Real Techniques Apologizes for Posting Stolen Look
Makeup has been around for thousands of years and people continuously take inspiration from others and recreate old looks – there are only so many smokey eyes you can make. But in the beauty industry, copying a unique makeup look without giving credit to the original artist is a criminal offence and glammers do not take it lightly.
That's why when Katina, the popular Australian artist behind @doyouevenblend, saw a dupe of an eyeshadow look she originally created last December featured on the Real Techniques Instagram, she was livid.
She posted to Instagram sharing a side-by-side of the literally identical designs, calling out the brand.
When she commented on Real Techniques' photo, they told her that they had hired a makeup artist to "create the look" and offered to send Katina a gift to gloss things over.
The MUA says she always appreciates fans recreating her looks, but she felt credit should have been given especially by such a large company. "The problem I had is that a big cosmetic company paid a different artist to copy it so they could use it to market their brand. Instead of just hiring me or asking if they can just use what I had already created," she wrote in the caption.
RT apologized for "any harm caused" and updated the caption to give credit. Eventually, the brand took down the image all together, but Katina still wants to share a very important message with other makeup artists.
"Although my use of language may have been harsh, I still have the right to DEFEND myself and my work," she wrote. "This is something that has happened to alot of artists by major companies and other huge accounts here on Instagram, and I feel it's important to speak up."
UPDATED: 7/21/17 10:44 a.m. ET
A brand rep for Real Techniques gave Seventeen.com the following statement:
“We made a mistake and have since reached out to the artist to apologize personally. We are embarrassed by the situation. Real Techniques prides itself in being authentic to those who want to create, experiment and transform their makeup routines. We also apologize to our fans and followers.”
It seems Katina has accepted their apology. She updated her Instagram post to say: "This issue has now been resolved and no-one needs to go mental about it and start boycotting anyone or attacking me for standing up for myself. Lets [sic] all take a deep breath and move on!"
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