MAC Was Ahead of Its Time—But Time Caught Up

AMG takes a hard look at the current state of MAC. And Lesa argues that "old lady energy" is not the vibe we 50+ women want. Plus: 90s nostalgia galore in record club.

MAC really, REALLY wants everyone to know that it’s still around. But does it matter?

Depending on how closely you follow the beauty business, you know that MAC has been attempting a comeback. You would be right to say that MAC never went anywhere, because it didn’t, not really. I would argue, though, that in recent years, MAC hasn’t resonated much outside of its legacy customer base. Articles like this one from Cosmetics Design last February titled “Where Did It All Go Wrong For MAC Cosmetics?” indicate that I’m not the only one who wondered. Cosmetic Business reported that MAC was partially responsible for Estée Lauder’s “sluggish” performance in 2024. Can MAC regain the massive popularity it once had? Here are some thoughts.

MAC introduced numerous innovations following its 1984 debut—broad shade ranges, unique formulations, inclusivity, sponsoring designers backstage at fashion week, a generous pro MUA program, pop-culture collaborations. There’s also Viva Glam: It remains one of the most successful charitable initiatives in the beauty business; last year, Viva Glam sales hit over half a billion dollars, with all proceeds going toward the MAC AIDS Fund. Since it premiered in 1994 featuring RuPaul, Viva Glam campaigns and ambassadors have been consistently iconic, featuring Linda Evangelista, KD Lang, Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Kim, Rihanna, and more recently Rosalia and Kim Petras.

A few of MAC’s greatest hits

Then there are MAC’s limited-edition collections. These have historically both frustrated consumers (MAC routinely discontinues products that are fan favorites) and delighted them (collectibility is a hallmark of a great MAC collab—Selena and some Disney collections list at several hundred dollars and up on resale sites). As far back as 2008, MAC started taking heat for producing a glut of launches, though it didn’t let up: In 2018 alone, it released more than 50.

One collaboration that was famously not well-received: MAC x Rodarte from 2010, which took its inspiration in part from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, an industrial city near the Texas border, where between 1993 and 2003 missing and murdered women numbered in the high hundreds. (It was also inspired by Rodarte’s similarly themed FW 2010 collection.) It included shades like “Ghost Town,” “Bordertown,” “Juarez,” and “Factory.”

MAC x Rodarte’s doomed 2010 collection

Initially, MAC responded to the uproar by saying Rodarte would still be released, but with all the names changed. Then they canceled the whole thing, put out some panicked mea culpas, and made donations to help local victims. It takes literal years to develop these collections, and many, many people have to sign off on every step of the process. Looking back, that MAC decided to greenlight it at all—because evidently nobody attached to the project flagged it, or knew to—is wild.

In the years following, MAC went weird and wide, rolling out collections with Troll dolls, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, Robert Lee Morris, one called Haute Dogs—a seemingly endless parade of randomness. The pace slowed starting in 2020, presumably due to the pandemic, and MAC’s overall output has remained significantly leaner since, focusing on retailer exclusives, holiday, and a few movie/TV tie-ins.

Something for everyone, I guess?

Last month, MAC debuted its highly anticipated nude lip collection, which reintroduced coveted products it previously retired, including Fleshpot, Folio, and Stone lipsticks, and a new “Cool Spice” lip liner, which is apparently closer to the original 90s Spice shade than the current version of Spice—confusing, I know. There are many reasons, some of which MAC has little control over, as to why older shades can’t be reproduced—regulations, production changes, availability of raw materials, etc.. Despite all that, this was the brand’s buzziest collection in recent memory.

MAC’s social at launch was filled with copy like:

“The rumours are true, we’re leaking 28 nudes.”

“Get off your knees...The shades you’ve been begging for (plus a few more) are finally back.”

“You can stop sending nudes in our DMs...Fleshpot — the viral warm light-beige Y2K icon is finally BACK”

“IN: Sending Nudes”

All very on-the-nose. Beauty brands have been riffing on “nudes” (and “nakeds”) for ages—MAC itself used the “When they ask for nudes” conceit just last year for a Viva Glam promo. NYX did a similar thing in 2019, so did Cult Beauty for the launch of Huda’s Nude Obsessions eyeshadow palettes. Colourpop put out a Send Nudes palette in 2022. TooFaced (also a Lauder brand) had a Send Nudes lipstick, Wet n Wild still has one, and if you Google “send nudes lipstick,” you’ll find dozens more.

But then it pulled out the big guns: A strangely unflattering shoot featuring Julia Fox naked on the “subway.” A Martha Stewart thirst-trap. And more literal nudes (Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Odell Beckham Jr., Beabadoobee). MAC’s team was working overtime in the comments section of these posts, balancing enthusiastic replies (“Martha you betterrrrr slayyyyy”) with boilerplate community management (“Martha is wearing MACximal Sleek Satin Lipstick in the shade Fleshpot with Stripdown Lip Pencil — the perfect nude! Shop yours now at maccosmetics.com”). No easy feat; running social for a brand this large is a thankless job.

MAC needs your attention and money, and not necessarily in that order!

The real news here, though, is not the uneven creative or hokey copy, it’s that MAC, over the better part of a decade, got absolutely lapped by dozens of other brands who did MAC better than MAC did. As I established in my previous story about Clinique, today’s MAC is another casualty of Estée Lauder’s overall lack of direction. (Bloomberg reported that Lauder hired Evercore, an investment bank, to “review its portfolio of beauty brands” for possible sale.) Having fielded years of complaints regarding its longtime practice of discontinuing beloved shades, MAC’s solution was to bring a few of them back to appease its base, and to reassure everyone that it was still in the game. But in my view, the nudes launch isn’t radical—it’s basically the equivalent of closing a gargantuan customer service ticket.

So, is MAC truly back? I think it depends on who you ask. Makeup artists still use the brand, but they have significantly more options now when stocking their kits. When I search message boards or ask other industry professionals about MAC, people share fond 90s-Y2K era memories, someone always brings up a product they miss. You hear a lot of, “I used to LOVE that brand,” followed by, “The MAC counter was the place to be—back in the day.” Being thought of in the past-tense is the kiss of death for any brand, let alone one that always considered itself ahead of the curve. While researching this story, I was reminded of The New York Times’ longtime practice of pre-writing obituaries (called “advances”) years ahead of a notable passing. It’s probably premature to file an obit for MAC, but if the brand continues to perform inconsistently (creatively, financially, competitively) nobody would fault you for brainstorming one. — AMG

I DON’T WANT OLD LADY ENERGY

allure

A post shared by @allure

Last month, Allure published an article with the headline “Old Lady Energy Flexed Its Well Toned Muscles at the Golden Globes”. It opened with “Outta the way Big Dick Energy!” which made me think “Wait, what?” and then cringe because that internet catchphrase is from 2018. What BDE was being told to make way for was OLE (old lady energy) due to the fact that so many women over the age of 50 had been nominated for GGs. Which, yes, it should go without saying, that is amazing. But saying the moment had “old lady energy” was immediately triggering for many people and also confusing.

The actresses pictured (Pamela Anderson, Viola Davis, Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres and Nicole Kidman) didn’t look like old ladies. They all looked like vibrant and confident women. A quick scan of the comments on the Instagram post for the story revealed that readers found OLE extremely insulting and even assumed that some 20-something intern had written it. It was actually written by Val Monroe, a contributor who is 74. She responded the next day to double down and say that “What’s ageist is believing the word ‘old’ is the worst kind of insult.”

But a lot us do? And we know why.

But really, how could she be surprised by the response? “Old” has always had a negative association, whether it means aged, ancient, decayed, antiquated, or hackneyed. Monroe said that her story was a “celebration of the power and complexity and radiance that comes with age” and “an expression of hope that Hollywood is finally coming to recognize that middle aged and older women are not completely robbed of their life force at menopause.” (Both excellent things ofc!). Yet no one was going to assume that’s what she meant by OLE right off the bat. If she really wanted to make that clear, IMO she should have said that in the original article, that she was reclaiming the word “old” from its negative connotation and reframing it.

Monroe wrote that she too considered herself old and didn’t bristle at the description and then chided everyone who took issue with OLE, telling them to get their mind out of the gutter (weird). The bigger issue is that even if Monroe doesn’t consider “old” to be derogatory, plenty of people do and will continue to and I just don’t see that changing (sorry!). I understand her wishful thinking. But I don’t think that can override the dictionary, much less make people start seeing it in a positive light, especially as it pertains to women.

Look, I think it’s awesome that so many women over 50 in pop culture are remaining visible and relevant and that they’re the central figure in stories about being in this stage of life, whether it’s your career coming to an end like in The Last Showgirl, or having an affair with a young intern in Babygirl. It’s vital to see ourselves reflected back to us in ways that we haven’t seen before. I also love how right now there are so many versions of what over 50 can look like. (I do feel conflicted sometimes about how much cosmetic work Demi and Nicole have but that’s beside the point.) My larger point is we’re living in a time when women like Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore and Michelle Pfeiffer, who are all 60+, have redefined what it means to look a certain age. So for someone who is currently 51 (sometimes I can’t believe it either), I am here for it. Seeing these women—who are all thriving and experiencing new chapters to their lives—honestly makes me feel ok to be here and encouraged and hopeful that there is still so much possibility ahead of us. That is a feat in itself! “Old lady energy” makes me think slow, doddering, cautious. [AMG Note: YES EXACTLY.] And that’s the exact opposite of what these women exude and what, I would argue, most of us gaining in years want to feel. —LH

AMG’s Picks:

Song: Lola Young, “Messy”

Shortly before TikTok shit the bed and returned as the zombie version we’re making temporary peace with, this song was dominating the platform. For the uninitiated, “Messy” is an anthem about the complications of simply existing as a woman. Being told you’re too much, and that you’re also not enough, etc., etc. And if you’ll allow me, musically, it sounds a LOT like a song Fleetwood Mac would have written if they were around today. Thankfully, TikTok’s political theater didn’t have an effect on Young’s momentum; she’s currently on a world tour and will be performing at Coachella this spring on the bill with Lady Gaga.

Instagram: 120Revisited

A few months ago, I started noticing that the cool music people I know on IG were reposting videos from 120Revisited (LH note: I love this account!! It recently reminded me of The Spinanes, a very unknown 90s duo on Sub Pop. I think you shared it too?) into their feeds. And I’m SO grateful they did, which is something I never thought I’d say about anything related to a Meta product. I don’t know who’s behind the account, but this person is doing the Lord’s work of uploading incredible clips (live performances, interviews, commercials) from the heyday of MTV’s beloved 120 Minutes. I haven’t seen or thought about some of these bands and songs for 30 years, but somehow I still know every word of the Dead Milkmen’s “Punk Rock Girl.” Also, prayers up for Matt Pinfield.

Book: Neko Case, The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You

I first heard Neko Case on her 2008 solo album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, which WHOOO, I wish I could hear her voice again for the first time! “A Widow’s Toast”?! Like, what even is that magic? And even if subsequent albums didn’t capture me that same way, I have always been interested in her work, which now includes this WILD autobiography. I will not spoil it—you must read it for yourself. Wait, I will say one thing, on the subject of parental estrangement: You know how Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents is so hot right now? I don’t think there’s a self-help book for Case’s particular situation.

Lesa’s Picks

Song: Lambrini Girls, “Cuntology 101”

I saw someone on Threads write “we need punk rock now more than ever” and I couldn’t agree more, especially with what's been happening as of January 20th in the White House. I came across this band—two women from Brighton who rage against all manner of injustices like misogyny—because my friend Liv, one of the funniest, most foul-mouthed Brits I know, raved about their newest album Who Let The Dogs Out in her IG stories. Liv is also the reason ‘cunt’ and ‘cunty’ started making appearances in my vocabulary as of 2023. [AMG note: I am too uptight to even say this word aloud! Gah!] Anyway, the minute I heard this—the closing track on their album —it was immediately crowned my theme song for 2025: “C-U-N-T /I’m gonna do what’s best for me/I’m cunty/That’s cunty/C-U-N-T, I’ll prioritize my own needs/So I’m cunty/That’s cunty, cunty, cunty, wow”. Here’s to us all being cunty this year.

Album: Mogwai, The Bad Fire

The last time I saw Scotland’s national treasure was in 2022 and I neglected to wear ear plugs. Even watching from the balcony, it was a bad move—my ears rang for days—but it was so worth it. I won’t make that mistake again when they tour for this, their 11th record. It’s one of those albums that I need to put on repeat, allowing it to gently seep in. With increased listens, more and more badassery swirls around you, enveloping you, and layers that take their time to reveal themselves finally find you. It’s powerful, emotional music and I can’t get enough.

Song: Bikini Kill, “Anti-Pleasure Dissertation”

I always get so excited when I’m watching a show and a song I like comes on; it happened so many times during Ted Lasso, which made me love it even more. Right now I’m watching the Irish black comedy Bad Sisters, which is such a feminist show. This song appeared in episode 4, while the youngest sister Becka is shaving her legs and texting a dude and it just really fits with her rebel girl personality. The music supervisor on this show clearly knows what’s up—I’ve read there’s plenty of PJ Harvey in season two–and I just appreciate that feminist punk music from the 90s is being fed to younger generations.