Mac Cosmetics Is Being Accused of Copying Joelle Phillips’s Shimmer Finishing Spray
MAC Cosmetics is under fire for a recently launched product — a Fix+ Setting Spray — which quickly drew comparisons to makeup artist Joelle Phillips's signature creation. Now people on the Internet are calling the brand out for allegedly copying Joelle, a claim that MAC denies.
The product in question dates back to 2016, when Joelle created a DIY shimmery finishing spray by adding loose MAC pigments to the brand's original Fix+ setting spray, a genius hack that quickly received praise from her followers. "The video went viral on Instagram. People started asking to pay me to make it for them," she told Teen Vogue. However, the staggering response from her fans eventually prompted the Philadelphia-based artist to remove the video from her Instagram. "I panicked," she says. "I didn't expect to get such a big response. That video got around 50,000 views in two days." On top of that, Joelle had also became fearful that her innovative idea — which was clearly resonating online — would be copied by larger companies.
From then, Joelle started to do her own research on how to formulate beauty products, which is how her company, Omglo Cosmetics was born. Last March, she debuted a highlighting hydrating finishing mist inspired by her original concoction. After reflecting on the success of her brand, Joelle decided to repost the original video that led to Omglo's creation. However, almost two months after her repost, images of a new trio of shimmery MAC Fix+ sprays began to surface online. People began to connect the dots, and even Joelle feels that the two sprays may be a little too similar for comfort.
“It would have been nice to have been reached out to by MAC," Joelle told Essence about the buzz. "I would have gladly taken up the opportunity because I really feel like black women, especially in the beauty community, are always the last to be heard.”
While women of color are avid consumers of mainstream beauty products, Joelle points out that they aren't always represented in mainstream beauty brands' products. "It's so important to me, as a creator of this product, to make something that [makes] women of color feel comfortable and beautiful using," she explained. "As beautiful as brown skin is, it's not that difficult to understand melanin. Bigger companies should be more inclined to include us when it comes to production when making any type of beauty product."
In response to Teen Vogue's request for comment, a MAC Cosmetics spokesperson provided the following statement:
"M·A·C Fix+ shade extensions are inspired by our two most iconic products often paired together, Fix+ and Strobe, their fame dating back to the year 2000. Since its inception Fix+ has been essential to our artistry backstage, mixed across many mediums and materials, showcasing the product’s transformative characteristics. Being a makeup artist brand we have always encouraged creativity and our Artist community has long been customizing various M·A·C products, including M·A·C Pigments/Glitters with their own bottles of Fix+. The new shades have been under development for the past two years."
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