makeup<\/a> brands like to put the idea that you need to pay so much money to have that good base and stuff, but you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tFounded in 2016 by Australian entrepreneur Shelley Sullivan, MCoBeauty has rapidly expanded beyond its home country, landing at major U.S. retailers including Target, Kroger and Walmart. Its products have also taken over social media as the company has leaned directly into duping culture rather than distancing itself from it.<\/p>\n
\n\tFar from dissembling about its intention to rip off better known brands, MCoBeauty has embraced the idea of offering affordable, lower-priced alternatives to high-end luxury items \u2014 a strategy that aligns with its tagline, \u201cluxe for less.\u201d Much of the brand\u2019s inspiration has been widely assumed by consumers to come from products sold at retailers like Sephora, with MCoBeauty creating versions of favorites from brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, Est\u00e9e Lauder and Drunk Elephant.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhen I started at this company, I think \u2018dupe\u2019 was still a lingering, dirty word on social [media]. People would sound it out, and they would write \u2018d-o-o-p,\u2019\u201d Rojas, who joined the brand in 2024, tells The Hollywood Reporter. <\/em>\u201cIt was almost like, \u2018You don\u2019t say the D-word.\u2019 And I feel like taking the shame out of it and actually embracing it, and making it about people who\u2019ve felt left out by luxury \u2014 blurring the line between prestige and mass \u2014 and saying you can actually get luxury at a price you can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tWhile MCoBeauty\u2019s packaging often mimics that of well-known prestige brands, Rojas explains that the products are formulated to perform at the same level, but at a much lower costs that the high luxury versions on the market. For example, Charlotte Tilbury\u2019s Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder, which sells for $49, compared to MCoBeauty\u2019s Miracle Flawless Pressed Powder at $9.99.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe company won\u2019t, however, share information about their efforts to replicate the precise chemistry of the cosmetics they copy. \u201cWe don\u2019t reveal all of our process because it is a bit of a cave of secrets,\u201d Rojas says. \u201cIngredients are important, and we stand by how good it looks as much as how good it works. If it was just something that resembled prestige but didn\u2019t perform like the prestige, we wouldn\u2019t be delivering on our promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tRojas also notes that many consumers are steering away from paying top dollar from luxury brands. \u201cThere\u2019s no mystery around luxury and how you\u2019re buying a premium brand name. And so the markups in luxury are often astronomical,\u201d she says. She compares the shift in beauty to fashion\u2019s long-established dupe culture \u2014 referencing companies like Zara, H&M and Quince that sell items closely resembling luxury products at a cheaper price. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to pay a premium, because you know you don\u2019t have to anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFashion products have long been a target for counterfeiters, and some beauty dupes are likewise illegal \u2014 the equivalent of knock-off designer handbag laid out on a rug on the sidewalks of NYC\u2019s Fifth Avenue. (A key distinction is whether the replica includes the luxury brand\u2019s logo or name, which is forbidden, or just the look, which is not.) But beauty dupes have generally been more discreet. \u201cIn beauty it seemed way more hush hush,\u201d Rojas explains. \u201cBrands would be inspired by other brands, but it\u2019s not always super obvious. And we just realized, let\u2019s go for it. Let\u2019s do a 360 experience, let\u2019s be unapologetic. It\u2019s not because we don\u2019t have integrity \u2014 it\u2019s a Robin Hood mentality. It\u2019s about the consumer who has been priced out of luxury beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThey take a similarly cheeky approach to marketing. Last year, when the company\u2019s head of social media, Gabe Gomez, discovered a Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet lookalike contest was taking place at Washington Square Park in New York City, the MCoBeauty leaned into the stunt, and found someone to send to pass out their products. \u201cGomez is like, \u2018I want to send our own Timoth\u00e9e dupe and just hijack the event.\u2019 And we\u2019re like, \u2018Yeah, let\u2019s do it.\u2019 He found somebody from Wisconsin who had never been on a plane before, flew him out, and this dupe of Timoth\u00e9e showed up with an MCo bag, handed out contour sticks \u2014 and next thing you know, the real Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet was there<\/a> and it went completely viral,\u201d Rojas says. \u201cAt the end of the day, a lookalike is a dupe \u2014 a human dupe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tMCoBeauty campaign<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGabe Gomez<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\tInfluencers are another major part of MCoBeauty\u2019s strategy, and an avenue they\u2019ve also leaned into rather than having traditional celebrities promote the company. The brand has partnered with creators including Bethenny Frankel, Campbell Puckett (aka \u201cPookie\u201d on TikTok), and castmembers from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,<\/em> which featured MCoBeauty in season three, episode four. Rojas says this approach reflects how consumers are currently discovering beauty products.<\/p>\n\n\t\u201cBorrowing community is the new ad spend,\u201d she says. \u201cNo one\u2019s flipping through magazines or watching TV the same way \u2014 their entertainment is in the scroll. We\u2019ve worked with 8,000 creators since we launched in the U.S. They can tell the story of the brand better than an actor reading a script. We want to find a way to enter the chat, not just slap our logo on someone\u2019s page.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n