I’m a Skinfluencer Who Has Worked Paid With MCoBeauty. Here’s Why I’m no Longer Featuring Them on my Socials

& A Note About “Duping” Culture.

I have a very simple belief that’s inspired this decision: In the end of the day, doing the right thing doesn’t need to come from passion or burning desire— it just simply needs to happen.

That’s how I feel about the MCoBeauty situation.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked with MCoBeauty in a paid capacity as an influencer multiple times, and have received PR (press samples) for almost every new launch. Beyond my official work with them, I had been personally using their products for well over a decade.

I’ve regularly and candidly spoken to the team about feedback concerns like their treatment of creators, and even reached out when their duping started to ramp up.

Personally, i’ve come to the conclusion that if I’m in the Aussie beauty industry and I’m not backing innovation, small businesses, and “right” ways of creating, what am I doing?

Let’s talk more about why.

Should You Stop Buying MCoBeauty?— A Note on Social Exhaustion

That is completely up to you. I’m not going to weigh in on your personal purchasing decisions, nor will I judge you for them.

After all, who’s more “evil” or in the wrong? Amazon or MCoBeauty? I still buy things from Amazon— who famously have awful working conditions.

I’m not to be the “I do this bad thing so this other bad thing doesn’t matter” person either, I just genuinely think there is no moral or correct consumption under capitalism, so tend to feel very lax about purchasing decisions in general.

A bit lazy? Probably. I’m doing my best to be candid and honest here, and I think many feel the same way.

Any attempt to start making moral or wise purchasing decisions is usually met with exhaustion and social overwhelm. In a time when money is tight, sometimes what is most affordable is what is best— or at the least easiest— for people to manage and access.

It’s also difficult to keep up. You could be using or buying a dupe and not even realise it. Kmart, for example, copies large designers often— but as their pieces are usually showcased in high-end homeware stores or high-street boutiques, the average Kmart shopper is likely unaware.

MCoBeauty isn’t near alone in the beauty dupe category either— even higher end brands like Tarte came out with their version of Charlotte Tilbury’s glow wands.

Again, that doesn’t make it ok, but it makes it reality— perhaps one we’re often unaware of until it hits a little too close to home.

I also hear this often: consumers are exhausted from the overwhelm of choice, and feel disconnected when everything needs to be a moral decision.

It’s also, frankly, hard to get someone to care about their eyebrow gel being a dupe when their rent is $900/week.

Shaming the consumer is inefficient and unfair, and although you can’t get people to care about things that don’t affect them directly— we can put the pressure on brands themselves, as movers in the industry.

Therefore, from a place of privilege, I’m able to take a stance in the areas of things I feel able to change, and this is simply one of those things.

Duping, Dupe Culture, And Copycat Cosmetics

“There needs to be another name for what they’re doing” a friend said. I was having a wonderful conversation with a team of cosmetic formulators who are attending the ASCC event “The Impact of dupes on our Industry” in the coming weeks.

I resonated with what they said (paraphrasing)

“Is what they’re offering really a dupe? Dupes used to be so special, via word of mouth almost— it was never advertised as a dupe or so brazen, and the packaging was often worlds apart— but there was a common understanding that what’s inside was, performance wise, equivalent— and that was special.”

“The product ingredient lists are often worlds apart— It’s often just a packaging dupe, betting on the fact that people purchasing them haven’t tried the high end versions to accurately compare.”

The need for another name made a lot of sense, and I agreed. We have slipped very far away from what once felt innocent and at worst cheeky.

So, are MCoBeauty really offering dupes? Or is this a case of copycat cosmetics? If we are considering performance and ingredient lists, what “dupe” brands are offering aren’t really dupes at all.

The Recent ABC Article

Shockingly, CEO Shelly admitted this quite boldly in the ABC article that has the beauty world in a frenzy.

Noted from the ABC article:

MCoBeauty’s founder Ms Sullivan said the company decided not to bother fighting the Chemcorp case because 2000Hour wasn’t selling well.

“In fact, we still have 20,000 units in our warehouse,” she said. “We didn’t want to fight. It wasn’t a great product.”

Exhaustion is Around the Corner & MCoBeauty Knows it

What comes up must come down. Consumers and beauty bloggers alike are asking for the tackiness to stop.

For some, the transition to fast-fashion-esk makeup and skincare felt painful. MCoBeauty was a brand many have used and loved for years, and to see them move in this direction left loyal users feeling confused— which I resonated with.

On a recent post, I saw MCoBeauty asking the ABC to stop cutting and recutting their story, as consumers were exhausted hearing about it.

I did find this comment deeply ironic, when they repeatedly didn’t listen to the requests of the brands (small and big) they’ve copied.

What Makes Other Brands That Dupe Less Offensive?

Sam [by the counter] draws helpful distinctions in a recent post: Dupe, Troll (or copycat cosmetic), alternative, and original.

Why Isn’t MCoBeauty Being Viewed as Tacky?

So that leaves me thinking, why aren’t people seeing MCoBeauty the same as obviously fake designer bags? So many of the OG lovers are put off by this dupe-chasing— so why this pivot?

Perhaps their current and targeted audience. Over 50% of their TikTok audience is in the 18-24 range (stats via modash), and MCoBeauty creates many kid-friendly cosmetics— in both budget and design.

Image credit: ABC News

Perhaps it’s the cost of living crisis as mentioned by Claire Bridgett in her ABC interview.

Perhaps it’s marketing off the back of recognisable packaging. Perhaps a fad that’s short lived (I hope).

My Conclusion

So let’s get our terms straight.

Simply, MCoBeauty isn’t duping anymore, they’re creating copycat cosmetics and are getting very tacky.

The halt on innovation in the brand gave many previous supporters whiplash.

Churning out hundreds of new SKUs this year, with no slowing down in sight— content creators, myself included, are urging MCoBeauty to be more considerate with their launches, and be wary of the effect they’re having on the Australian beauty space.

There are affordable and innovative products on the market that I’m looking forward to highlighting more and more, that aren’t from MCoBeauty.

Read More

The Ethics of Beauty Dupes & Copycats By Lara Schiling

Sam [by the counter] Instagram Post