Products
Mac sell a huge range of products for All Sexes, All Ages and All Races (mission statement), including retro matte lipsticks, glossy illuminators, pigmented eye shadows and full coverage foundations. They also sell products specifically for makeup artists to use to meet their creative needs in the Mac Pro section.According to Mac's website, Mac's top selling products are listed below (I have only listed some of them):
Ruby Woo Lipstick
Mac's number one best selling product is Ruby Woo Lipstick! It is a matte formula which lasts well on your lips. The colour is a bright pillar box red. It is one of my personal favourites!
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| Mac Ruby Woo Lipstick MAC, 2016. Lipstick [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/ shaded/168/310/Lipstick/index.tmpl |
This is a lipstick Ariana Grande create for Viva Glam. It is a dark plum matte shade.
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| Viva Glam Ariana Grande Lipstick MAC, 2016. Most Desired [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.com/bestsellers#mostdesired |
This is a beautiful baked highlighter for the face, with a shimmery finish. Add this to the high points of the face to create a glowing finish. I personally own this and it is one of my favourite highlighters because it really makes your cheekbones 'pop'.
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| Mineralised Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle MAC, 2016. Best Sellers [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.com/bestsellers |
This is a medium to full coverage foundation with a matte finish. It has SPF 15 in it and helps reduce the look of pores to give a smooth and perfected finish. I have tried this foundation and I really liked the coverage; however it felt very heavy on the skin which I didn't like.
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| Studio Fix Fluid Foundation MAC, 2016. Best Sellers [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.com/bestsellers |
This is a light weight water mist with lots of added vitamins and minerals to help refresh and hydrate the face. You can use this before or after you apply makeup. If this is applied after makeup application it will help to settle any excess powder to give a more natural and dewy finish. I own and love this product! I use it not only as a finishing spray, but also to intensify pigments and eye shadow colours by wetting the brush first with Fix+.
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| Prep + Primer Fix+
MAC, 2016. Best Sellers [viewed 24th February 2016].
Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.com/bestsellers
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Eye Shadow in Amber Lights
This is a very pigmented and bendable eye shadow in a shimmery bronzy gold shade. It can be used dry or wet depending on the intensity of finish you want. These eye shadows come in a wide range of colours and textures.
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| Eye Shadow in Amber Lights
MAC, 2016. Best Sellers [viewed 24th February 2016].
Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.com/bestsellers
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Packaging
The packaging for Mac is very sleek and sophisticated. All of the permanent products are simply packaged in black, either with the whole product being black or just the lids. There are no colours or patterns involved in the permanent range, unless it is showing a lip liner shade. All the brushes have a black handle, all the foundations have a black lid with mostly a clear body and the powders are either all black or are rimmed with black with a clear lid to show the product. The black packaging come in a small range of finishes, from shiny to matte. I think the packaging for the Mac lipsticks is the most iconic for the brand. They are shaped as a bullet and they are all black with a subtle shiny finish and they have a rim of silver under the lid with the Mac logo lining the rim in silver. All Mac products include the Mac logo with the same font, from foundations to brushes, to give them their signature look. |
| Examples of Mac Packaging FARRELL, S., 2016. My MAC Cosmetics Kit Essentials [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://sharonthemakeupartist.com/mac-cosmetics-kit-essentials/ |
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| Mac Lipsticks AMANDA, 2015. Swap it out Sunday- Goodbye MAC Lipstick [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.theorganicbunny.com/swap-it-out-sunday-goodbye-m-a-c-lipsticks/ |
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| Wash and Dry Collection EMILYISABELLA, 2015. Nail Art and Makeup [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://emilyisabella.tumblr.com/post/1182787 42988/love-the-new-maccosmetics-wash-and-dry |
Presentation
Mac present themselves in a very sleek and professional way, but they are still seen as fun and experimental. Mac present themselves as a brand that wants to empower people and support everyone's individuality and creativity, especially through the way they look. The products are packaged in black, their staff wear all black and there stores have black furnishings, giving off a very bold, yet sophisticated image. I think the black represents confidence and strength which are two words I would use to describe Mac cosmetics. The stores are always very clean and tidy and have all their products displayed in an organised fashion which gives off a very professional image to its customers. The staff in store always have well executed makeup on and are well groomed which I think ensures the customers have confidence in them to trust their skills and opinions. In my experience, the staff in store are always very confident and chatty which makes the customers feel very comfortable, but it also gives off the message that if you buy Mac makeup you will have the sae confidence as they do. |
| Example of inside a Mac store RETAILDESIGNBLOG, 2012. MAC Cosmetics Store by Pinkeye, Liege [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/07/mac-cosmetics-store-by-pinkeye-liege/ |
Models Used
The models used in their adverts are usually in their mid 20s or younger and they have very doll-like faces with very perfected skin. The models almost look plastic in many adverts, which definitely doesn't give off a 'natural beauty' image. Mac is one of the only brands to use drag queens in their advertising which shows how they really do follow their mission statement of All Ages, All Races, All Sexes. Mac sponsored Ru Pal's Drag Race by providing them with makeup, showing that they support drag queens and therefore support individuality and creativity.
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| Ru Pal's Viva Glam Campaign STERN, C., 2015. Move over Kendall! Caitlyn Jenner reportedly set to star in a beauty campaignfor MAC cosmetics - and lands a personal speaking agent [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3109669/Caitlyn-Jenner-reportedly-set-star- campaign-MAC-Cosmetics-just-days-making-public-appearance-woman.html |
Promotion
When Mac was first launched in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo, they relied purely on the high quality of their products and word of mouth to sell their products, so they didn't advertise or give out samples. However Mac do advertise more today, mostly in magazines and on their own website. Mac doesn't tend to advertise just one product, like other makeup brands do, but they instead advertise new collections. This means that the products aren't usually shown in the advert, but instead a look is created with the products from the new collection and an advert is created around the theme of the collection. However, an example of when the product is included in the advert would be Macs Wash and Dry collection. The three models are applying a lipstick which I assume is from the collection; however the packaging suggests otherwise as the packaging is not the packaging used for the collection; this may be because they thought it would look too fussy if the lipsticks were coloured as there is a lot going on already. The colours of each models' swim suit and accessories are all colours included in the collection's packaging which is a strong link. I like that the models look like they are sat in a laundry room, with the foam flooding from behind them because it reflects the collection's name of Wash and Dry. |
| Wash and Dry Advert CFEDITOR, 2015. Make a Date with MAC Wash & Dry Collection [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://completefashion.org/make-a-date-with-m-a-c-wash-dry-collection-now-available-in-nigeria/ |
They also advertise on social media, such as FaceBook and Instagram with large followings and they interact with their customers to make them feel valued. Another way Mac promotes themselves is buy giving out new launches to beauty bloggers and beauty websites so that they can test out the new products and give their (hopefully positive) opinions on them. People are more likely to buy a product if someone they follow has used and enjoyed the product and beauty blogging has become very popular in recent years. An example of this would be when Carli Babel, a very popular beauty blogger with millions of followers, did a Mac Haul on her YouTube channel. This video has been viewed over a million times which shows that it has been successful in reaching a very large audience and therefore promoting itself to a large audience.
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| Carli Bybel's Mac Haul CARLI BYBEL, 2015. MAC Haul! 2015 [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEgJQIW-n8E |
Price Point
Mac products are definitely more expansive than high street brands; however they are not as expensive as some of the high end brands; however I would say it was veering towards being a high end brand because it is not sold in high street stores and it is more expansive than the lower end makeup brands. If you have a Mac Pro card then you get 40% off Mac products. To get a Mac Pro card you need to be a certified makeup artist, hair stylist or photographer. Some examples of pricing would be:-Lipsticks are £15.50
-Foundations are £22-£29.50
-Eye shadow are £13
-Mascaras are £19
Resources:
AC, 2007. The MAC Cosmetics Story [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://marketingdope.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/mac-cosmetics-story.html
CARLI BYBEL, 2015. MAC Haul! 2015 [viewed 24th February 2016].
Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEgJQIW-n8E
MAC, 2016. Official Site [viewed 24th February 2016]. Available from: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk
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