Their beauty counters are staffed by tattooed, pierced pro makeup artists; their marketing campaigns are fronted by drag queens; and their foundation shades are designed to suit every skin colour and tone, with the credo, “All Ages, All Races, All Genders.” This may sound like the making of a cosmetics line launched in the politically-aware atmosphere of 2019, but in fact, it’s a brand that has been around since the eighties: Canadian-founded label M.A.C Cosmetics, which celebrates its 35th birthday this March.
Viva Glam campaigns over the years, from left to right: Ru Paul; Shirley Manson, Sir Elton John, Mary J. Blige; Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin.
The brand is also known and loved for the quality of its products and innovations such as Lipglass, an ultra-shiny, non-sticky lip gloss, and Eye Paints, the earliest versions of eyelid primers. Then there are cult favouriteslike the Ruby Woo lipstick, an intense, matte red, and of course, the Studio Fix foundation, which now comes in an industry-leading 63 shades (it had 42 shades before Fenty was even a glint in Rihanna’s eyes). The brand is also a leader in encouraging recycling. In its earliest years, it launched the Back to MAC program, which allows you to return six empty pieces of packaging to a M.A.C store or via the website, and receive a free lipstick in exchange.
M.A.C was partly acquired by Estée Lauder Companies in 1994, and sold completely in 1998 after Frank Angelo died. Some say it’s lost some of its anarchic spirit as a result, but the company’s profound impact on cosmetics culture and beyond continues to reverberate today in brands like Fenty and Kat Von D, and even the now mainstream reality TV show, Ru Paul’s Drag Race. To date, the M.A.C AIDS Campaign has raised more than $490-million U.S. ($644-million Canadian) for the fight against HIV/AIDS and campaign faces for Viva Glam have now included everyone from kd lang to Pamela Anderson, and Elton John to Ariana Grande. “We have always regarded makeup as fashion, not beauty. That breaks apart the stereotypical ‘face’ of beauty–it is art, an accessory, an expression,” says Callahan.