morphe's parent company, Forma Brands, filed for

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. At that time, Morphe owed YouTube stars and beauty influencers Jaclyn Hill $2 million and Jeffree Star $1.4 million in unsecured claims. In March 2023, Morphe′s main creditors bought Forma for $690 million.

Partnerships

Morphe partnered with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star but severed ties with them in 2020. This decision came amid online criticism of the brand following a feud between beauty vloggers

Tati Westbrook Tatiana Aleksandra Westbrook (born Tania Aleksandra Krievins; February 14, 1982), best known under her vlogger name Tati, is an American YouTuber and make-up artist, makeup artist. Career YouTube Westbrook, a former Image consulting, image ...

and James Charles, as well as accusations of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

against Star. Morphe initially collaborated with James Charles in 2017, producing two palettes of eyeshadows. However, the company cut ties with Charles in 2021 in response to calls for a boycott after he admitted to inappropriately texting two 16-year-old boys when he was in his early 20s. Other noticeable partnerships for Morphe include collaborations with Manny Gutierrez, Nikita Dragun, Jaclyn Hill,

Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She appeared in Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime's reality show ''Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016, and starred in a series of music videos by Si ...

, Avani Gregg,

Madison Beer Madison Elle Beer (born March 5, 1999) is an American singer and songwriter. Beer first gained substantial media coverage when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her covers she posted on YouTube. In 2013, she released her debut single "Melo ...

, Jackie Aina,

Charli D'Amelio Charli Grace D'Amelio ( ; born May 1, 2004) is an American social media personality and dancer. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-s ...

Dixie D'Amelio Dixie Jane D'Amelio ( ; born August 12, 2001) is an American social media personality and singer known for her videos on TikTok. She is the elder sister of Charli D'Amelio. Early life Dixie Jane D'Amelio was born on August 12, 2001 in Norwalk, ...

, and

Bretman Rock Bretman Rock Sacayanan Laforga (born July 31, 1998) is a Filipino-American beauty influencer and social media personality based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He rose to fame as a creator on YouTube and Vine (service), Vine after one of his contouring v ...

. In addition, Morphe collaborated with

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

in 2020 and 2021. in August 4, 2024, Morphe closed their stores in the United Kingdom to focus online.

References

{{Cosmetics Companies based in Los Angeles Cosmetics companies of the United States Cosmetics brands 2008 establishments in the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 Retail companies disestablished in 2023 2023 disestablishments in California