Hello everyone! Sorry for the low quality upload! I actualy filmed this and uploaded it about a month ago now but I kept posting videos in its place so this was before I fixed the low quality upload! 🙏🏻🖤 this should be the last one!
To be honest I haven't noticed im not a UA-camr so it's not something I have taken note of. I just love watching your content for what it's about ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Its worth noting that in the Australian context we have a lot less access to the sorts of brands being duped and at a much higher price - our main non-sephora store never does sales and has a lot of exclusivity contracts, so you can't even buy direct from the brand and sell a kidney for shipping. Also what is stocked in Sephora is a sad comparison to most countries. In Australia M Co is avalible in stores which don't stock the originals. While their move to US and other markets does make it seem more shifty, from the original market it really was giving people something they wanted to get, and were willing to pay for things they were locked out of. From that point of view making it look similar so people walking past can instantly make the connection while knowing its not the original (Chemist Warehouse would be the budget version of boots, its not stocking Charlotte Tilburry) Not saying its 100% right but there is a reason it was popular in Australia that may not translate across to other countries.
glad you said this! there's also a massive cost of living crisis here. housing/rent is incredibly unaffordable, and so is food. i don't agree with this brand and i think what they're doing is disgusting, and i'll never buy from them/recommend them, however.... there's a reason that these products are getting duplicated. aussies get slammed with identical advertising/hype to american audiences, but if the product comes to our shores, these companies add a massive markup (outside of conversion rates). so i can understand how there's a market for dupes here, especially for younger people.
agreed!! the makeup market here is so behind that we don’t even get new products until weeks or even months after they’re released in the US (at least that’s how it felt waiting for the rare beauty highlighters XD) plus mco is always stocked with the drugstore brands (which are also annoyingly expensive here) and nothing from Mecca and Sephora is stocked with drugstore here, so there is definitely no confusion due to the packaging. Completely spot on! not a call to support the duping, just a reason why it worked so well here in Australia.
Honestly, I'd be fine with them coming out with Similar products, everyone does it. But this has "Wish and Temu level counterfeit" vibes EVEN IF they're making higher quality, safer products. And to be like "Oh we don't give a damn if we are ripping off small businesses" is GROSS [even if she meant "I'm not worried because we're not doing that" it came off like she has no qualms hurting small businesses just like the businesses they're copying]. And I agree with Robert on the "At LEAST call it something different". Or ... idk be like "This is California Sunshine - compare to Charolette Tilburry's Hollywood Flawless Filter" or something where it's not a direct copy and maybe is paying homage in a "It's like this, but cheaper, but gives the same results" - like a generic store brand in the US might say "Compare to Name Brand - Product Name" on the back. Like Great Value Brand Wild Berry Hand Soap - compare to Soft Soap Wild Berry Hand Soap --- i think it's usually like they make a claim of what it can do when compared to [and granted a lot of those items are made in the same factory as the original product, as most generics are] but still! Instead of stealing another product's entire identity, just be like "We made this to be similar to this other thing - but it's different!" Like yes 100% make it affordable and make it work for your customers - but don't go so far as to hurt other people. And yeah, to a degree, screw those bigger businesses and any of their own predatory practices - but this is still gross. I am all for "make the products similar for a specific audience at a reasonable price!" but not a "basically just steal the entire product and it's identity and pretend you're not being a lil bit of a dick about it". And honestly ... MCo should just become a "Generics" Brand then if they wanna do that and literally get the legal right to manufacture the actual same product [usually with minor tweaks] and be able to not only offer those products at a generics price - BUT ALSO be able to manufacture in country to lower the cost of the actual products because no one has to bay those extra fees and mark ups because it was manufactured right there!
Chemist Warehouse has so much on it's website but only some of it stocked in store. You have to buy big or pay big postage prices. I've only just bought some MCO stuff after seeing people recommend it as a dupe. I've been underwhelmed so far and didn't find the prices an amazing bargain. I got the flawless finish bottle and I feel it's half empty and doesn't have much of a cover on my pale skin. It seems to oxidise quickly too. I start off with glass skin and an hour later it's dark.
Exactly. I’m from Canada and I 100% agree. And frankly people who are loyal to say for example Charlotte Tilbury are going to buy her brand. They’re not interested in a dupe and highly doubtful they’ll be confused by one.
If a Chinese brand did this, those products would've been called COUNTERFEITS. Just because some retailers indulge them, and just because the owner shamelessly shows her face, doesn't mean this is not a totally unethical and disrespectful act.
Yes! If these were being sold on AliExpress or something, from a random Chinese brand, most people wouldn’t be entertaining this at all. They’d definitely be called out as counterfeit.
@Persefone94 This! It's messed up, but so is selling products for an egregious amount when they aren't much better than drugstore brands, if at all🤷♀️
This is such an interesting concept and from someone that did a cosmetic line it's a mine field. Basically if the packaging is generic (ie - not tooled and made specifically for you! - (the cost BTW is out of this world extreme to get a bespoke tooled item!) anyone can 'copy it' legally. Makeup manufactures will tell you they do not like bespoke tooled packaging - the reason is that all the 'generic' packaging has already been tested and pressure tested, so they know it works with their formula. I found this out the hard way when I custom tooled all the pans and it put be 18 months behind release due to all the pressure testing and issues i faced. This is why is so easy for other companies to 'dupe' a product because large makeup houses cannot spend 18 months perfecting something - they need the product out ASAP - hence using generic packaging thats legally easy to dupe! The makeup making industry is an absolute nightmare.
Thank you. This was very interesting. I wish you the best and may everything you undertake in the future go smoothly and prosperously with joy mingled in.
That has to be so frustrating, especially when considering the fact that most small businesses don’t have the funds to stop the bigger companies from getting away with it. Completely unrelated, but my heart skipped a bit when I saw your commenting on this video. I don’t think I have ever considered that some of my favorite artists could be following and watching each other’s content 😂
Many Australians are frustrated because comapanies will not ship to Australia. Typology (You've promoted them), Jones Road for example. In the past 12 months, MCo have put a huge effort to dominate the grocery store aisle and end caps. These products do not confuse - it's very obvious these are dupes. Especially in regional areas; and there's a lot of space here where the only local makeup shop is the chemist or grocery store. We feel included in a bit of glam even though we know it's a knockoff. Being able to try a formula is nice. It's safer than trying a Temu/Wish fake. I'll have to watch the interview to judge the owner.
IKR! Supermarket shopping versus going to MECCA or Sephora and trying to get our hand on something well known overseas & paying double or triple what people can walk into a chemist OS and buy.
I think that's fine, but MCo need more of their own packaging identity. If I looked at these products I'd assume they're the original. If your products are good you should have confidence in your own brand.
There's a difference in; providing a cheaper alternative for the customer wearing the product to dupe others and, the company duping it's customers through misleading advertising/copying package design
In the USA trademarks are protected against direct copying. Hopefully, they will be crushed here. That seems fraudulent. For example: Doubleday vitamins vs Doubleday publishing = no competition. That Charlotte Tilbery dupe is a direct theft attempt.
It’s funny I have read the reviews and they are very mixed. Were as Charlotte tilbury they say buy the original. I think she feels like she can get away with it and she should not be allowed to do so. If you do not have an original idea maybe you shouldn’t be in the industry
Aside from skirting the law and being morally icky, copying the packaging of the products you're ripping off prevents you having a visual brand identity, and if your brand is nothing but dupes, it looks like you have no ideas of your own and everything is a tacky cash-grab.
Very well said - this brand could have chosen many different packaging concepts to give them an identity. I for one have not been able to try Charlotte Tilbury products except for a face cream (which I really enjoy), but I'm not a fan of the packaging anyway, hence I'm not compelled to buy the Mcobeauty products as a form of compensation. Also, as an Australian I am disappointed at the level of copying.
I don't wear makeup but at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has used the product before or seen promotional materials, they don't know what the product looks like inside the box until they buy it.
@@tyanaleek cause those are not MCO products or ideas. If she can provide quality makeup and affordable prices why isn’t she releasing her own makeup original line ? Cause she’s riding off other brands success. She’s not tryna prove a point she’s copying pples formulations , ideas and downright to packaging to mislead and steal customers. This is exactly what shein does. Why are we glorifying an AI brand that copies of other brands. This shows the company has poor values and morals
@@aliciaaaaaaaa200 the poor ethics is the other company’s with their other prices . Who cares if the packaging is the same ? Most cosmetics have empty containers thats why it’s not hard to copy , the companies are not making the packaging
They have a sale every month it seems at Woolworths. the presence through the store is very noticeable. The fact the aisle is usually trashed means plenty of people are having a rummage.
I'm Australian. This company is only moving a lot of product because of tiktok and cycling through the various supermarkets/pharmacies at 50% off. Otherwise, they'd be getting no attention and no sales. My daughter bought quite a few items and said they're really good.
It's in chemist warehouse in NZ, the blushes are $39.95. Most of the products are around that price. They have the bum bum brand mists etc out now too, they're now on sale. I don't buy any of it.
So as an Aussie and an MCOBeauty lover I thought I’d give my two cents. I 1000% agree with you in the sense that the packaging does not need to be the way that it is. Whilst it was kind of amusing the first few times they did it, it’s getting a little ridiculous with how frequent they are willing to toe that fine line between dupe and full on copying. I definitely think changing the packaging more to make it unique and a part of the MCOBeauty brand should be the next steps for this company. However, I do want to share that as the AUD currency is absolutely god awful when compared to the US and UK currencies, the price of make up is INSANE. Common ‘drug store’ and ‘affordable’ brands such as ELF and maybelline will easily run you $15-30 per product. High end brands like Charlotte Tillbry are $90. In the cost of living crisis, so many aussies (particularly the younger generations who are struggling to buy a house atm) can’t justify spending money on that. Then MCB comes along and they create amazing dupes of these beautiful (but realistically unattainable) products. They’re still decently pricey, around the $30 mark, but they’re CONSTANTLY on sale at Coles, Woolies, PriceLine, Chemist Warehouse etc.. often 20-50% off making it some of the more affordable yet high quality makeup that we can afford. Of course I’m generalising here, as there are other brands from Mecca that are in the $15-30 range that we can buy, but this is personally the reason why I gravitate towards their products so frequently.
I totally get your point! But why didn't they take this opportunity to be original and develop an awesome Aussi brand with affordable prices instead of profiting off of people who want the original but can't afford it? They copy 90% of others brands' packaging, but the product doesn't perform like the original... that to me is misleading and taking advantage of people...
@@PerfectPinkiePants oh 100%! My best theory on this is as you said is that they wanted to capitalise on a demographic of people who care about branding. Can’t afford the super expensive name brand stuff, but from a distance since the packaging is basically identical it looks as if you’re in a good place financially to spend the $ on the original stuff rather than the dupe. Which is a shame cuz their stuff is of really good quality so they don’t need to do this at all. I have to admit this whole video has definitely made me rethink my stance on MCB as even tho I do love their products it just doesn’t sit well with me that they’re completely ripping off other companies products.
Their products don't perform that well compared to the originals. I've tried their products when first launched (the heated curler, mascara, tan in a can, cheek blush, powders, etc) and only the mascara was good. Everything else was meh
@@z.deutch1334 I suppose it’s a different strokes for different folks situation 🤷♀️ I personally adore their pressed setting powder, halo glow foundation dupe, setting spray and primer. Wear it every day and love it. I’ve tried the originals of these products too and honestly I’m not willing to spend the $ on them when the MCB dupes perform just as well imo.
Let us have our cheap makeup! All you beauty brands have been ripping us off for too long. You all still make millions so let us poor people have makeup
A lot of Australians are really struggling financially at the moment, to add to this mecca and sephora have exclusive distribution contracts for many brands in Australia (meaning overnight the makeup we wear to work everyday can suddenly be more expensive). It's hardly surprising we are reaching for a cheaper brand that doesn't engage in monopoly behaviour and we can actually get on sale.
Legally ok does not equal morally ok. As an Aussie I should also tell you that you can pick up MCo for like 40-50% off nearly allllll the time. It's bizarre. I fairly certain Gisou just filed a claim too. They had a honey lip product in the same packaging. It's just been rereleased with slightly different packaging and a new name.
It’s a marketing/sales campaign gimmick. MCO’s regular price is marked way up so they can constantly do sales without detracting from their net margins in order to convince shoppers they are getting a “deal”.
Exactly. Always on SALE. To me this means the ingredients are not actually good for you. Yes we pay a high price for cosmetics here in Australia, but adding an extra $20 for a foundation by a good brand is worth it. MC is crap I’m sorry
The thing with them duping the packaging so closely means none of their products will have a cohesive branding. They basically have no branding, no identity. Just theft
To me, copying the packaging is not only stealing another's company image, but treating consumers as idiots who buy stuff because the presentation is cool.
Sadly, there are some individuals who will buy just based on packaging. So if the package is close to their favorite but at a slightly lower price then I can see people blindly buying just to buy lol
@@didralamond8145 I know! that's what's commenable about legitimate dupes, when they manage to prove many luxury items are so expensive just because of the brand and fancy packaging and not so much because ot their ingredients and effectiveness.
I don't wear makeup but at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has used the product before or seen promotional materials, they don't know what the product looks like inside the box until they buy it.
The thing is, like you said at the end, if the ingredients of the Mco drops are the same as the glo recipes ones but half the price, I think that says more about glo recipes greed
But glow recipe team took products and spent money marketing them and coming up with packaging vs MCO which did not even bother to make their own products or product line but steal the brands packaging and formulation.And use the virality and success of glow recipe to endorse their own products. MCO is as good as shein when it comes to morals. Why didn’t they make their own product line instead of leeching of glow recipe success? cause they want a quick cash grab while fooling consumers into thinking they are heroes or something
Is it greed or actually investing in their product and marketing? Coz product and marketing roll outs are not cheap. And yet, MCO just copied everything. And in terms of quality, are they really equal?
I think this is the crux of the issue for me, too. I'm an Aussie currently living in Canada, I understand ALL TOO WELL the frustration of not being able to purchase popular products because of imaginary lines on a map, so it's great that MCo is there to fill in the market gaps with alternative products. But they could do that while still maintaining some kind of self-identity or aesthetic cohesion as a brand. Slapping their logo on dupe containers for brands with as disparate aesthetics as CT and Glow Recipes just makes MCo look soulless and tacky, more like the kind of crappy knock-offs that, back in the day, I would have found in a dollar store -- or these days, Temu.
I’m Australian and I absolutely buy this stuff. Makeup and skin care brands are so expensive here. Yes they probably should change the packaging a bit but at least I know exactly what they duping. Give me more. Plenty of money in the this industry.
Perfume companies dupe all the time. If I want brand name I need to drive to a major shopping centre to get to Mecca. MCO is readily available at the supermarket. My rent went up $50/week so buying the original isn’t always an option, I’d rather support a local brand that I know is cruelty free.
I'm based in New Zealand, right next to Australia where this brand is based, and I've gotta tell you...their prices are nearly the exact same as the high-end versions that they are duping?! What's the damn point if you're just gonna charge nearly the same price??
Because they’re not this way in Australia where they are twice or three times as much as the dupe. It’s also impossible to get some high end brands here without getting a U.S. shipping address and paying exorbitant shipping fees. I despise dupe culture, especially the fast fashion and obvious ripoffs of SHEIN and Temu but for the Australian market Mco makes sense.
Agree! I literally feel like 'accidentally' knocking the shelf they sit on so they tumble like dominos lol. Makes me so ashamed to be Australian what a horror she is
Yeah, there's something really *off*, not just conceptually and ethically, but product-wise. The packaging has such weird flea-market mystery-ingredient knock-off vibes - it's like the cosmetics equivalent of a bootleg vhs with a badly photocopied jacket insert.
Yea I’m Australian too and I had no idea it was an Aussie brand. It looks CHEAP Cheap like it would break out your skin cheap. I’d rather stick to Covergirl and Elf which aren’t that expensive
Aussie here too and morally I cannot stand her or her brand.. I cant wait to see whatever shitstorm they encounter by hitting the US market where they sue if you look at them wrong!
They did a half price sale the other week in Sydney and it was absolute mayhem with people buying it - a lot of stuff sold out. And this was maybe a week after this aired - it was good advertising for the company. I’d say it’s actually becoming pretty popular over here.
I havent bought any Mco products but it just goes to show that these big brands are taking the piss with how much they charge when mco can make a similar product at a fraction of the price
That's what I'm sayiiiiiinnnnggg. It's mad how many people side with the big brands that clearly exploit their customers and suppliers with ridiculous pricing!
Sure, but you're paying for R&D too. Maybe not as much as they are “charging“, but they have think and create to make something new. While just copying a product takes a huge step out of it.
Similar product is the whole point, it's not the exact same. There has always been cheaper brands and more expensive brands. Makeup Revolution is the same kind of thing and they started out copying Too Faced, their products were very inferior quality. Mco are taking it too far imo.
As much as sometimes I appreciate being able to use something cheaper, I can’t support them! Why would you want to be successful by copying everything else? Sure you can be inspired by some items but everything exactly the same??? That’s lazy!
If you were told you could copy a very difficult and time consuming project from a coworker with 0 negative consequences, and you knew they'd done well and got a bonus for their work, would you really bother spending extra time and money trying to make your copy look individual and different? Probably not. There's literally no point, unless you genuinely care about your 9-5. Most people don't. It's just a paycheck, a way to pay for the things you actually care about like family and hobbies etc. I honestly can't get mad at this lady for taking the legal and easy route to success, I'd do it myself in a heartbeat if it meant not working a soul draining low paid job that barely pays enough to live on 😅
@@Erin13xx I know most companies are shady! No matter if it’s makeup, skincare, food etc. What I’m saying is she’s obviously proud to only copy others. So I choose not to support. I understand no one/company is perfect. Just my opinion
I'm petty sure I recall they used to do their own stuff a few years ago when they were only selling in Woolworths [Aus grocery store], and they were super cheap and looked it too. Then all of a sudden they are making 'dupes' and selling everywhere. 🤔 Any other Aussie recall this, too? Also, I think the fact that they can sell more 'dupes' in Aus is because patents only applyin the country you registered in and copyright laws similar. Alot of companies don't bother registering in Aus, because we are perceived as too small a market.
Robert I have a story about this woman that has affected me for years now. She hired & then wrongfully fired me so quick it ripped my heart out. This was way back when they were called ModelCo (they used to be high end sold once at Sephora but now they’ve obviously changed their name to MCo). This is so triggering, lol.
Sorry that happened to you, I can't imagine what it would be like to work for her 😒 actually thinking of my last boss I probably do know what it like haha 😅 Thanks for the info, I knew it looked too familiar for such a new brand that boomed instantly.
As an Australian im already over it. Not only the duping but the fact they have taken over stores who have dropped better and maybe more underrated make up brands to cater to them .
i love dupes sooooo much. lots of brands and products aren’t available where i live and saving cash is always great. but they don’t even try to differentiate their products the way other brands that dupe do 😂 they go out of their way to actively seek to copy rather than take inspiration from. which is where their issue lies.
Exactly, it's just like buying a counterfeit Chanel bag at some market because it looks the same. I really don't know how they get away with it. You look at the product and it looks just like the original brand. I wouldn't buy any of it. I live in NZ and it's in a lot of stores, they've even copied the bum bum cream and mists. And they're not cheap, cheaper than the original but I'd rather spend my money on the real products., instead of lining that woman's pockets.
Another difference between this kind of brand and elf is we know elf can innovate and create great products on its own in addition to cheaper dupes. It's not solely making all its profit off of other people's products and branding
I got an mco lip oil years back in a beauty subscription box. I had no idea it was a dupe company. I liked the lip oil but it was quite pricey when I looked on their website so I didn't purchase. I always thought dupes were rock bottom prices.
They didn’t used to be a dupe brand. I’d say the last 5 years, maybe less they’ve gone hard into the dupes. I used to work in a pharmacy that stocked their products and they weren’t dupes then.
They aren’t even remotely close to a dupe in terms of product quality! Terrible warm based foundations, clumpy mascara and drippy lipgloss. I HATE MCoBeauty! No innovation! No creativity! No talent! Nothing!
Only thing I've actually liked is their tubing mascara. It's taken years to find one that works for me. I have at least 4 I gave up on this year. My eyelashes fan out and everything else just clumps and smudges
Agree!! 90% of their products are shite - have bought and tested most of them - and only the mascara is good. The concealer and foundation shades are bloody awful and limited.
Honestly I LOVE that they look exactly the same! I don’t want to be standing in the isle having to think “is this meant to be the dupe for that other product?!” I love that the dupes look super similar so there is no questioning which product it’s duping!
She doesn't care because she knows people don't care. She will always have customers that may say they care about ethics but will buy a knockoff in a heartbeat. So yeah
I agree that she's unlikeable. It reminds me of what happened to Manny too. If he didn't have that much of a following, I doubt it would have changed anything. This lady gives me "how can I cheat without the teacher catching me" vibes. She never directly answered the questions. She skirted around them. 😂
@@RobertWelshI don’t like her she reminds me of cruella de ville and not in a good way. I agree there is a place for dupe brands but in Japan we already have so many good affordable make up brands we don’t really need any brands like this . Etude house is one of my personal favourites as is canmake and Kate. Plus the price points are a lot lower and more affordable. I feel like she is just conning the consumer and it’s not in a good way. And she is just out to get what she can. Ripping off smaller creators along the way.
I'm getting the icky ick as the video goes on, just like with the revolution company. Robert, thank you for keeping us informed! I honestly didn't know anything about this company.
@@Persefone94I agree. I couldn't afford Jones Road, so Revolution hooked me up with a dupe cream glow balm. Since then every brand offers cream products.
Part of why they can afford to sell these dupes so cheaply is because they didn't have to spend the money on R&D or package design. Another company already did it for them. While I certainly think there are brands that are squeezing their customers for every last dime, it does make me feel bad for all the chemists, package designers, and analysts that spent so much of their time creating a product only for it to be completely copied.
It’s one thing to sell copies in Australia when the original product isn’t sold there but for them to branch out to America, I think it’s so distasteful. They aren’t even dupes either! They’re trying to pass themselves off as dupes but very inferior
I remember when MCo Beauty was called ModelCo Beauty: they've always had a 'bargain basement' feel about them, even once they stopped being bargain priced. It's a shame the founder's attitude is so off-putting because I'd love to support an Aussie company, but... ick: thanks, but no thanks.
There have been name brand and store brands next to each other on grocery store shelves for as long as I can remember. EG: Eggo waffles vs Walmart’s Great Value waffles.
This is so interesting; when you go to Walgreens or CVS and buy let’s say Clean & Clear face wash. There will be the Clean & Clear brand and right next to it the store brand in the identical packaging but a different label and it will say some like “comparable to xyz”. Those are not high end products but identical situation. This situation, tho, just feels more icky for some reason.
It feels icky because he's telling you it's icky. Will all of those expensive products, you're paying for the packaging and labelling. I like the idea of duping that so that it really is just about the product inside.
Generics aren't really comparable to dupes as they are being made by the same manufacturers. Particularly so if they are calling out a specific brand. It's just a different lable and maybe a different formula. So, in your example, Johnson and Johnson, clean and clears owners, are still the ones making the money. Another example is kirkland diapers (costco) are made by huggies (Kimberly clark. You can't steal from yourself.
MCO Ceo is unapologetically proud, enhanced by the wink @13:39 by saying it’s a ‘take of’ instead of dupe. Perhaps she hears us saying ICK and thinks it’s IT!? ❤Bella 🇺🇸
I think another problem with this behavior, is smaller brands not being aloud to even start up. If they make a high selling product, it’s only a matter of time before a cheaper dupe comes out. And consumers are poor, so they WILL start buying the cheaper one, leaving the smaller brand without funds to progress. So it’s also a form of canceling smaller brands by stealing their ideas
The problem is that brands, especially fashion and makeup brands, are so abusive and exorbitant and ridiculous with their markups, and they keep pushing it, so of course if you see that you can get more or less "the same thing" for half the price, you're like, loyalty shmoyalty, what have you done for me lately??? Come down out of the clouds and I'll meet you half way.
I have never and never will use MCo beauty. I had an employee of MCo Beauty come into my workplace once. She told me she was looking for a new job because she was suffering such poor mental health from working there. She told me how horrible the place was to work in, and how horrible the CEO was. After that interaction I vowed to never use MCo beauty.
Do you know how much we pay for makeup in Australia? We pay the most ridiculous hiked up prices, it’s ridiculous!! Sephora and Mecca hike up the prices to make it unaffordable for majority of people. We needed someone to give us a good, affordable, makeup brand.
I have to say that bringing up elf is important, too, because they dupe and it “seems” okay because it’s more well known and the company’s been around for a while, but mco isn’t necessarily duping a product more affordably. It might be more affordable in Australia, where the company is based, but the cost is higher internationally… I think both elf and mco are dupe brands, but consumers and MUAs are more annoyed by mco because they’re duping but not actually delivering on being more of a bargain compared to the original product.
To a certain extent yes, but with MCo it’s the packaging also. Brands dupe, and as I show on screen in this video, elf and other brands make dupes but the packaging is different, easy to tell apart from the product they are trying to dupe at first glance. MCo doesn’t seem to have got the message in that part
@@RobertWelsh I know very little about packaging, only what I have learned from sales and sourcing. I’ve learned that a lot of brand reps go to conventions for packaging and will buy wholesale, which is why so many brands have similar packaging now - do you think that if custom packaging was more affordable duping would be less prevalent?
@@RobertWelsh Robert, I'm Australian and at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has bought the product before, they don't know what it looks like until they open it.
Aussie here - McBeauty has built their brand around duping products. They come out with more dupes every week. It’s their business model & they seem to skate by. The quality of the products are actually really good. They are up to date legally & seem to walk the fine line of legal v’s illegal. Regardless, brands have been duping brands since the start & they will continue he to do so. Elf, Revolution put out dupes to it’s just the volume of dupes released seed to market is less than MCoBeauty. Morals are out of the equation now it’s all about the money.
It’s tainted the real brands for me, like I don’t buy Sol de Janeiro anymore because I don’t wanna pay $41 for a fragrance that kids are now able to get from Kmart, it just makes the real thing feel cheap
Mco as an Australian brand is filling a huge gap in the market domestically imo. I’m not surprised that they are copping heat overseas because the products are not really made for overseas markets, they are made for the average Aussie who cants get their hands on expensive or unavailable products from the US. Back before social media became what is now, a massive driver of consumer trends and brand marketing with broad international reach, this kind of business model was the standard for Aust, and would never have been noticed by overseas consumers. MCO trading in Australia the way it is, is no issue imo but the brand trying to breach out into US markets where the original products are widely available, and where export costs gauge up the brands prices is not a smart move on their part imo
Not sure if it's an ethics thing or a byproduct of the wish/shein/temu phase of commerce. BUT, if the dupe is only degrees different from the original, i don't trust it! It makes me think of the cheap makeup you'd buy off Canal Street! I don't want the product to look exactly the same, i want it to behave similarly to the original. So i prefer the ELF dupe of the Hydro Grip Primer, or the ColourPop dupe of Rare Beauty blush.
I don't have an issue with dupes. It becomes an issue when a company straight up steals another's whole product/identity...like back when Huda stole from Beauty Bakery. Like the whole aesthetic/ad campaign.
This reminds me of the perfume dupes which used to be a big when I was little: Desinger Imposters, "If you like Red from Armani, you'll love our Little Sexy ", but not actually telling you thier makeup products are dupes. How sad at the deception!!
I believe here in the US, if your product could be “easily mistaken” for the original, you’re infringing on their intellectual property or whatever. They’re pretty strict about that here so I think that’s why they don’t sell certain ones here. They’d be breaking our laws.
As a makeup and skincare loving Australian, currently looking at their awful and messy stand at Woolies, we DO NOT support this poor excuse of a brand.
Just want to say I can watch you for hours. I find watching you do your makeup so fascinating. And it is always STUNNING plus you always have the best topics. Thank you for everything ❤️
As someone who has been broke for most of their life, I refuse to support MCo Beauty. I don't have the money to buy the originals but I dont want to buy counterfeits either.
Robert brings up a good point in the beginning: There's a big difference between e.l.f.'s "dupes" and Mcobeauty's copies! e.l.f. might have a very similar formula, but mcobeauty is copying the exact packaging and sometimes the very name of it! I will always love and respect dupes that arent exact copies of the original products! If Mcobeauty changed to be like what e.l.f. does, they would be respected more as a brand!!
The Beautiful and Bothered podcast made an excellent point about the duping. They mentioned how when UA-camrs like Manny MUA had Lunar Beauty duped, people were outraged on a massive scale. However, when brands with less of a personal presence on social media get their ideas stolen, suddenly it's not a big deal and things shouldn't be that expensive anyways.
I can’t afford, or like you said, don’t want to pay for high end. I have two points, which don’t make sense together. I bought some products thinking it might be similar, because we only had one Sephora and one Mecca in our state, like the Charlotte Tilbury, but had never seen them, just heard of them. I love the product, so will purchase again because it is easier to buy. The second is that if they weren’t obvious, I wouldn’t know… I’m not going to buy the high end brand, they’re not losing my sale!
Also, if you are happy with the product then buy it. If they can make a cheaper product that works well enough for their target customer that’s their aim. I don’t see high end trying to drop their prices to help more people can afford to buy… if they did, then I might actually buy their products…
i, for one, do not agree. i think that the similar packaging is a bit on the nose, but i’ll be honest: i don’t care about big makeup brands. they make money off of people’s insecurities, mostly women. some makeup is made for fun and is actually fun, but that’s the rare minority, the one that is not popular enough to get duped. profit margins in sephora are like 60%, as i’ve heard from a woman that analyses if makeup is worth its price from the resource standpoint. that means they hike up the prices over 60% to make a profit, and i’m not there for it at all. small businesses should be protected, but the big brands don’t deserve our protection. they can sue if they have a problem, they have the money for it. so i think it’s okay that the brand makes similar products with similar ingredients and packaging, let people access beauty without preying on them.
I think a cheaper brand doing it's own version of popular products is fine, with their own branding and packaging. Copying another brand within a millimeter of the law is just yucky. The products should work well and speak for themselves. 🖤💜🖤💜
I'm a senior US Patent Paralegal and the IP Attorney is correct, it is not an infringement. And it's up to the company who owns the patent to defend their patent/trademark, which takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Plus, there are time frames that items are protected under patent. Meaning, a patent is only good for 20 years from the filing date. So it's not an eternal protection for things. Trademarks are different, as long as someone renews their Trademark, then they keep that indefinitely.
For some reason, I haven't been getting new video notifications, but I'm finally on time. I don't know what I would do without you and your brothers content. Your and James' content is so helpful and entertaining 🥹🖤
I discovered MCo stuff during lockdown when going to Woolies was a day out. Since then their prices have increased substantially, their ethics have become questionable and I’d rather have the quality than save 50c (or spend more, quite often).
Honestly I saw a few MCO beauty in store the other day and I genuinely thought it was a scam product. Sort of like the stuff you receive from an online order but you don’t receive the actual thing, but you get this instead.
If you look at the ingredients- they are NOTHING like the quality of the original- it’s the packaging- and it’s a rip off because people think it’s the same.
Hello everyone! Sorry for the low quality upload! I actualy filmed this and uploaded it about a month ago now but I kept posting videos in its place so this was before I fixed the low quality upload! 🙏🏻🖤 this should be the last one!
That lawyer is giving Mr. Bean dupe vibes!! 😂
@Robertwellsh
Do you know something simela to the Nars Light Reflecting one ?
To be honest I haven't noticed im not a UA-camr so it's not something I have taken note of. I just love watching your content for what it's about ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I never noticed 😂❤
This gives me ‘annoying sibling yelling “I’m not touching you” with their finger an inch from your face’ energy.
😂😂😂😂!! Omg!!!!
@@RobertWelsh The CEO seems so soulless
Quotation marks are reversed. I’m sorry, couldn’t help it. I hate myself 🤣
@@Clovergirl7934 I believe this is a difference of British vs American quotation style. 😂
Yessssssssss! This is totally it. 😂
Documentary: she doesnt want to name and shame
Robert: BENEFIT!!!!!🗣🗣🗣
😂😂😂
Yes!! Awesome!! 👏👏❤
I cracked up at this one and had to Google benefit product 😅
I just got here and I Still laughed! 😂
🤣🤣🤣
Its worth noting that in the Australian context we have a lot less access to the sorts of brands being duped and at a much higher price - our main non-sephora store never does sales and has a lot of exclusivity contracts, so you can't even buy direct from the brand and sell a kidney for shipping. Also what is stocked in Sephora is a sad comparison to most countries. In Australia M Co is avalible in stores which don't stock the originals. While their move to US and other markets does make it seem more shifty, from the original market it really was giving people something they wanted to get, and were willing to pay for things they were locked out of. From that point of view making it look similar so people walking past can instantly make the connection while knowing its not the original (Chemist Warehouse would be the budget version of boots, its not stocking Charlotte Tilburry)
Not saying its 100% right but there is a reason it was popular in Australia that may not translate across to other countries.
glad you said this!
there's also a massive cost of living crisis here. housing/rent is incredibly unaffordable, and so is food.
i don't agree with this brand and i think what they're doing is disgusting, and i'll never buy from them/recommend them, however.... there's a reason that these products are getting duplicated. aussies get slammed with identical advertising/hype to american audiences, but if the product comes to our shores, these companies add a massive markup (outside of conversion rates). so i can understand how there's a market for dupes here, especially for younger people.
agreed!! the makeup market here is so behind that we don’t even get new products until weeks or even months after they’re released in the US (at least that’s how it felt waiting for the rare beauty highlighters XD)
plus mco is always stocked with the drugstore brands (which are also annoyingly expensive here) and nothing from Mecca and Sephora is stocked with drugstore here, so there is definitely no confusion due to the packaging.
Completely spot on! not a call to support the duping, just a reason why it worked so well here in Australia.
Honestly, I'd be fine with them coming out with Similar products, everyone does it.
But this has "Wish and Temu level counterfeit" vibes EVEN IF they're making higher quality, safer products. And to be like "Oh we don't give a damn if we are ripping off small businesses" is GROSS [even if she meant "I'm not worried because we're not doing that" it came off like she has no qualms hurting small businesses just like the businesses they're copying]. And I agree with Robert on the "At LEAST call it something different". Or ... idk be like "This is California Sunshine - compare to Charolette Tilburry's Hollywood Flawless Filter" or something where it's not a direct copy and maybe is paying homage in a "It's like this, but cheaper, but gives the same results" - like a generic store brand in the US might say "Compare to Name Brand - Product Name" on the back. Like Great Value Brand Wild Berry Hand Soap - compare to Soft Soap Wild Berry Hand Soap --- i think it's usually like they make a claim of what it can do when compared to [and granted a lot of those items are made in the same factory as the original product, as most generics are] but still! Instead of stealing another product's entire identity, just be like "We made this to be similar to this other thing - but it's different!"
Like yes 100% make it affordable and make it work for your customers - but don't go so far as to hurt other people. And yeah, to a degree, screw those bigger businesses and any of their own predatory practices - but this is still gross.
I am all for "make the products similar for a specific audience at a reasonable price!" but not a "basically just steal the entire product and it's identity and pretend you're not being a lil bit of a dick about it". And honestly ... MCo should just become a "Generics" Brand then if they wanna do that and literally get the legal right to manufacture the actual same product [usually with minor tweaks] and be able to not only offer those products at a generics price - BUT ALSO be able to manufacture in country to lower the cost of the actual products because no one has to bay those extra fees and mark ups because it was manufactured right there!
Chemist Warehouse has so much on it's website but only some of it stocked in store. You have to buy big or pay big postage prices. I've only just bought some MCO stuff after seeing people recommend it as a dupe. I've been underwhelmed so far and didn't find the prices an amazing bargain. I got the flawless finish bottle and I feel it's half empty and doesn't have much of a cover on my pale skin. It seems to oxidise quickly too. I start off with glass skin and an hour later it's dark.
Exactly. I’m from Canada and I 100% agree. And frankly people who are loyal to say for example Charlotte Tilbury are going to buy her brand. They’re not interested in a dupe and highly doubtful they’ll be confused by one.
If a Chinese brand did this, those products would've been called COUNTERFEITS. Just because some retailers indulge them, and just because the owner shamelessly shows her face, doesn't mean this is not a totally unethical and disrespectful act.
Yes! If these were being sold on AliExpress or something, from a random Chinese brand, most people wouldn’t be entertaining this at all. They’d definitely be called out as counterfeit.
Oh no!! Poor billionaire makeup companies!
@@meistlazerEeexactly! Charlotte Tilbury probably owns five houses across the world and flies private jet.
@Persefone94 This!
It's messed up, but so is selling products for an egregious amount when they aren't much better than drugstore brands, if at all🤷♀️
@@meistlazer I didn't know people stopped getting respected when they got rich 🤷
This is such an interesting concept and from someone that did a cosmetic line it's a mine field. Basically if the packaging is generic (ie - not tooled and made specifically for you! - (the cost BTW is out of this world extreme to get a bespoke tooled item!) anyone can 'copy it' legally. Makeup manufactures will tell you they do not like bespoke tooled packaging - the reason is that all the 'generic' packaging has already been tested and pressure tested, so they know it works with their formula. I found this out the hard way when I custom tooled all the pans and it put be 18 months behind release due to all the pressure testing and issues i faced. This is why is so easy for other companies to 'dupe' a product because large makeup houses cannot spend 18 months perfecting something - they need the product out ASAP - hence using generic packaging thats legally easy to dupe! The makeup making industry is an absolute nightmare.
Thank you. This was very interesting. I wish you the best and may everything you undertake in the future go smoothly and prosperously with joy mingled in.
Thinking this exactly and I’m not a make up brand but it’s should be common sense it’s doesn’t matter if the packaging is the same to me 😂
That has to be so frustrating, especially when considering the fact that most small businesses don’t have the funds to stop the bigger companies from getting away with it.
Completely unrelated, but my heart skipped a bit when I saw your commenting on this video. I don’t think I have ever considered that some of my favorite artists could be following and watching each other’s content 😂
Therefore, they can cut their costs and start marketing more quickly instead of waiting 18 months.
Wow. Like, I knew it was bad but thanks so much for the insight!
Many Australians are frustrated because comapanies will not ship to Australia. Typology (You've promoted them), Jones Road for example. In the past 12 months, MCo have put a huge effort to dominate the grocery store aisle and end caps. These products do not confuse - it's very obvious these are dupes. Especially in regional areas; and there's a lot of space here where the only local makeup shop is the chemist or grocery store. We feel included in a bit of glam even though we know it's a knockoff. Being able to try a formula is nice. It's safer than trying a Temu/Wish fake. I'll have to watch the interview to judge the owner.
IKR! Supermarket shopping versus going to MECCA or Sephora and trying to get our hand on something well known overseas & paying double or triple what people can walk into a chemist OS and buy.
That's fair
This, sadly
@sailorplutoes their parent company Model Co does that.
I think that's fine, but MCo need more of their own packaging identity. If I looked at these products I'd assume they're the original. If your products are good you should have confidence in your own brand.
There's a difference in; providing a cheaper alternative for the customer wearing the product to dupe others and, the company duping it's customers through misleading advertising/copying package design
Yes absolutely!
In the USA trademarks are protected against direct copying. Hopefully, they will be crushed here. That seems fraudulent. For example: Doubleday vitamins vs Doubleday publishing = no competition. That Charlotte Tilbery dupe is a direct theft attempt.
100%
And trust me - the quality isn’t there for a lot of it - as BX her stands are now just this conglomeration of copies - nothing makes sense-
It’s funny I have read the reviews and they are very mixed. Were as Charlotte tilbury they say buy the original. I think she feels like she can get away with it and she should not be allowed to do so. If you do not have an original idea maybe you shouldn’t be in the industry
Aside from skirting the law and being morally icky, copying the packaging of the products you're ripping off prevents you having a visual brand identity, and if your brand is nothing but dupes, it looks like you have no ideas of your own and everything is a tacky cash-grab.
Exactly! I said this too. If you put all their products together then it just looks like an incohesive mess
Mco has zero creativity
Very well said - this brand could have chosen many different packaging concepts to give them an identity. I for one have not been able to try Charlotte Tilbury products except for a face cream (which I really enjoy), but I'm not a fan of the packaging anyway, hence I'm not compelled to buy the Mcobeauty products as a form of compensation. Also, as an Australian I am disappointed at the level of copying.
Good point! I didn’t think about that.
I don't wear makeup but at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has used the product before or seen promotional materials, they don't know what the product looks like inside the box until they buy it.
If a product can be duped and be half the price, it means the original was over priced. Cosmetics are so expensive
Exactly. Where’s the videos bashing companies for gouging customers for over priced products?
Exactly, when he said the glow recipe had pretty much the same ingredients as the mco one doesn’t that just prove the point?
Ikr mco is making fair prices and ppl complain? 😂
@@tyanaleek cause those are not MCO products or ideas. If she can provide quality makeup and affordable prices why isn’t she releasing her own makeup original line ? Cause she’s riding off other brands success. She’s not tryna prove a point she’s copying pples formulations , ideas and downright to packaging to mislead and steal customers. This is exactly what shein does. Why are we glorifying an AI brand that copies of other brands. This shows the company has poor values and morals
@@aliciaaaaaaaa200 the poor ethics is the other company’s with their other prices . Who cares if the packaging is the same ? Most cosmetics have empty containers thats why it’s not hard to copy , the companies are not making the packaging
She can’t comment on ethics because she doesn’t have any
she is doing NOTHING wrong legally
Their foundation is $30 AUD at Chemist Warehouse. It's not exactly cheap. But I guess they do half price sales pretty often.
True, it's not cheap, but it's not quite as bad as it looks, given that it's $20.21USD.
They have a sale every month it seems at Woolworths. the presence through the store is very noticeable. The fact the aisle is usually trashed means plenty of people are having a rummage.
I'm Australian. This company is only moving a lot of product because of tiktok and cycling through the various supermarkets/pharmacies at 50% off. Otherwise, they'd be getting no attention and no sales. My daughter bought quite a few items and said they're really good.
It's in chemist warehouse in NZ, the blushes are $39.95. Most of the products are around that price. They have the bum bum brand mists etc out now too, they're now on sale. I don't buy any of it.
Love chemist werehouse here in nz! I haven’t brought any mco
So as an Aussie and an MCOBeauty lover I thought I’d give my two cents. I 1000% agree with you in the sense that the packaging does not need to be the way that it is. Whilst it was kind of amusing the first few times they did it, it’s getting a little ridiculous with how frequent they are willing to toe that fine line between dupe and full on copying. I definitely think changing the packaging more to make it unique and a part of the MCOBeauty brand should be the next steps for this company. However, I do want to share that as the AUD currency is absolutely god awful when compared to the US and UK currencies, the price of make up is INSANE. Common ‘drug store’ and ‘affordable’ brands such as ELF and maybelline will easily run you $15-30 per product. High end brands like Charlotte Tillbry are $90. In the cost of living crisis, so many aussies (particularly the younger generations who are struggling to buy a house atm) can’t justify spending money on that. Then MCB comes along and they create amazing dupes of these beautiful (but realistically unattainable) products. They’re still decently pricey, around the $30 mark, but they’re CONSTANTLY on sale at Coles, Woolies, PriceLine, Chemist Warehouse etc.. often 20-50% off making it some of the more affordable yet high quality makeup that we can afford. Of course I’m generalising here, as there are other brands from Mecca that are in the $15-30 range that we can buy, but this is personally the reason why I gravitate towards their products so frequently.
I totally get your point! But why didn't they take this opportunity to be original and develop an awesome Aussi brand with affordable prices instead of profiting off of people who want the original but can't afford it? They copy 90% of others brands' packaging, but the product doesn't perform like the original... that to me is misleading and taking advantage of people...
@@PerfectPinkiePants oh 100%! My best theory on this is as you said is that they wanted to capitalise on a demographic of people who care about branding. Can’t afford the super expensive name brand stuff, but from a distance since the packaging is basically identical it looks as if you’re in a good place financially to spend the $ on the original stuff rather than the dupe. Which is a shame cuz their stuff is of really good quality so they don’t need to do this at all. I have to admit this whole video has definitely made me rethink my stance on MCB as even tho I do love their products it just doesn’t sit well with me that they’re completely ripping off other companies products.
@@PerfectPinkiePants i agree with this so much ! idk why they do not be original with their packaging.
Their products don't perform that well compared to the originals. I've tried their products when first launched (the heated curler, mascara, tan in a can, cheek blush, powders, etc) and only the mascara was good. Everything else was meh
@@z.deutch1334 I suppose it’s a different strokes for different folks situation 🤷♀️ I personally adore their pressed setting powder, halo glow foundation dupe, setting spray and primer. Wear it every day and love it. I’ve tried the originals of these products too and honestly I’m not willing to spend the $ on them when the MCB dupes perform just as well imo.
Let us have our cheap makeup! All you beauty brands have been ripping us off for too long. You all still make millions so let us poor people have makeup
A lot of Australians are really struggling financially at the moment, to add to this mecca and sephora have exclusive distribution contracts for many brands in Australia (meaning overnight the makeup we wear to work everyday can suddenly be more expensive). It's hardly surprising we are reaching for a cheaper brand that doesn't engage in monopoly behaviour and we can actually get on sale.
Legally ok does not equal morally ok.
As an Aussie I should also tell you that you can pick up MCo for like 40-50% off nearly allllll the time. It's bizarre.
I fairly certain Gisou just filed a claim too. They had a honey lip product in the same packaging. It's just been rereleased with slightly different packaging and a new name.
Yessss I think I saw that lip oil! Imagine being sued so many times and being like “we are doing something right”
It’s a marketing/sales campaign gimmick. MCO’s regular price is marked way up so they can constantly do sales without detracting from their net margins in order to convince shoppers they are getting a “deal”.
They only need one of these to go to court and be successful and it’s over for her…..
Exactly. Always on SALE. To me this means the ingredients are not actually good for you.
Yes we pay a high price for cosmetics here in Australia, but adding an extra $20 for a foundation by a good brand is worth it. MC is crap I’m sorry
but makeup in Australia is so expensive, eg Dior blush is $72 whereas Mco is $24 so its hard to be angry with them
The thing with them duping the packaging so closely means none of their products will have a cohesive branding. They basically have no branding, no identity. Just theft
To me, copying the packaging is not only stealing another's company image, but treating consumers as idiots who buy stuff because the presentation is cool.
Sadly, there are some individuals who will buy just based on packaging. So if the package is close to their favorite but at a slightly lower price then I can see people blindly buying just to buy lol
@@didralamond8145 I know! that's what's commenable about legitimate dupes, when they manage to prove many luxury items are so expensive just because of the brand and fancy packaging and not so much because ot their ingredients and effectiveness.
I would never buy something without reading the labels thoroughly
That is how consumers are though to be fair 😂
I don't wear makeup but at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has used the product before or seen promotional materials, they don't know what the product looks like inside the box until they buy it.
The thing is, like you said at the end, if the ingredients of the Mco drops are the same as the glo recipes ones but half the price, I think that says more about glo recipes greed
1000%. That, and the fact that we're so often just paying for the packaging and the label.
But glow recipe team took
products and spent money marketing them and coming up with packaging vs MCO which did not even bother to make their own products or product line but steal the brands packaging and formulation.And use the virality and success of glow recipe to endorse their own products. MCO is as good as shein when it comes to morals. Why didn’t they make their own product line instead of leeching of glow recipe success? cause they want a quick cash grab while fooling consumers into thinking they are heroes or something
Is it greed or actually investing in their product and marketing? Coz product and marketing roll outs are not cheap. And yet, MCO just copied everything. And in terms of quality, are they really equal?
Fashion has been doing this forever. If you can't afford the Gaultier there's the Guess copy. This is no different.
But even Guess do their own thing with the "dupe" but this one is like... Exact
Dupes feel like a fun way to save money, blatant knockoffs are cheap and shady. That might be the difference.
Exactly! Good distinction, dupe vs. knock-off
I think this is the crux of the issue for me, too. I'm an Aussie currently living in Canada, I understand ALL TOO WELL the frustration of not being able to purchase popular products because of imaginary lines on a map, so it's great that MCo is there to fill in the market gaps with alternative products. But they could do that while still maintaining some kind of self-identity or aesthetic cohesion as a brand. Slapping their logo on dupe containers for brands with as disparate aesthetics as CT and Glow Recipes just makes MCo look soulless and tacky, more like the kind of crappy knock-offs that, back in the day, I would have found in a dollar store -- or these days, Temu.
And this stuff isn't that cheap.
I’m Australian and I absolutely buy this stuff. Makeup and skin care brands are so expensive here. Yes they probably should change the packaging a bit but at least I know exactly what they duping. Give me more. Plenty of money in the this industry.
Johnny Ross & Kevin went into detail about this brand in one of their podcast episodes Beautiful & Bothered. Its nice to hear Robert's take on this💜
I need to watch that one I missed it! I watch all their posts!
@@RobertWelshepisode 79
Perfume companies dupe all the time. If I want brand name I need to drive to a major shopping centre to get to Mecca. MCO is readily available at the supermarket. My rent went up $50/week so buying the original isn’t always an option, I’d rather support a local brand that I know is cruelty free.
Australia seems to love it, beauty on a budget 🎉
Their whole success relies on visually copying successful brands... Someone else's design... AI & duping need updated laws!
It's sad that companies would rather copy someone else's ideas than be creative and innovative and come up with their own ideas.
you're right... And it's the same for the cinema... All remakes or prequels,sequels,all satellites franchises gravitating around and old idea...
I'm based in New Zealand, right next to Australia where this brand is based, and I've gotta tell you...their prices are nearly the exact same as the high-end versions that they are duping?! What's the damn point if you're just gonna charge nearly the same price??
Because they’re not this way in Australia where they are twice or three times as much as the dupe. It’s also impossible to get some high end brands here without getting a U.S. shipping address and paying exorbitant shipping fees. I despise dupe culture, especially the fast fashion and obvious ripoffs of SHEIN and Temu but for the Australian market Mco makes sense.
Then you’re being duped, cause it sells literally the same or even less than Maybelline or Rimmel. About a third or quarter than the original.
They're really not 😂 and if you're smart - which most of us are. You're buying them on 40-50% off regularly
They often go half price at Woolworths and chemist warehouse so I don’t think people often pay full price for them here.
I'm Australian and have always refused to buy MCo. Very bad vibes.
Why? What are the ”bad vibes”?
Agree! I literally feel like 'accidentally' knocking the shelf they sit on so they tumble like dominos lol. Makes me so ashamed to be Australian what a horror she is
Yeah, there's something really *off*, not just conceptually and ethically, but product-wise. The packaging has such weird flea-market mystery-ingredient knock-off vibes - it's like the cosmetics equivalent of a bootleg vhs with a badly photocopied jacket insert.
Yea I’m Australian too and I had no idea it was an Aussie brand. It looks CHEAP Cheap like it would break out your skin cheap.
I’d rather stick to Covergirl and Elf which aren’t that expensive
Aussie here too and morally I cannot stand her or her brand.. I cant wait to see whatever shitstorm they encounter by hitting the US market where they sue if you look at them wrong!
They did a half price sale the other week in Sydney and it was absolute mayhem with people buying it - a lot of stuff sold out. And this was maybe a week after this aired - it was good advertising for the company.
I’d say it’s actually becoming pretty popular over here.
I havent bought any Mco products but it just goes to show that these big brands are taking the piss with how much they charge when mco can make a similar product at a fraction of the price
That's what I'm sayiiiiiinnnnggg. It's mad how many people side with the big brands that clearly exploit their customers and suppliers with ridiculous pricing!
Sure, but you're paying for R&D too. Maybe not as much as they are “charging“, but they have think and create to make something new. While just copying a product takes a huge step out of it.
Similar product is the whole point, it's not the exact same. There has always been cheaper brands and more expensive brands. Makeup Revolution is the same kind of thing and they started out copying Too Faced, their products were very inferior quality. Mco are taking it too far imo.
As much as sometimes I appreciate being able to use something cheaper, I can’t support them! Why would you want to be successful by copying everything else? Sure you can be inspired by some items but everything exactly the same??? That’s lazy!
If you were told you could copy a very difficult and time consuming project from a coworker with 0 negative consequences, and you knew they'd done well and got a bonus for their work, would you really bother spending extra time and money trying to make your copy look individual and different? Probably not. There's literally no point, unless you genuinely care about your 9-5. Most people don't. It's just a paycheck, a way to pay for the things you actually care about like family and hobbies etc.
I honestly can't get mad at this lady for taking the legal and easy route to success, I'd do it myself in a heartbeat if it meant not working a soul draining low paid job that barely pays enough to live on 😅
Do you know what companies you're supporting when you're buying the name brand version 🤔
@@Erin13xx I know most companies are shady! No matter if it’s makeup, skincare, food etc. What I’m saying is she’s obviously proud to only copy others. So I choose not to support. I understand no one/company is perfect. Just my opinion
I'm petty sure I recall they used to do their own stuff a few years ago when they were only selling in Woolworths [Aus grocery store], and they were super cheap and looked it too. Then all of a sudden they are making 'dupes' and selling everywhere. 🤔 Any other Aussie recall this, too?
Also, I think the fact that they can sell more 'dupes' in Aus is because patents only applyin the country you registered in and copyright laws similar. Alot of companies don't bother registering in Aus, because we are perceived as too small a market.
Not long ago before they started duping CT they had the hourglass powders but didn’t market them in same packaging as hourglass.
YT is a whole 3 minutes behind notifying me ⏰ …I don’t normally mind, but it’s Robert! 🖤 ❤Bella 🇺🇸
3 minutes! What is UA-cam doing!!!?
Heartless to be so casual and ok about potentially stealing from smaller businesses...deadpan reply with NO remorse. Disgusting.
Robert I have a story about this woman that has affected me for years now. She hired & then wrongfully fired me so quick it ripped my heart out. This was way back when they were called ModelCo (they used to be high end sold once at Sephora but now they’ve obviously changed their name to MCo). This is so triggering, lol.
😮
Sorry that happened to you, I can't imagine what it would be like to work for her 😒 actually thinking of my last boss I probably do know what it like haha 😅
Thanks for the info, I knew it looked too familiar for such a new brand that boomed instantly.
I also wanna know what happened if you're keen to share the story?
As an Australian im already over it. Not only the duping but the fact they have taken over stores who have dropped better and maybe more underrated make up brands to cater to them .
i love dupes sooooo much. lots of brands and products aren’t available where i live and saving cash is always great.
but they don’t even try to differentiate their products the way other brands that dupe do 😂 they go out of their way to actively seek to copy rather than take inspiration from. which is where their issue lies.
agree
That's not even duping anymore. That's a straight up crime. This is the downside to duping when people start stealing
Exactly!
Exactly, it's just like buying a counterfeit Chanel bag at some market because it looks the same. I really don't know how they get away with it. You look at the product and it looks just like the original brand. I wouldn't buy any of it. I live in NZ and it's in a lot of stores, they've even copied the bum bum cream and mists. And they're not cheap, cheaper than the original but I'd rather spend my money on the real products., instead of lining that woman's pockets.
They literally said it wasn't a crime lol
@@meistlazershe’s getting off on technicalities. But has settled 3 times already. She’s totally ripping off other people’s IP.
Another difference between this kind of brand and elf is we know elf can innovate and create great products on its own in addition to cheaper dupes. It's not solely making all its profit off of other people's products and branding
I got an mco lip oil years back in a beauty subscription box. I had no idea it was a dupe company. I liked the lip oil but it was quite pricey when I looked on their website so I didn't purchase. I always thought dupes were rock bottom prices.
They didn’t used to be a dupe brand. I’d say the last 5 years, maybe less they’ve gone hard into the dupes. I used to work in a pharmacy that stocked their products and they weren’t dupes then.
Are you Australian?
They aren’t even remotely close to a dupe in terms of product quality! Terrible warm based foundations, clumpy mascara and drippy lipgloss. I HATE MCoBeauty! No innovation! No creativity! No talent! Nothing!
You are so right about the quality - it’s terrible - such a waste of money I’ve found
Only thing I've actually liked is their tubing mascara. It's taken years to find one that works for me. I have at least 4 I gave up on this year. My eyelashes fan out and everything else just clumps and smudges
@@DaisyLarson4936 it is good - it was her first dupe and I think it worked so she kept going ….
Agree!! 90% of their products are shite - have bought and tested most of them - and only the mascara is good. The concealer and foundation shades are bloody awful and limited.
Honestly I LOVE that they look exactly the same! I don’t want to be standing in the isle having to think “is this meant to be the dupe for that other product?!” I love that the dupes look super similar so there is no questioning which product it’s duping!
She doesn't care because she knows people don't care. She will always have customers that may say they care about ethics but will buy a knockoff in a heartbeat. So yeah
I agree that she's unlikeable. It reminds me of what happened to Manny too. If he didn't have that much of a following, I doubt it would have changed anything. This lady gives me "how can I cheat without the teacher catching me" vibes. She never directly answered the questions. She skirted around them. 😂
Oh yea when Revolution copied he’s design? Yea she seems abit heartless.
@RobertWelsh Yes just like that!
@@RobertWelshI don’t like her she reminds me of cruella de ville and not in a good way. I agree there is a place for dupe brands but in Japan we already have so many good affordable make up brands we don’t really need any brands like this . Etude house is one of my personal favourites as is canmake and Kate. Plus the price points are a lot lower and more affordable.
I feel like she is just conning the consumer and it’s not in a good way. And she is just out to get what she can. Ripping off smaller creators along the way.
She has the "stone cold boomer boss lady" vibe. Reminds me I should call my mom 😂
😂
🤣🤣 she's actually Gen X (she's only 53) but yes agreed, definitely giving old school girl boss vibes. 🫠
Honestly reminds me a bit of Margaret Thatcher
@maryeckel9682 to me it's more like Jane from the Office 😅
That's mean...to your Mom😅
I'm getting the icky ick as the video goes on, just like with the revolution company. Robert, thank you for keeping us informed! I honestly didn't know anything about this company.
🖤🖤🖤
Same. Dupe brands leave a bad taste in my mouth.
@@riven799Why?
Revolution has some great products.
@@Persefone94I agree. I couldn't afford Jones Road, so Revolution hooked me up with a dupe cream glow balm. Since then every brand offers cream products.
Part of why they can afford to sell these dupes so cheaply is because they didn't have to spend the money on R&D or package design. Another company already did it for them. While I certainly think there are brands that are squeezing their customers for every last dime, it does make me feel bad for all the chemists, package designers, and analysts that spent so much of their time creating a product only for it to be completely copied.
Mco has gotten so much more expensive like my primer is almost $30 AUD two years ago it used to be $10 AUD
Lawyer: I’m not paid to be ethical. I’m paid to find a legal way to do what my client wants. 🤢
It’s one thing to sell copies in Australia when the original product isn’t sold there but for them to branch out to America, I think it’s so distasteful. They aren’t even dupes either! They’re trying to pass themselves off as dupes but very inferior
I was wondering what the makeup inside is like?
I think their Charlotte Tilbury copy is very similar. I don't like either product personally.
was meant to go to the cinema tonight, but bus problems 🥺 but you always cheer me up 😁 much love 💖 x
Oh noooo 😫
Hopefully you have some popcorn and/ or good treats and a good line up of videos after this great one😊
She doesn’t want to name the company… BENEFIT!😂😂 I love you Robert!😂😂🖤🖤
I remember when MCo Beauty was called ModelCo Beauty: they've always had a 'bargain basement' feel about them, even once they stopped being bargain priced. It's a shame the founder's attitude is so off-putting because I'd love to support an Aussie company, but... ick: thanks, but no thanks.
As an Aussie I’m so interested to see how they fair overseas! And Robert you look so beautiful and bronzed here 💕
There have been name brand and store brands next to each other on grocery store shelves for as long as I can remember. EG: Eggo waffles vs Walmart’s Great Value waffles.
The narrator sounded like they said the brand also had a version of her quick flick, so yes smaller brands not only bigger ones. This is such a shame
This is so interesting; when you go to Walgreens or CVS and buy let’s say Clean & Clear face wash. There will be the Clean & Clear brand and right next to it the store brand in the identical packaging but a different label and it will say some like “comparable to xyz”. Those are not high end products but identical situation. This situation, tho, just feels more icky for some reason.
Maybe because it doesn't say "compare to," but just winks slyly?
It feels icky because he's telling you it's icky. Will all of those expensive products, you're paying for the packaging and labelling. I like the idea of duping that so that it really is just about the product inside.
Generics aren't really comparable to dupes as they are being made by the same manufacturers. Particularly so if they are calling out a specific brand. It's just a different lable and maybe a different formula. So, in your example, Johnson and Johnson, clean and clears owners, are still the ones making the money. Another example is kirkland diapers (costco) are made by huggies (Kimberly clark. You can't steal from yourself.
It feels like buying a counterfeit...? Because the packaging is the same...
Yesss that’s such a good point!
“Unlikeable”
MCO Ceo is unapologetically proud, enhanced by the wink @13:39 by saying it’s a ‘take of’ instead of dupe. Perhaps she hears us saying ICK and thinks it’s IT!? ❤Bella 🇺🇸
your videos are so so good. your commentary and make up knowdledge and artistry is to die for!!
Thank you I really appreciate it!
I think another problem with this behavior, is smaller brands not being aloud to even start up. If they make a high selling product, it’s only a matter of time before a cheaper dupe comes out. And consumers are poor, so they WILL start buying the cheaper one, leaving the smaller brand without funds to progress. So it’s also a form of canceling smaller brands by stealing their ideas
The problem is that brands, especially fashion and makeup brands, are so abusive and exorbitant and ridiculous with their markups, and they keep pushing it, so of course if you see that you can get more or less "the same thing" for half the price, you're like, loyalty shmoyalty, what have you done for me lately??? Come down out of the clouds and I'll meet you half way.
I have never and never will use MCo beauty.
I had an employee of MCo Beauty come into my workplace once. She told me she was looking for a new job because she was suffering such poor mental health from working there. She told me how horrible the place was to work in, and how horrible the CEO was. After that interaction I vowed to never use MCo beauty.
just from 1 persons words you can make that huge assumption. Maybe she was a lazy or bad employee, you never know
@@valeriewilliams6294well we can see from the video that the owner is not a likeable person.
Do you know how much we pay for makeup in Australia? We pay the most ridiculous hiked up prices, it’s ridiculous!! Sephora and Mecca hike up the prices to make it unaffordable for majority of people. We needed someone to give us a good, affordable, makeup brand.
I have to say that bringing up elf is important, too, because they dupe and it “seems” okay because it’s more well known and the company’s been around for a while, but mco isn’t necessarily duping a product more affordably. It might be more affordable in Australia, where the company is based, but the cost is higher internationally… I think both elf and mco are dupe brands, but consumers and MUAs are more annoyed by mco because they’re duping but not actually delivering on being more of a bargain compared to the original product.
To a certain extent yes, but with MCo it’s the packaging also. Brands dupe, and as I show on screen in this video, elf and other brands make dupes but the packaging is different, easy to tell apart from the product they are trying to dupe at first glance. MCo doesn’t seem to have got the message in that part
@@RobertWelsh I know very little about packaging, only what I have learned from sales and sourcing. I’ve learned that a lot of brand reps go to conventions for packaging and will buy wholesale, which is why so many brands have similar packaging now - do you think that if custom packaging was more affordable duping would be less prevalent?
@@danicee This is a really good question!
@@RobertWelsh Robert, I'm Australian and at my local Woollies, every single McCo product is packaged in plain pink packaging. Unless a customer has bought the product before, they don't know what it looks like until they open it.
Aussie here - McBeauty has built their brand around duping products. They come out with more dupes every week. It’s their business model & they seem to skate by. The quality of the products are actually really good. They are up to date legally & seem to walk the fine line of legal v’s illegal. Regardless, brands have been duping brands since the start & they will continue he to do so. Elf, Revolution put out dupes to it’s just the volume of dupes released seed to market is less than MCoBeauty. Morals are out of the equation now it’s all about the money.
The quality is shit stop lying
It’s tainted the real brands for me, like I don’t buy Sol de Janeiro anymore because I don’t wanna pay $41 for a fragrance that kids are now able to get from Kmart, it just makes the real thing feel cheap
Mco as an Australian brand is filling a huge gap in the market domestically imo. I’m not surprised that they are copping heat overseas because the products are not really made for overseas markets, they are made for the average Aussie who cants get their hands on expensive or unavailable products from the US.
Back before social media became what is now, a massive driver of consumer trends and brand marketing with broad international reach, this kind of business model was the standard for Aust, and would never have been noticed by overseas consumers. MCO trading in Australia the way it is, is no issue imo but the brand trying to breach out into US markets where the original products are widely available, and where export costs gauge up the brands prices is not a smart move on their part imo
Insufferable is the word for sure!
Love your make up look 😍
11:35 Robert naming and shaming for her 😂😂😂
Don’t you love it though❣️
@wallicabarnhill5287 oh absolutely!
So Benefit duped the eye pencil multi pen or the eye liner wing stamp?
Not sure if it's an ethics thing or a byproduct of the wish/shein/temu phase of commerce. BUT, if the dupe is only degrees different from the original, i don't trust it! It makes me think of the cheap makeup you'd buy off Canal Street! I don't want the product to look exactly the same, i want it to behave similarly to the original. So i prefer the ELF dupe of the Hydro Grip Primer, or the ColourPop dupe of Rare Beauty blush.
When the indi brand owner said she doesn’t want to shame brands and you instantly said benefit 😂 also that eye colour omg stunning ❤
Omg Robert you always cheer me up thankyou! Keep being you we love you so much!😘🥰💝🏳️🌈xxx
I don't have an issue with dupes. It becomes an issue when a company straight up steals another's whole product/identity...like back when Huda stole from Beauty Bakery. Like the whole aesthetic/ad campaign.
This reminds me of the perfume dupes which used to be a big when I was little: Desinger Imposters, "If you like Red from Armani, you'll love our Little Sexy ", but not actually telling you thier makeup products are dupes. How sad at the deception!!
No, there is no patenting of fragrances. I buy fragrance dupes all the time.
I believe here in the US, if your product could be “easily mistaken” for the original, you’re infringing on their intellectual property or whatever. They’re pretty strict about that here so I think that’s why they don’t sell certain ones here. They’d be breaking our laws.
Thanks for letting me know. I will never purchase anything from MCO. Ever. This is insane.
As a makeup and skincare loving Australian, currently looking at their awful and messy stand at Woolies, we DO NOT support this poor excuse of a brand.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Just want to say I can watch you for hours. I find watching you do your makeup so fascinating. And it is always STUNNING plus you always have the best topics. Thank you for everything ❤️
As someone who has been broke for most of their life, I refuse to support MCo Beauty. I don't have the money to buy the originals but I dont want to buy counterfeits either.
I love the idea to do your makeup while you play the clips! So cool.
Congrats on having 1M followers 😊
Thank you!
Robert brings up a good point in the beginning: There's a big difference between e.l.f.'s "dupes" and Mcobeauty's copies! e.l.f. might have a very similar formula, but mcobeauty is copying the exact packaging and sometimes the very name of it! I will always love and respect dupes that arent exact copies of the original products! If Mcobeauty changed to be like what e.l.f. does, they would be respected more as a brand!!
The Beautiful and Bothered podcast made an excellent point about the duping. They mentioned how when UA-camrs like Manny MUA had Lunar Beauty duped, people were outraged on a massive scale. However, when brands with less of a personal presence on social media get their ideas stolen, suddenly it's not a big deal and things shouldn't be that expensive anyways.
I can’t afford, or like you said, don’t want to pay for high end. I have two points, which don’t make sense together. I bought some products thinking it might be similar, because we only had one Sephora and one Mecca in our state, like the Charlotte Tilbury, but had never seen them, just heard of them. I love the product, so will purchase again because it is easier to buy. The second is that if they weren’t obvious, I wouldn’t know… I’m not going to buy the high end brand, they’re not losing my sale!
Also, if you are happy with the product then buy it. If they can make a cheaper product that works well enough for their target customer that’s their aim. I don’t see high end trying to drop their prices to help more people can afford to buy… if they did, then I might actually buy their products…
i, for one, do not agree. i think that the similar packaging is a bit on the nose, but i’ll be honest: i don’t care about big makeup brands. they make money off of people’s insecurities, mostly women. some makeup is made for fun and is actually fun, but that’s the rare minority, the one that is not popular enough to get duped. profit margins in sephora are like 60%, as i’ve heard from a woman that analyses if makeup is worth its price from the resource standpoint. that means they hike up the prices over 60% to make a profit, and i’m not there for it at all. small businesses should be protected, but the big brands don’t deserve our protection. they can sue if they have a problem, they have the money for it. so i think it’s okay that the brand makes similar products with similar ingredients and packaging, let people access beauty without preying on them.
Ew. This just gives the ick. TY for expanding on this. 💙💙
I think a cheaper brand doing it's own version of popular products is fine, with their own branding and packaging. Copying another brand within a millimeter of the law is just yucky. The products should work well and speak for themselves. 🖤💜🖤💜
Awesome video and vibes per usual but i NEED to point out how flawless and beautiful your make up is!!! You look STUNNING!
I'm a senior US Patent Paralegal and the IP Attorney is correct, it is not an infringement. And it's up to the company who owns the patent to defend their patent/trademark, which takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Plus, there are time frames that items are protected under patent. Meaning, a patent is only good for 20 years from the filing date. So it's not an eternal protection for things. Trademarks are different, as long as someone renews their Trademark, then they keep that indefinitely.
Design patents are different than utility patents as well, so it all comes down to the type of protections that are offered in each country.
Thank you for the professional insights ❤
For some reason, I haven't been getting new video notifications, but I'm finally on time. I don't know what I would do without you and your brothers content. Your and James' content is so helpful and entertaining 🥹🖤
I discovered MCo stuff during lockdown when going to Woolies was a day out. Since then their prices have increased substantially, their ethics have become questionable and I’d rather have the quality than save 50c (or spend more, quite often).
Time to see Robert’s take on this! Also I NEED to see both the twins on Beautiful and Bothered at the same time.
Duping a product is different than outright plagiarizing it🤷🏼♀️
Honestly I saw a few MCO beauty in store the other day and I genuinely thought it was a scam product. Sort of like the stuff you receive from an online order but you don’t receive the actual thing, but you get this instead.
As long as FOMO is real companies like this are going to continue thriving
If you look at the ingredients- they are NOTHING like the quality of the original- it’s the packaging- and it’s a rip off because people think it’s the same.