I think the fact that Colourpop came along in the early days of the Morphe controversy with way more transparency, lots of releases, more curated colour palettes (even though they have so many repeats now) and were very affordable, meant they ended up filling that niche
Colourpop has had their fair share of scandals I think people just cut them more slack because they’ve really mastered the art of marketing and have become a cult favorite for so many
@@couturemepleasexo Definitely agree with you there! I think Colourpop's scandals were less severe though as they didnt revolve around influencers being cancelled and make all their products in house
@@yothiga Fully agree with you there! I'm from Australia and Colourpop was available here a good few years before Morphe became more accessible through our local beauty shops
I remember having difficulty getting MAC's 'soft brown' eyeshadow shade here in the UK. I watched Jaclyn Hill and she mentioned that one of the Morphe singles was a dupe for soft brown. I ordered it from the USA. It took ages to arrive. When it finally got here - I swatched it and it was just ok. When I tried to blend it out on my eyes - it blended to nothing! I couldn't understand why Jaclyn was promoting and promoting this brand when the products were just 'meh'.....then it was revealed that she was earning commission from them
I have morphe's soft brown and I truly enjoy it. I think if you're interested in Morphe, retrying some colors should be considered. Upon all the controversy, they truly have amazing products. As all brands, they're trial an error.
@@Randilynn66 Try a Beauty Bay eyeshadow palette! They have tons to choose from, and the quality is excellent on it's own already but especially for the price. I don't know if it's available in stores, though. I always order through their website, since I'm from the Netherlands.
Learning that one half of the morphe duo was essentially a car salesman or worked in that industry def explains why morphe went about selling their products the way they did 💀
Personally I really like Morphe. I don’t focus on who they work with, I focus on quality for pricing. They actually have some really nice products that are worth their prices(eyeshadow, matte liquid lipsticks). Morphe isn’t Urban Decay, which is why they used the influencers. However, they have settled down since they became popular.
@@KellyGooch I tried investigating Viseart. They apparently have a factory in France but, I've searched Google maps with the addresses they give and all I found were offices. People have said that Viseart are also private labelled but, I cannot find any information whatsoever. I remember Steph mentioning Viseart years ago and she couldn't find anything either
I learned recently that it’s sometimes cheaper to buy brick & mortar/mall spaces and utilize the stock rooms instead of buying more warehouse space. You can use your staff at the locations to both sell product during the day and help package online orders. We used to do it at American Eagle and it makes sense.
I love your industry deep dives and I've said it before, but I'll say it again... you're so good at them!! Your investigative abilities and how well you put the information together to tell a story is admirable! Idk how you haven't been hired to be an investigative journalist yet 🥰
Yeah I remember when Here For The Tea exposed the whole affiliate, codes thing. It was such a huge thing to realize we were being basically lied to to get us to buy stuff.
@@sb_1389yes! It was very suddenly also. Came as a huge shock to everyone and me. Her sister wanted to leave her cause of death a secret so people don’t know what happened.
I remember that and the HUGE shock waves that caused. It made Here for the Tea have a target on her back though. I’m just glade more became transparent because of it
I have some morphe brushes and they're fine. The reason why I don't like morphe, is that they came across as very shady after that Jaclyn Hill Vault "reformulation". And then, they stuck with Jeffrey Star for far too long after it became abundantly clear that he wasn't the most decent person; that was the final drop for me. It's like they attract the very worst in the beauty community, and stick with them. I just cannot disassociate Morphe from crappy people. And tell me who your friends are...
I heard a TEDtalk where the speaker suggested to think of every ad/temptation as an assault on you as they did, it changes your relationship with it and it becomes much easer to say no. Also, check out zero waste groups, they're fantastic about ways to save money and live your life.
@@violetviolet888 thanks! I’ll check it out. I love makeup, clothes, home decor, all the thing lol but I don’t feel like I want to live that life of constant consumption anymore.
@@jennifergough295 There is the video to look up: Stop Buying Stuff | Niko Stoifberg | TEDxBibliothekZug "Jul 12, 2021 "How much stuff do we really need? Author Niko Stoifberg didn't buy anything for a year. The experience was surprisingly rewarding: for himself, for the environment, and even for the local economy. In this talk, he shares his strategies - and a simple rule for buying less."
Morphe always had a tacky vibe about them, same with the influencers promoting the brand. Their whole aesthetics never spoke to me and the quality of the few palettes I got to swatch over the years were not of good quality. More is not always more, and Morphe always had too much of everything going on.
i always found the shadows to be pigmented on swatch. but on the eye, blended pretty weirdly and became patchy no matter what eyeshadow primer or concealor.. i honestly dont get why influencers continue to collab with just one brand that cant seem to ensure consistency and integrity.
@@Fauziia.a they just use the line to promote random celebrities. A lot of the B rated ones have some kind of collab with them. Maddie Ziegler comes to mind, and there are many others.
@@mindyschocolate the only collab I liked was Jaclyn’s but even her’s got repetitive and with maddy’s I was so put off since the had constant influencer collage with James Charles to Nyane, and also Coca Cola , like we even needed one. Nothing is unique about them and the quality of the shadows keeps getting more shit .. the only way they reel in customers in the UK is because the store here always has a 75% off sale and a buy 1 get 1 free at the same time so people go in, otherwise it’s empty
The early shadows were terrible. These newer shadows have an odd formula but are workable. The lip formula was always off, never bought a lip color because the formula isn’t there. Morphe was great for specific products, but Morphe was never going to be MAC
Same. Also know people who won’t buy cuz they took way too long to disavow people like Jeffrey star and James Charles amongst other terrible influencers
Despite all the controversy, Morphe was really good at what they did and I have such an appreciation for their marketing strategy. They were probably one of the first to use influencer marketing to push their product. They set the tone for other brands to follow that pattern. Nowadays, with Colourpop, Indie Brands, and other brands that rely so heavily on social media and influencer marketing, Morphe kind of took a back seat, nonetheless they were pretty much a pioneer in this regard. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Morphe was also a direct proponent of all the negatives that come with influencer marketing which is why their brand and to a lesser extent the beauty influencers/industry is fading or severely paring back
When you started this series, I was patiently waiting for this video! Can we PLEASE have a "Rise & Fall of JS" next? I stopped watching all of the "Morphe Babes" influencers once the JS downfall began in the late 2010's. I started watching Laura and Many again once I saw a shift change in how they viewed their influence on their audience, though I do so sparingly. I only just recently started watching Tati again, who I don't believe was ever a "Morphe Babe", but was friends with JC & JS heavily. I started watching her again because of the shift I saw in her with how she now seems to be viewing her own influence on her audience. Her, Laura & Manny may still promote spending money on products because it's their job still, but I'm hopeful that we will see them off setting that with declutters of make up that we KNOW they aren't using for a multitude of reasons.
I think the fall started when people realized his strategy of gaining new "best friends", have a public fallout with them, have some apology videos, create drama or make the drama about him to get clout. Basically it's a toxic pattern and people got sick of it.
There hasn't exactly been a downfall though if you're talking about his wealth. I also think there was an element of him growing up and not being so bothered about drama or follower counts anymore. He's a business man above ANYTHING which is why he's not gone broke like many others have. He could see the changes coming on the back of COVID and he prepared for it. Of course he knows his brand isn't generating as much interest as it once was, but the same can be said about makeup in general. There's been a major shift in the beauty industry and, as a business man, you have to adapt to it rather than fight against it. He's moved to another state, he's living a much more chilled life and it's almost like his beauty brand has become a sideline rather than his main thing. But he's still churning out new products, which he absolutely wouldn't be doing if he couldn't afford to. So in terms of his popularity - and many others - then sure, there's been a downfall if you want to call it that. But he ain't going for bankruptcy any time soon. Too clever for that.
All of Jaclyn Hill's debacles are etched in our memories. Including round 2 of her Morphe palette when they changed the formula. I bought the Coke 1971 Morphe collab for the packaging and was surprised the shadows were better than their usual.
As a marketing specialist (not in the beauty industry), I love these deep-dive videos on makeup/skincare companies with their business strategy and overall brand history 💜 ironically, even though I enjoy beauty consumerism and YT beauty, I feel "wrong" if I were to be the reason behind current beauty marketing. Great video! :)
Wow! I went to the LVMH website and you guys host a lot of the high end houses: Benefit, Guerlain, KVD, Fenty, Makeup Forever.... and the list goes on. I love finding out about these big groups because it's fascinating.
The gigantic palettes were just something I was never into. So unwieldy! And everyone was loving them, not just morphe, but coastal scents had huge ones too.
Yeah. I have a large pallet and no counter. It makes applying it difficult because I have to constantly switch hands depending on what eye I’m working on.
Morphe is that friend that is just too much drama and you are along for the ride until you aren’t. At some point you have to cut them out of your life for your own sanity. I watched this video because I love Kelly but in watching this it reminded me why I’m not friends with Morphe anymore.
I have been watching beauty YT for so many years and I remember all of this. When all of the big influencers kept having these scandals, I started looking for small to mid sized beauty channels and really haven't looked back. The only one I am still subscribed to is Manny MUA because I truly enjoy watching him. The Morphe brand has and will likely always be mediocre at best. Truly, the first Jaclyn palette is about the only exception and of course they screwed that up later on by changing the formula when they relaunched it. That and I do love their setting spray. That is the only thing I still purchase because it is pretty unique and my fave.
The original jaclyn hill palette was/is soooo goood. Truly my favorite palette of all time. I hit pan on every single shadow and wen through at least 10 shades. I bought a new one because mine was falling apart. It was NOT the same at all! The new palette was hard, not pigmented at all, and was sooooo patchy. I’ve had the new palette for over 2 years now and it still looks brand new because I never reach for it. I was so sad and disappointed
I was in middle school during the height of the Morphe hype and I was always sooooo upset that my mom didn't want me wearing makeup and wouldn't let me buy any, especially once the James Charles pallet dropped. My best friend at the time got it for her 13th birthday and I was sooo jealous lmao. Looking back on it, I guess my mom helped me dodge a bullet.
@@KellyGooch Happy Birthday, Scorpio! My b-day is in a few weeks, but I’m a Sag. Hope you have the best day today! thanks for this deep dive, I love it!
I tried one Morphe palette that I was extremely excited about and it was far below subpar. Since then, I've never been interested. If you want great quality eyeshadows, buy Colourpop - they are similar in price when it comes to their 9 pan palette's but the quality if far superior.
when i did my beauty course, the crown owner visited us as we used his brushes in our kit and he did in fact tell us that they were all crown brushes with just morphe etc on it.
Kelly, I appreciate and enjoyed the video very much, but I need to say this right now- your complexion and cosmetic application are FLAWLESS here! You look like Grace Kelly, and you're married to a prince and you live in a palace! Perfection!!
Brick and mortar makeup stores are a must. Those online color match features rarely work, and 9 times out of ten, when I go in to exchange something I bought online, I walk out with more stuff bc I was browsing in person.
I own the 3503 eyeshadow palette and it is VERY warm and orange and I own the 35C which is a beautiful pastel and part of the lisa frank collection and I’ve been adding to my collection with Morphe 2 because for me it feels like high end (from what I’ve tried) with a drugstore price, if not cheaper but I loved this video with all the things about Morphe history
Interestingly, major beauty brands use private label, too. They hold exclusive use of the color or formulas until a specific time then the PL company can peddle variations of the same shades or formulas to others.
I prefer buying secondhand because I do really love the pallets but I refuse to give this shady company money. Why do they keep working with problematic influencers 😬
I remember the day my morphe store launched which was the date of the Jeffree and Shane palette launch the queue was outside of the shopping centre down the street. Now forward like 3 years, you see more staff than you do customers. It's always dead unless there's a huge discount on and recently they've been doing up to 70% off. It's a shame because aside from the scandals, I love my brushes from them and the sponges, I used to buy palettes as gifts and my friends would be so excited to open a morphe palette. I feel now Morphe has had it's day and it's really sad.
I love when u do deep dives and rise and falls of companies.. I know a lot of work goes into your research.. very interesting.. hope u have a great day!
I was waiting for you to mention the Raw Beauty Kristi video pulling hairs and other things out of her Jacklyn pallet... Kristi had a huge following after that video came out! 💋🧚🏻♀️❤️🇺🇸
Honestly if Morphe would have hired an industry veteran to help them create a company with customer loyalty they could have been huge and giving Ulta and Sephora a run for their money. I have worked for retail brands in marketing and I was so excited to see Morphe come on the scene more heavily in 2019- I would sit in beauty meetings with my retailer client and we would talk about them a lot. Fast forward to today, this retailer now has Sephora inside of them when they considered other beauty partners. Honestly Kelly I think you hitting on the incubator aspect is spot on, and I think that’s where Morphe went wrong.
Happy Birthday Kelly! 🥳❤🎂🎁 Loved this video! Thanks for all of your varied content. No matter what you put out: speed reviews, brand deep dives, affordable Fridays, I know it's going to be good. Your vid on Shein/SheGlam was fantastic 👏
When I first started considering Morphe (there were maybe two palettes that I liked), I noticed that their closest connections were the shadiest beauty personalities. Plenty of normal people had codes and good things to say about the products that interested me, but the shady people were practically enmeshed with the brand
And then with the JH palette, people were complaining about the packaging being hard to clean so they changed it and they said the formula was the same but it turned out to not be. So many people did videos comparing them and JenLuv did an ingredient deep dive and they did have all different ingredients. I never tried the new JH palette I just have the original one and do think it is really good. And I do remember JH doing another palette but I didn’t see much about it and I don’t really know if it’s any good. Also I did buy the JC mini and I never supported him but I liked the palette and I liked the idea of the smaller palette bc it did have a mirror whereas the OG didn’t and it was smaller. Although the pan size were small I don’t think they are still small, I still use it quite often
Also, Crown beauty released a so called dupe of the Jacklyn Hill palette for less than half the price. From what I heard the JH palette was better in terms of quality but crown was not far behind. Crown is almost on par with your super, cheap, beginners orientated colour workshop generic palettes. Alright for someone starting out but that's about it!
Have you tried their liquid lipsticks?? Those are my absolute favorite products before their eyeshadow palettes. I only purchase liquid lipsticks specifically from Morphe because they are really wood quality, fairly priced products!
I bought one morphe palette-a purple one-on Nordstrom rack and it came shattered so I just returned it. Because of that I’ve never used morphe and I’m kinda glad.
Revisiting this as they just announced the closure of all US Stores, "officially" ...it's so controversial and that's the next step in their downfall. They were so secretive about the closures that they didn't even tell their in-store employees until a day or two before the last day the store would be open. Overall the brand has done so many sketchy things - with not separating from James Charles and Jeffree Star right away to this with their in-store employees.
there WAS a morphe store in a mall where I live outside of Toronto, Canada, but then poof, one day a week or two ago, it was gone. The store had been like a ghost town for months. I liked that I could see the brushes before buying and I liked that they carried Nabla, but they have been carrying less and less Nabla in the last 2 years so I don't know what was going on with that.
This sounds similar to a store I shopped at in BC Canada. It sold all kinds of random stuff, everything from cook wear to weighted blankets to makeup. I remember they sold a lot of the morphe palettes as well as some of the "Kardashian" palettes, lime crime and a few other indie brands. Sadly they stopped selling makeup altogether! I noticed Sephora began selling the same morphe palettes only WAY overpriced! I have palettes from similar brands that focus on larger palettes often celebrity endorsed. For example I have used BH cosmetics for many years and always purchased their products. BH cosmetics has about the same eyeshadow and blush textures as morphe (I cannot comment on their lip, or foundation products) If anything i have actually had better luck with Bh cosmetic. I purchased the 3 Iggy Azalea palettes, the Carli Bybel palette, along with the shaanx0 palette... Now hands down I would DEFINITELY choose color pop or nabla cosmetics over morphe anyway! Too many bad influencers took over the brand
I just wish morphe would stop their influencer (of any kind) and use that money to focus on developing good quality products. They don’t really need that marketing anymore and they have the potential to make good things.
I'm old lol. I'm 38, 39 on the 14th, and I definitely prefer in store shopping. So many foundations and concealers need to be color matched and I can never order the right color lol. I order eyeshadow a lot because I prefer indie there but I really struggle with foundations because hardly any are carried in store at my retailers nearby. I love the la mer foundation but it's too dark and I got the lightest cool tone shade. Typically if I order neutral it's Yellow af on me but a lot of light and fair or the fairest shade I guess are neutral.
Besides morphe being tied to influencers who had scandals hurting the brand, I think morphe dropping said influencers ended up hurting them as well because they lost both sides of the coin. Those who didn’t support these influencers because of the scandals stopped buying morphe for being ever associated with them and those who did still support them also stopped buying morphe because morphe dropped them. This wasn’t mentioned in the video but Jeffree Star actually had a very close relationship with Morphe and invested thousands of dollars into the brand helping them open a lot of their brick and mortar stores. There were rumors for a while that he may even own a part of Morphe but that was debunked. Ethics aside, dropping Jeffree in my opinion was a very bad move on their part business wise.
I had a morphe palette, lipgloss, false lash set and brushes (it was a pack I got as a gift)- I’ve never once used the palette following a swatch (it was awful!!!!) the lipgloss was chunky and felt odd on the lips, the lashes weren’t the best quality (not that I use false lashes but the one time I tried them out, I found I really didn’t like em!) and the brushes (which were so hyped) were just okay. The brush hairs started falling out after 3 months of use (and I’m talking pretty minimal)- needless to say I’m not a huge fan of the brand and not surprised this has happened
I am shocked that the idea of “private labeling” is controversial. It is common practice in just about every industry. There are only so many factories, labs, manufacturers in existence. They are capable of making different products for different brands, made to very different specifications. Maybe the Morphe brushes were nearly identical to another, cheaper brand, but it IS possible for one factory to manufacture very different types of products for different brands. Different in terms of quality, ingredients, style, etc. During the 90s I worked for a brewery that made a very popular local beer with a huge following in my city. But guess what? We also made multiple other beers, for other, nationally-known, labels. Our parent company also owned a local candy manufacturer that made a very (nationally) famous candy bar. But that same candy factory also made other, private label products, including meal replacement and snack bars for an extremely popular diet/weight-loss food brand. That is the NORM, not an exception.
After trying a few morphe palettes I do not think the eyeshadow recommendation were genuine. That being said the other products might be amazing idk. I like the variety of brush sizes for eyes in particular but they do not last long.
I haven’t really tried much from Morphe. But I have used and repurchased the Continuous Spray Setting Spray. I love it. It sprays continuous with a fine mist. Which I love. I haven’t tried the Matte one. But the regular one is my go to.
I have one morphe palette and I do enjoy it. However I feel like half the palette dupes itself. Most of the shadows look exactly the same when you swatch them or apply them to the eyes. I'm always stuck because the formula isn't bad, but I get overwhelmed with like which version of this shade should I use today
Tip: go for quality and pricing, not the connections influencers have with them. I think it’s stupid to not buy a brand’s products because “oh these bad influencers work with them!”. Doesn’t mean the product is bad. Also, go for the liquid lipsticks and eyeshadows most. Those are amazing
As controversial as it might be, I actually kind of like that Morphe made the JC palette mini and kept all the same shades. Morphe palettes, and their eyeshadow pans in general, are pretty good sized, especially for a very colorful palette, most people aren't going to use super bright colors frequently. Making an identical mini palette honestly was smart, because people who didn't want to buy a massive palette with colors they'll use once a month at most may be interested in a smaller version with the same colors but less product to use up.
I remember hearing about the 35O Pallette abd immediately ordering it on my very first morphe brush order (I was still newish to the youtube makeup world) and people were SHOCKED that I got it: I had no idea it was notorious for selling out! I kept the palette for a few years and used it a TON as one of my few palettes. I also had the 35OS or whatever, that was an all shimmer version of the 35O. To this day, those palettes were pretty decent (if repetitive) and the early days of their brushes were fantastic for the price point. I still own 3 or 4.
I fell for the hype, tried Morphe once, ordered an eyeshadow pallete and a brush set. I hated both. Shedded bristles and muddy looking shadows.The newer brands and drugstore have stepped up & therefore have made us see how mediocre Morphe quality is. We want nice packaging, nice quality, reasonable price. We spend more but buy less aswell in comparison to 2014-2018. The makeup is just different now and they haven't made changes.
I bought the white OG Jaclyn Hill Palette, but I waited a year to make sure I really wanted it. Unfortunately it was after the formula change, but before the fiasco where people were comparing the formulas. The shimmer shades are good (especially with NYX glitter primer) but 90% of the mattes are trash! They have hardly any pigment or fade like crazy within an hour. I still use it, but mostly use the mattes to blend out other shadows because they have no pigment. Once those are gone I will keep the shimmers. I’ve never bought anything morphe since.
I think the fact that Colourpop came along in the early days of the Morphe controversy with way more transparency, lots of releases, more curated colour palettes (even though they have so many repeats now) and were very affordable, meant they ended up filling that niche
Colourpop has had their fair share of scandals I think people just cut them more slack because they’ve really mastered the art of marketing and have become a cult favorite for so many
@@couturemepleasexo Definitely agree with you there! I think Colourpop's scandals were less severe though as they didnt revolve around influencers being cancelled and make all their products in house
@@couturemepleasexo I have basically stopped using almost all my more expensive makeup brands in favor of Colour Pop.
As a person outside the US, Colourpop is a lot more accessible. The order to shipping experience is a lot better.
@@yothiga Fully agree with you there! I'm from Australia and Colourpop was available here a good few years before Morphe became more accessible through our local beauty shops
I remember having difficulty getting MAC's 'soft brown' eyeshadow shade here in the UK. I watched Jaclyn Hill and she mentioned that one of the Morphe singles was a dupe for soft brown. I ordered it from the USA. It took ages to arrive. When it finally got here - I swatched it and it was just ok. When I tried to blend it out on my eyes - it blended to nothing! I couldn't understand why Jaclyn was promoting and promoting this brand when the products were just 'meh'.....then it was revealed that she was earning commission from them
I have morphe's soft brown and I truly enjoy it. I think if you're interested in Morphe, retrying some colors should be considered. Upon all the controversy, they truly have amazing products. As all brands, they're trial an error.
@@Randilynn66 You might like Sleek & Barry M!
@@Randilynn66 Yes thank you - I ordered it through a US based cosmetic's company on ebay x
@@Randilynn66 Maybe try Vieve? I would defo pick it up if I went to the UK right now.
@@Randilynn66 Try a Beauty Bay eyeshadow palette! They have tons to choose from, and the quality is excellent on it's own already but especially for the price. I don't know if it's available in stores, though. I always order through their website, since I'm from the Netherlands.
Learning that one half of the morphe duo was essentially a car salesman or worked in that industry def explains why morphe went about selling their products the way they did 💀
Personally I really like Morphe. I don’t focus on who they work with, I focus on quality for pricing. They actually have some really nice products that are worth their prices(eyeshadow, matte liquid lipsticks). Morphe isn’t Urban Decay, which is why they used the influencers. However, they have settled down since they became popular.
I love these deep dives on brand history!
Thank you, Maegan!
@@KellyGooch I tried investigating Viseart. They apparently have a factory in France but, I've searched Google maps with the addresses they give and all I found were offices. People have said that Viseart are also private labelled but, I cannot find any information whatsoever. I remember Steph mentioning Viseart years ago and she couldn't find anything either
@@CaroleEvans93436 ni
I learned recently that it’s sometimes cheaper to buy brick & mortar/mall spaces and utilize the stock rooms instead of buying more warehouse space. You can use your staff at the locations to both sell product during the day and help package online orders. We used to do it at American Eagle and it makes sense.
I love your industry deep dives and I've said it before, but I'll say it again... you're so good at them!! Your investigative abilities and how well you put the information together to tell a story is admirable! Idk how you haven't been hired to be an investigative journalist yet 🥰
Thank you so much!!
Yeah I remember when Here For The Tea exposed the whole affiliate, codes thing. It was such a huge thing to realize we were being basically lied to to get us to buy stuff.
I still can’t believe Here for the Tea died.
@@corychavez8989 Like actually passed away?
@@sb_1389yes! It was very suddenly also. Came as a huge shock to everyone and me. Her sister wanted to leave her cause of death a secret so people don’t know what happened.
I remember that and the HUGE shock waves that caused. It made Here for the Tea have a target on her back though. I’m just glade more became transparent because of it
@@sexyangel072 that sounds shady as hell, what was the cause of death?
I have some morphe brushes and they're fine.
The reason why I don't like morphe, is that they came across as very shady after that Jaclyn Hill Vault "reformulation". And then, they stuck with Jeffrey Star for far too long after it became abundantly clear that he wasn't the most decent person; that was the final drop for me.
It's like they attract the very worst in the beauty community, and stick with them. I just cannot disassociate Morphe from crappy people. And tell me who your friends are...
I don’t give a crap about their reputation but their products are good quality for a good price to me. As long as they don’t change that I’m good lol
The deep dive videos are some of my favorites! Sometimes I just want to hear about the makeup world without being tempted to buy more makeup 😂
Ha ha totally true ! 😀
I heard a TEDtalk where the speaker suggested to think of every ad/temptation as an assault on you as they did, it changes your relationship with it and it becomes much easer to say no. Also, check out zero waste groups, they're fantastic about ways to save money and live your life.
@@violetviolet888 thanks! I’ll check it out. I love makeup, clothes, home decor, all the thing lol but I don’t feel like I want to live that life of constant consumption anymore.
@@jennifergough295 There is the video to look up: Stop Buying Stuff | Niko Stoifberg | TEDxBibliothekZug "Jul 12, 2021 "How much stuff do we really need? Author Niko Stoifberg didn't buy anything for a year. The experience was surprisingly rewarding: for himself, for the environment, and even for the local economy. In this talk, he shares his strategies - and a simple rule for buying less."
Morphe always had a tacky vibe about them, same with the influencers promoting the brand. Their whole aesthetics never spoke to me and the quality of the few palettes I got to swatch over the years were not of good quality. More is not always more, and Morphe always had too much of everything going on.
i always found the shadows to be pigmented on swatch. but on the eye, blended pretty weirdly and became patchy no matter what eyeshadow primer or concealor.. i honestly dont get why influencers continue to collab with just one brand that cant seem to ensure consistency and integrity.
@@Fauziia.a they just use the line to promote random celebrities. A lot of the B rated ones have some kind of collab with them. Maddie Ziegler comes to mind, and there are many others.
@@mindyschocolate the only collab I liked was Jaclyn’s but even her’s got repetitive and with maddy’s I was so put off since the had constant influencer collage with James Charles to Nyane, and also Coca Cola , like we even needed one.
Nothing is unique about them and the quality of the shadows keeps getting more shit ..
the only way they reel in customers in the UK is because the store here always has a 75% off sale and a buy 1 get 1 free at the same time so people go in, otherwise it’s empty
The early shadows were terrible. These newer shadows have an odd formula but are workable. The lip formula was always off, never bought a lip color because the formula isn’t there. Morphe was great for specific products, but Morphe was never going to be MAC
I know multiple people that won't buy morphe because they still associate with Jaclyn. Its true you reflect the company you keep 😂
Same. Also know people who won’t buy cuz they took way too long to disavow people like Jeffrey star and James Charles amongst other terrible influencers
Despite all the controversy, Morphe was really good at what they did and I have such an appreciation for their marketing strategy. They were probably one of the first to use influencer marketing to push their product. They set the tone for other brands to follow that pattern. Nowadays, with Colourpop, Indie Brands, and other brands that rely so heavily on social media and influencer marketing, Morphe kind of took a back seat, nonetheless they were pretty much a pioneer in this regard.
Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
I agree!!
Morphe was also a direct proponent of all the negatives that come with influencer marketing which is why their brand and to a lesser extent the beauty influencers/industry is fading or severely paring back
I audibly shouted “YES!” When I read the title. So excited! Love these deep dives!
Thinking back, I feel like it was Jacklyn Hill and Jefree Star that ruined it. You just can't shake the negativity those incidents brought to MORPHE
And James Charles.
That’s kinda the problem when you base your entire marketing on 3 people. Then if those 3 people do anything you’re done for.
When you started this series, I was patiently waiting for this video! Can we PLEASE have a "Rise & Fall of JS" next? I stopped watching all of the "Morphe Babes" influencers once the JS downfall began in the late 2010's. I started watching Laura and Many again once I saw a shift change in how they viewed their influence on their audience, though I do so sparingly. I only just recently started watching Tati again, who I don't believe was ever a "Morphe Babe", but was friends with JC & JS heavily. I started watching her again because of the shift I saw in her with how she now seems to be viewing her own influence on her audience. Her, Laura & Manny may still promote spending money on products because it's their job still, but I'm hopeful that we will see them off setting that with declutters of make up that we KNOW they aren't using for a multitude of reasons.
I think the fall started when people realized his strategy of gaining new "best friends", have a public fallout with them, have some apology videos, create drama or make the drama about him to get clout. Basically it's a toxic pattern and people got sick of it.
There hasn't exactly been a downfall though if you're talking about his wealth. I also think there was an element of him growing up and not being so bothered about drama or follower counts anymore. He's a business man above ANYTHING which is why he's not gone broke like many others have. He could see the changes coming on the back of COVID and he prepared for it. Of course he knows his brand isn't generating as much interest as it once was, but the same can be said about makeup in general. There's been a major shift in the beauty industry and, as a business man, you have to adapt to it rather than fight against it. He's moved to another state, he's living a much more chilled life and it's almost like his beauty brand has become a sideline rather than his main thing. But he's still churning out new products, which he absolutely wouldn't be doing if he couldn't afford to. So in terms of his popularity - and many others - then sure, there's been a downfall if you want to call it that. But he ain't going for bankruptcy any time soon. Too clever for that.
Ew Tati is homophobic
Is "JS" an abbreviation? Never heard of that brand.
@@skateata1 Jeffree Star
All of Jaclyn Hill's debacles are etched in our memories. Including round 2 of her Morphe palette when they changed the formula.
I bought the Coke 1971 Morphe collab for the packaging and was surprised the shadows were better than their usual.
Maybe the Coke had input & didn’t want backlash or fallout from working with them ? I know nothing so I might be wrong thats just a theory 😂
As a marketing specialist (not in the beauty industry), I love these deep-dive videos on makeup/skincare companies with their business strategy and overall brand history 💜 ironically, even though I enjoy beauty consumerism and YT beauty, I feel "wrong" if I were to be the reason behind current beauty marketing. Great video! :)
I work for LVMH so I always find it so cool when our brands are mentioned! Looovee these types of videos Kelly, & happy happy birthday 🎉❤
Wow! I went to the LVMH website and you guys host a lot of the high end houses: Benefit, Guerlain, KVD, Fenty, Makeup Forever.... and the list goes on. I love finding out about these big groups because it's fascinating.
@@bundlewade Right! It's very cool to be part of because it's so huge and varied from brand to brand & each one works slightly differently.
The gigantic palettes were just something I was never into. So unwieldy! And everyone was loving them, not just morphe, but coastal scents had huge ones too.
Yeah. I have a large pallet and no counter. It makes applying it difficult because I have to constantly switch hands depending on what eye I’m working on.
Morphe is that friend that is just too much drama and you are along for the ride until you aren’t. At some point you have to cut them out of your life for your own sanity. I watched this video because I love Kelly but in watching this it reminded me why I’m not friends with Morphe anymore.
Lol same!
Yassss Kelly!! You got your edits done and posted on your birthday? The dedication ❤️ happy birthday girl!!
Isn't her birthday 11/5? Mine's 11/6 and I think I remember hers being the day before
I have been watching beauty YT for so many years and I remember all of this. When all of the big influencers kept having these scandals, I started looking for small to mid sized beauty channels and really haven't looked back. The only one I am still subscribed to is Manny MUA because I truly enjoy watching him. The Morphe brand has and will likely always be mediocre at best. Truly, the first Jaclyn palette is about the only exception and of course they screwed that up later on by changing the formula when they relaunched it. That and I do love their setting spray. That is the only thing I still purchase because it is pretty unique and my fave.
Yes! Their setting spray is amazing, the only product I’ll buy from them.
The original jaclyn hill palette was/is soooo goood. Truly my favorite palette of all time. I hit pan on every single shadow and wen through at least 10 shades. I bought a new one because mine was falling apart. It was NOT the same at all! The new palette was hard, not pigmented at all, and was sooooo patchy. I’ve had the new palette for over 2 years now and it still looks brand new because I never reach for it. I was so sad and disappointed
I love this "Rise & Fall" series! So much reseach & time you've put into these. Amazing 🙏
I was in middle school during the height of the Morphe hype and I was always sooooo upset that my mom didn't want me wearing makeup and wouldn't let me buy any, especially once the James Charles pallet dropped. My best friend at the time got it for her 13th birthday and I was sooo jealous lmao. Looking back on it, I guess my mom helped me dodge a bullet.
Yesss more edumacation! This is what brought me to your channel! Great work! Also happy birthday! 🎉 Hope you have a laid back and relaxing day
I love this series. It is my absolute favorite. You always do such a good job on them. Appreciate all the hard work and research you do for these!
First and foremost Happy Birthday Kelly!
Thank you!!!
@@KellyGooch Happy Birthday, Scorpio! My b-day is in a few weeks, but I’m a Sag. Hope you have the best day today! thanks for this deep dive, I love it!
I tried one Morphe palette that I was extremely excited about and it was far below subpar. Since then, I've never been interested. If you want great quality eyeshadows, buy Colourpop - they are similar in price when it comes to their 9 pan palette's but the quality if far superior.
I go for morphe because colourpop is actually shit for me lol. It depends on who uses the products I guess
when i did my beauty course, the crown owner visited us as we used his brushes in our kit and he did in fact tell us that they were all crown brushes with just morphe etc on it.
The James Charles palette is still very much available in the U.K. It’s even on the poster of my local Boots!
In Germany too and with all the drama and stuff the pllete it self is really good in performance and pigment i really love itt
It is my go to pallet
The brown of your eyes is really popping out with that eye look ❤
Kelly, I appreciate and enjoyed the video very much, but I need to say this right now- your complexion and cosmetic application are FLAWLESS here! You look like Grace Kelly, and you're married to a prince and you live in a palace! Perfection!!
Brick and mortar makeup stores are a must. Those online color match features rarely work, and 9 times out of ten, when I go in to exchange something I bought online, I walk out with more stuff bc I was browsing in person.
I own the 3503 eyeshadow palette and it is VERY warm and orange and I own the 35C which is a beautiful pastel and part of the lisa frank collection and I’ve been adding to my collection with Morphe 2 because for me it feels like high end (from what I’ve tried) with a drugstore price, if not cheaper but I loved this video with all the things about Morphe history
Your brand deep dives are my favorites!!
I love these brand overviews! Please keep them coming ❤
Interestingly, major beauty brands use private label, too. They hold exclusive use of the color or formulas until a specific time then the PL company can peddle variations of the same shades or formulas to others.
I prefer buying secondhand because I do really love the pallets but I refuse to give this shady company money. Why do they keep working with problematic influencers 😬
I remember the day my morphe store launched which was the date of the Jeffree and Shane palette launch the queue was outside of the shopping centre down the street. Now forward like 3 years, you see more staff than you do customers. It's always dead unless there's a huge discount on and recently they've been doing up to 70% off. It's a shame because aside from the scandals, I love my brushes from them and the sponges, I used to buy palettes as gifts and my friends would be so excited to open a morphe palette. I feel now Morphe has had it's day and it's really sad.
Love this series! The detail you go into is engrossing. Thank you for all the work you do on these!
Is there a tutorial for that GORGEOUS makeup look?
I love when u do deep dives and rise and falls of companies.. I know a lot of work goes into your research.. very interesting.. hope u have a great day!
I was waiting for you to mention the Raw Beauty Kristi video pulling hairs and other things out of her Jacklyn pallet...
Kristi had a huge following after that video came out!
💋🧚🏻♀️❤️🇺🇸
Honestly if Morphe would have hired an industry veteran to help them create a company with customer loyalty they could have been huge and giving Ulta and Sephora a run for their money. I have worked for retail brands in marketing and I was so excited to see Morphe come on the scene more heavily in 2019- I would sit in beauty meetings with my retailer client and we would talk about them a lot. Fast forward to today, this retailer now has Sephora inside of them when they considered other beauty partners. Honestly Kelly I think you hitting on the incubator aspect is spot on, and I think that’s where Morphe went wrong.
Happy Birthday Kelly! 🥳❤🎂🎁 Loved this video! Thanks for all of your varied content. No matter what you put out: speed reviews, brand deep dives, affordable Fridays, I know it's going to be good. Your vid on Shein/SheGlam was fantastic 👏
I bought my first morphe palette for $5 at americas beauty show in Chicago years ago
When I first started considering Morphe (there were maybe two palettes that I liked), I noticed that their closest connections were the shadiest beauty personalities. Plenty of normal people had codes and good things to say about the products that interested me, but the shady people were practically enmeshed with the brand
I just love these deep dive videos. I learn so much information. 💛🌻💛🌻💛🌻
Happy birthday Kelly, very excited for this video! Can I ask you what program you’re using to create your thumbnails? They always look so nice!
I love your deep dive videos so much! You are so calming and are the highlight of my mornings. Off topic but I’d love a short tutorial on this look! ❤
Hi, Kelly!!! Great job, this series is fascinating 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
And then with the JH palette, people were complaining about the packaging being hard to clean so they changed it and they said the formula was the same but it turned out to not be. So many people did videos comparing them and JenLuv did an ingredient deep dive and they did have all different ingredients. I never tried the new JH palette I just have the original one and do think it is really good. And I do remember JH doing another palette but I didn’t see much about it and I don’t really know if it’s any good. Also I did buy the JC mini and I never supported him but I liked the palette and I liked the idea of the smaller palette bc it did have a mirror whereas the OG didn’t and it was smaller. Although the pan size were small I don’t think they are still small, I still use it quite often
Also, Crown beauty released a so called dupe of the Jacklyn Hill palette for less than half the price.
From what I heard the JH palette was better in terms of quality but crown was not far behind.
Crown is almost on par with your super, cheap, beginners orientated colour workshop generic palettes. Alright for someone starting out but that's about it!
I love Morphe's brow pencils ($8), some of their 9 pan shadows, and brushes! I would miss my Morphe products if I could not get them.
Yes! Same here!! I love their brushes , brow products and some of their palettes also!
Have you tried their liquid lipsticks?? Those are my absolute favorite products before their eyeshadow palettes. I only purchase liquid lipsticks specifically from Morphe because they are really wood quality, fairly priced products!
Hey bottom line-it’s all about trust. If I sense something with an influencer it’s a no go
I bought one morphe palette-a purple one-on Nordstrom rack and it came shattered so I just returned it. Because of that I’ve never used morphe and I’m kinda glad.
Happy Birthday!!! You make some of my favorite content. Also obsessed with your hair and your blush in this! Hope you have a great day!!
Revisiting this as they just announced the closure of all US Stores, "officially" ...it's so controversial and that's the next step in their downfall. They were so secretive about the closures that they didn't even tell their in-store employees until a day or two before the last day the store would be open. Overall the brand has done so many sketchy things - with not separating from James Charles and Jeffree Star right away to this with their in-store employees.
I’m just over here not knowing who Emma Chamberlain or the D’Amelio sisters are
🫣🤣
Man I love these videos!!!! Seriously fascinating stuff. Please keep making these. 😊
Love your hair!! Such a classic look!!
The way I happy-squeaked when I saw a new industry deep dive vid! I love these from you Kelly, your insights and research are so good!
there WAS a morphe store in a mall where I live outside of Toronto, Canada, but then poof, one day a week or two ago, it was gone. The store had been like a ghost town for months. I liked that I could see the brushes before buying and I liked that they carried Nabla, but they have been carrying less and less Nabla in the last 2 years so I don't know what was going on with that.
Are you referring to the Square One location? If so, yes I agree virtually no one went there and then all of a sudden it closed.
This sounds similar to a store I shopped at in BC Canada.
It sold all kinds of random stuff, everything from cook wear to weighted blankets to makeup.
I remember they sold a lot of the morphe palettes as well as some of the "Kardashian" palettes, lime crime and a few other indie brands.
Sadly they stopped selling makeup altogether!
I noticed Sephora began selling the same morphe palettes only WAY overpriced!
I have palettes from similar brands that focus on larger palettes often celebrity endorsed.
For example I have used BH cosmetics for many years and always purchased their products.
BH cosmetics has about the same eyeshadow and blush textures as morphe (I cannot comment on their lip, or foundation products)
If anything i have actually had better luck with Bh cosmetic. I purchased the 3 Iggy Azalea palettes, the Carli Bybel palette, along with the shaanx0 palette...
Now hands down I would DEFINITELY choose color pop or nabla cosmetics over morphe anyway!
Too many bad influencers took over the brand
Happy Birthday 🥳 Hope you have an awesome day and it's everything you hoped it would be, wishing you all the best ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Happy birthday Kelly!!!
I love the deep dive videos and this was the best one yet!
Uhh I better get my popcorn for this 🍿
Thanks for watching!!
I just wish morphe would stop their influencer (of any kind) and use that money to focus on developing good quality products. They don’t really need that marketing anymore and they have the potential to make good things.
That white JH palette was a great palette. Loved that you did this video.
Your makeup look is absolutely gorgeous. Like perfect wedding makeup.
So not surprised. I’m more surprised that they lasted this long!
I'm old lol. I'm 38, 39 on the 14th, and I definitely prefer in store shopping. So many foundations and concealers need to be color matched and I can never order the right color lol. I order eyeshadow a lot because I prefer indie there but I really struggle with foundations because hardly any are carried in store at my retailers nearby. I love the la mer foundation but it's too dark and I got the lightest cool tone shade. Typically if I order neutral it's Yellow af on me but a lot of light and fair or the fairest shade I guess are neutral.
You can’t tell me gray doesn’t make your eyes pop after this video. Your eyes are popping today!
You did a fantastic job on this video!! I really enjoyed it!! 👍
This hairstyle is adorable on you. But wait, please provide a dupe for your custom made Bit-lab lippy.
Besides morphe being tied to influencers who had scandals hurting the brand, I think morphe dropping said influencers ended up hurting them as well because they lost both sides of the coin. Those who didn’t support these influencers because of the scandals stopped buying morphe for being ever associated with them and those who did still support them also stopped buying morphe because morphe dropped them.
This wasn’t mentioned in the video but Jeffree Star actually had a very close relationship with Morphe and invested thousands of dollars into the brand helping them open a lot of their brick and mortar stores. There were rumors for a while that he may even own a part of Morphe but that was debunked. Ethics aside, dropping Jeffree in my opinion was a very bad move on their part business wise.
I miss Stephanie Nicole's videos so much!
I was just thinking about her yesterday. I hope she’s doing well.
Same! Was thinking about her. I hope she’s doing well too
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 🎉🎁🎂🎈🎊
🎀I hope they get through this bankruptcy, they are one of my favourite brands😢. Thank you for the upload.🎀
I had a morphe palette, lipgloss, false lash set and brushes (it was a pack I got as a gift)- I’ve never once used the palette following a swatch (it was awful!!!!) the lipgloss was chunky and felt odd on the lips, the lashes weren’t the best quality (not that I use false lashes but the one time I tried them out, I found I really didn’t like em!) and the brushes (which were so hyped) were just okay. The brush hairs started falling out after 3 months of use (and I’m talking pretty minimal)- needless to say I’m not a huge fan of the brand and not surprised this has happened
Wow. This was so well researched, with a hint of sass…
Well, the products aren't that good....
Kelly, this is best series!!! So interesting!!💛🤌
I am shocked that the idea of “private labeling” is controversial. It is common practice in just about every industry. There are only so many factories, labs, manufacturers in existence. They are capable of making different products for different brands, made to very different specifications. Maybe the Morphe brushes were nearly identical to another, cheaper brand, but it IS possible for one factory to manufacture very different types of products for different brands. Different in terms of quality, ingredients, style, etc. During the 90s I worked for a brewery that made a very popular local beer with a huge following in my city. But guess what? We also made multiple other beers, for other, nationally-known, labels. Our parent company also owned a local candy manufacturer that made a very (nationally) famous candy bar. But that same candy factory also made other, private label products, including meal replacement and snack bars for an extremely popular diet/weight-loss food brand. That is the NORM, not an exception.
After trying a few morphe palettes I do not think the eyeshadow recommendation were genuine. That being said the other products might be amazing idk. I like the variety of brush sizes for eyes in particular but they do not last long.
Love this video and this niche of videos you've been doing. Also love your smudged smokey liner!
I haven’t really tried much from Morphe. But I have used and repurchased the Continuous Spray Setting Spray. I love it. It sprays continuous with a fine mist. Which I love. I haven’t tried the Matte one. But the regular one is my go to.
I love the continuous setting mist!!!! Only product I use from them
I have one morphe palette and I do enjoy it. However I feel like half the palette dupes itself. Most of the shadows look exactly the same when you swatch them or apply them to the eyes. I'm always stuck because the formula isn't bad, but I get overwhelmed with like which version of this shade should I use today
Literally this. And then once you do put it on the all look the same anyway
At 30 years old I recently bought my first Morphe palette, the "Sweetest Tea". So interesting to learn about the brand's history!
Tip: go for quality and pricing, not the connections influencers have with them. I think it’s stupid to not buy a brand’s products because “oh these bad influencers work with them!”. Doesn’t mean the product is bad. Also, go for the liquid lipsticks and eyeshadows most. Those are amazing
I really love the deep dive videos Kelly. Great job!!
I absolutely love these deep dive videos!
This was a great video. Stephanie Nicole made the video about Morphe not Stephanie Marie.
These are my favorite type of videos!!
As controversial as it might be, I actually kind of like that Morphe made the JC palette mini and kept all the same shades. Morphe palettes, and their eyeshadow pans in general, are pretty good sized, especially for a very colorful palette, most people aren't going to use super bright colors frequently. Making an identical mini palette honestly was smart, because people who didn't want to buy a massive palette with colors they'll use once a month at most may be interested in a smaller version with the same colors but less product to use up.
This video was super interesting! Thanks for doing so much research 😊
I remember hearing about the 35O Pallette abd immediately ordering it on my very first morphe brush order (I was still newish to the youtube makeup world) and people were SHOCKED that I got it: I had no idea it was notorious for selling out!
I kept the palette for a few years and used it a TON as one of my few palettes. I also had the 35OS or whatever, that was an all shimmer version of the 35O. To this day, those palettes were pretty decent (if repetitive) and the early days of their brushes were fantastic for the price point. I still own 3 or 4.
I love these deep dives videos!
I fell for the hype, tried Morphe once, ordered an eyeshadow pallete and a brush set. I hated both. Shedded bristles and muddy looking shadows.The newer brands and drugstore have stepped up & therefore have made us see how mediocre Morphe quality is. We want nice packaging, nice quality, reasonable price. We spend more but buy less aswell in comparison to 2014-2018. The makeup is just different now and they haven't made changes.
I bought the white OG Jaclyn Hill Palette, but I waited a year to make sure I really wanted it. Unfortunately it was after the formula change, but before the fiasco where people were comparing the formulas. The shimmer shades are good (especially with NYX glitter primer) but 90% of the mattes are trash! They have hardly any pigment or fade like crazy within an hour. I still use it, but mostly use the mattes to blend out other shadows because they have no pigment. Once those are gone I will keep the shimmers. I’ve never bought anything morphe since.
That Jaclyn Hill palette is FIRE though. Literally used it for my drag look yesterday 😅