Tbh the makeup boom is dying down. The market is way over saturated. Some companies were bound to die out once the makeup boom died down. As a consumer I’m so overwhelmed with all of the options, so I stick to the tried and trues. I don’t want to waste my time trying brands and being disappointed if I know what products already work for me.
Agree. Also drugstore lines are improving & expanding. Offering better products at lower prices than the makeup brands that flourished during the boom. Regardless I don't feel bad for any of these companies. I'm looking at this -- *we're finally at the point where consumers are realizing their power but also more mindful of their money and where it goes now. So this is merely Darwinism at play. The makeup companies that have substance (quality products, range and or good pricing) will last and the ones that rely heavily on marketing & gimmicks will fall.*
Hi Kelly, its a sign of the times. Things are lean, necessity dictates and most of us have plenty of makeup. Brands rely on overconsumption and when that declines, so do the brands.
repeat customers come from core products. which is why some brands stay in business for ages because they have solid core products ppl love. i’m talking foundation, concealer, powder, mascara. if you have at least one or more of these you should be able to hang on cause most ppl don’t buy new eyeshadow palates or blushes or even lipsticks all the time, those last for a while, but mascara and foundation etc get used up pretty quick
this is exactly why urban decay for example is still around. people always say "no one talks about them anymore and they dont release anything interesting, how are they still around!??" and its because they live off of eye primer, eyeliner, and setting spray sales. they are one of the few brands that have a really really good line of core products.
I have found myself purchasing from companies who don't sell in China, and have found my staples from them: Essence, ELF, Nyx, and Pixi. I used to love Wet n Wild, but they are somewhere in a gray area where they are unclear on how they test.
It's sad to me that brands have to rely on people who buy more makeup than they can use in order to remain in business these days. I am definitely guilty of this, but I have slowed down a lot on my makeup purchasing since I have been trying to pan items and seen how long it takes to use things up. And now that I have a job that pays hourly, I have been thinking more about how many hours I would need to work to purchase things, and if they won't be used up, they are not worth being purchased with my hard-earned money. And with inflation of essential items being so high, it is becoming much harder to afford non-necessities. Most people, if they have to choose between their grocery bill or their beauty budget, will choose to eat, for example. Not to mention, I know a lot of people got into makeup during the parts of the pandemic where it didn't feel safe to leave the house, but now that things are opening up more, we have more options for how to spend our time. I used to take an hour every day to play with my makeup, now I maybe take that much time once a week to get ready for filming, and otherwise either don't wear any or just slap on a little bit for work. That means I am not using as much makeup, and I definitely am not using as many different colors and types of products as I used to. I think that if makeup brands need to rely on people over consuming products, there are a lot of reasons why that isn't realistic for a lot of beauty consumers right now.
That's how all businesses work, right? For the average person, the only things you repeatedly buy are the essentials that you use and run out of quickly. If you're buying something that's just a fad, chances are that you won't have to buy it again. Fads can create short-term demand, but only essentials create long-term demand.
It's an over supply because ppl over-buy. I think the pandemic has made us all realise we don't need so much, and with inflation ppl spending less so yes, something as non essential as make up would dwindle at this time
It pains me to say this but that is the situation with most indie brands, who sell mostly special eyeshadows. Like 99% of their customers are not running out of eyeshadow every few months and repurchasing what they need, most of their costumers are people in the "beauty community" either as a content creator or as a viewer. And even bigger brands luxury or drugstore, most of their money come from the sales from mascaras, eyeliners, foundation.... things the average consumer buys every 3 months or so.
I do too! I saw Trendmood post about it and I was like wait what. Then I saw it was lilah b. I’ve never heard of them and I’ve never heard of anyone talk about them.
I think quality over quantity is a long overdue lesson we are seeing in the beauty space right now. You can only take in so many new products till you long for some calm and clarity in your collection and the products you use
REM beauty just doesn’t impress me or catch my attention. I consider it another lazy celebrity brand especially when you compare it to rare beauty and Fenty beauty which were built out on their own instead of using an incubator. Ariana has the ability to do the same but she chose to be lazy about it.
I agree. And I also think that Rihanna and Selena were very invested and involved with their brands. You could see that it was a career shift to them, while Ariana doesn't seem to show the same level of commitment. Idk, that's just my impression.
@@lipstickzombie4981 i feel like i was the only one that did not like that perfume. it's way to strong and it's weird when every single person walking down the street smells the same now
I think the major difference is they made their brands to suit a need, fenty brought the shade range and really excelled at it. I believe rare uses more accessible packaging but don't quote me on that.
I mean....I am surprised at how many companies have been able to stay in business, I would expect the number closing to be far higher. The makeup market is super saturated. I think inflation and the coming recession is going to cause a huge correction in the makeup consumer market, i.e. more closures.
I always think of Morphe as a controversial brand with Trash Products. I am not real familiar with the beauty youtube space so if I notice a controversy then it's probably 1000x worse than I even know. When a brand like ColourPop can do a similar price point but make formulas better and do better marketing w/ minimal controversy, I think the decision becomes easy. When someone tells me something from morphe is good, I do often give them the benefit of the doubt and try it, but I just stop now and won't touch anything they make b/c I'd rather just spend my money on one good item from a brand I know won't disappoint. But I think it's also interesting what you said about keeping up with new releases. I think I know more people than not who are cutting back..myself included. I had 500 makeup items in my collection last year and now I have about 40 total. I think brands will have to adapt in the coming year and rely on quality vs, quantity and cuteness. Which, in my opinion, will create a whole new level of competition. (And one that I prefer)
Yeah, Morphe is the brand I buy from when I need something fast and cheap and don't care too much about the quality. Which doesn't happen often, but for example, I wanted a tinted sunscreen while on holiday snap quick and grabbed a Morphe one from the nearest Mecca. This was a few years ago, though, and nowadays there's probably a lot more, cheap and probably better quality options.
@brandigarcia How we’re you able to go from 500 products down to 40? Did you end up having to trash everything? I’m asking bc I, too, probably have around 500 and can’t bring myself to just get rid of it or donate it when I spent very hard earned money on those products! Any feedback would be appreciated!
@@alissawhite8772 it was super gradual. I am going to say I have dwindled down from 500 over be past 3 years and from 200 this year...basically what I do is I start decluttering about once a season b/x it easy to get rid of seasonal things you didn't use during that quarter at all. It really was just a matter of finding my preferences and makeup style, as that changed a lot when I transitioned from my 20s to 30s. It was a mindset thing. All of that makeup overwhelmed me and I became extremely un happy putting on makeup everyday.... My collection is now only things I love and yes, I do keep backups (I'm about to buy all my mascaras for next year) and I kept a couple of ColourPop star wars palettes to collect but took them out of my collection, as well as my very first high end palette. I also would change my mind over these three years in regards to the size of my collection, so that's kind of why I would just place some things "out of sight" for a while to see if I came back to them but now only things I love I left. a lot of it was expired so it got thrown out but I also gave tons to my sister and mom and some of my friends had tween daughters just getting into makeup so I gave it to them. I used the cinema secrets sanitizer from sephora to spray the powder products down. I still have so much variety. I think the biggest advice I have is not to base your "minimalist" collection on what someone else does. That's what tripped me up for so long. The minimalist beauty community can have the same impact as the influencer beauty community..you end up getting rid of too much because that's what you feel like you should do. My collection works for me. I only have 2 foundations but 4 primers, 1 concealer, one highlighter, 2 powders, but 4 bronzers b/c that's a hard category for me..I have dwindled myself down to 5 eyeshadow palettes...there are still a couple of things I'm looking to add as it's holiday time but I know myself better now that I won't buy something I won't use. Give yourself some grace. It's a long and hard process. I have just recently started doing this with my skincare, haircare, and clothes.
@@alissawhite8772 and also, don't put a number on it. It's all about being purposeful. It is very hard to get rid of things you spent a lot of money on and it took me a long time to get rid of some things. Especially the eye palettes and lipsticks. Start slow. And I would swatch everything...you might find that you have Soo many dupes that you can just keep the formula you like better and so many palettes that are also dupes. So, starting there and also doing what's expired, you could probably get a good chunk. Definitely don't just declutter 400 products at once. Break them up into weekly shop with me baskets and declutter slowly from those
From what was shared in interviews and articles, REM was supposed to be a Forma brand but they decided to not go through with it - I remember there was someone who mentioned they couldn’t afford to work with Ariana which makes sense since, similarly, Doja Cat worked with BH Cosmetics and was sited as a reason the brand filed for bankruptcy. Celebs wants more from the deal than they can bring in with sales on a regular basis. Celebs are great with marketing at the launch of a line or product going to market but they don’t commit to marketing beyond that.. even the ads with Ariana for REM (the videos where she talks about the products) appear scripted and lacking enthusiasm (imo) and it made me wonder if she actually is involved in the line at all, beyond the marketing.
I completely agree with your comments on Ariana and REM Beauty. I don't feel that she's ever been enthusiastic about her brand. A few months ago, there was a little Ulta ad for REM that she did, and she seems SO bored with it.
@@la6136 It's not a need, it's a want. Big brands tend to have the budget to afford hiring a celebrity for marketing, but it's not a necessity. It's a status thing for brands to be associated with someone famous beyond the beauty industry.
For real that Ari ad that keeps coming on before videos here is the most boring. She’s supposed to be selling and giving a fantasy yet she’s so blah. The lighting is terrible and it’s just obvious there’s no love there
Omg, I looove your industry analysis videos!! You're so good at them! And I do agree that a big problem for morphe was to associate too much with the same group of influencers. Once the drama started in that group, everything they had touched became tainted. And I think you were spot on in saying that the competition was also a problem, because people don't need to rely on morphe anymore for good, affordable (and especially) drama free makeup brands. There are so many options nowadays that once people put morphe behind, there was no need to look back.
When they said Y2K is back they are not joking. Minimal makeup is in and just like in the early 2000s everybody will only have 5 products in their makeup bags
Even with a couple brands closing, I’m shocked how many are still around! I wear the most basic makeup and not even every day. I buy a new foundation 1-2 years a year. New eyeshadow pallet every 3-5 years. I can’t imagine buying heinous amounts of products that you’ll never finish just…to own them? Just because?
You receive a distorted impression of how many people do this based on how many influencers do this IMO. At a certain point you will have a wake-up moment when you realize the "relatable" content creators you enjoy aren't actually on the same level as you, and the way they live is a way very, very few people can afford to.
I feel like COVID changed a lot in how consumers make purchases and with inflation and possibly a recession a lot of us have changed our priorities when it comes to how we choose to spend our money.
I think the Make-up industry is at an all time low these days. Speaking for myself I wear the same 5 products for work every day. In mz spare time I rarely wear makeup as I’ve gotten more comfortable in my own skin getting older
I’m not surprised to hear about Morphe. I have never purchased anything by them because of the type of influencers they were associated with. I don’t follow, never have, those people. I’ve even started scaling back on beauty content and those I follow. I’m not working as much now as I was before the pandemic (thankful I still have a job) , so money for makeup is mostly for replenishing essentials. If a lot of people are doing that then I can see companies profit margins shrinking
Very interesting. I wonder how much Morphe’s move into “bricks & mortar” impacted their bottom line as well. I’ve noticed the Morphe stores in malls are usually in premium locations, and that seemed to be established right before the pandemic. They might be shedding those leases as part of this action.
and they're always totally empty. it seems like kind of a struggle for makeup stores with only one brand - even mac stores are never crowded and those are usually much smaller. compared to sephora or ulta which are always busy
Lilah b was very expensive. I had a small amount of eyeshadow sent to me as a tester. It was stunning. But something always held me back buying from them. At that time I already had lots of make up
I have several products from lilah b that I love, but I think you hit it right on the mark when you said that the recent influx of affordable clean brands has brought about the demise of the brand. Back in the day when clean beauty meant expensive beauty, lilah b didn't seem all that out of line with other brands in that category. That's no longer true. It makes me sad to see the brand close, but at the same time, I'm thankful that there are so many more affordable clean beauty brands around these days.
I have 26 eyeshadow palletes and most of them are barely used . I don't care about bb dates. I'll use them until they are gone or gross. There's literally no need for me to buy makeup for at least a year. At this point I'm over the daily application and will likely be getting semi permanent makeup done. It's cheaper over all and I can pay for makeup on events.
You've made some great points. I am not surprised about Morphe. People truly started distancing themselves with all of the repetitive influencer drama (one right after another). Also, there are some really great affordable makeup companies that honestly put out better quality makeup at great prices. I haven't looked at Morphe in a long time and wouldn't consider buying from them again. They are STILL using influencers and the quality just isn't where it needs to be compared to other affordable companies. I also believe we will see yet more cosmetic companies downsizing or closing altogether. It's such a heavily saturated industry and people can't keep buying and hoarding makeup like in the past. I have SO much makeup and I really give serious consideration when making any purchase these days. Do I 'really" need it or can I dupe it with what I have in my stash.
I remember the big backlash around morphe, and the undisclosed affiliate codes. I haven't really paid attention to them since then though. I have heard some good things about the products like the quad goals, and just looking at the products granted they have a lot and really diversified into alot of creams. It seems they tried to keep releasing relevant products but it's more likely the various different controversies hurt the brand meaning less and less exposure for the brand as influencers decide that its more trouble than it's worth. I do wonder about Jeffree stars makeup brand as there's alot of people who will eat his shit up regardless. But surely that fanbase can only last for so long
Part of it is definitely the recession and money getting tighter. Seeing bigger brands that have been around for ages closing or filing for bankruptcy like Revlon, Becca, and now Morphe/Forma brands, makes me worried for the smaller and/or indie brands. Not only may they (hopefully just temporarily) lose some of their customer support, but those owners could face financial issues, too, when they rely on their brand for a big chunk of their income. While my staple products tend to come from the drugstore (face products and everyday essentials) products I experiment with more like eyeshadow tend to be from those smaller brands because of the high quality formulas and unique or fun color stories.
Lately I’ve been leaning more towards drugstore makeup products, because the high end brands are just too expensive. There’s no reason a lip gloss should be $25. I’m planning on only keeping my tinted moisturizer and setting spray from Sephora, everything else is coming from target 😅
the repeated customers could come from selling refills and stuff like that. like powder pact refills? brand centered around buying less could work, it seems like there's a market buying singles beyond eyeshadow shades. korean brands sell cushion foundation refills however once a couple years they renew packaging and the old cushion cases become useless 🙃
I guess when you see a ton of Morphe palletes at TJMaxx and Marshall’s that is not a good sign! This video was so interesting and loved your eye makeup look!
I like that Morphe 2 has talc-free eyeshadows because that is still difficult to find at the drugstore. The palette I wanted was sold out everywhere so I had to order it online, so I don't know how well it performs yet.
I feel like those secondary brands trying to channel the new trends never work. I’m thinking estee edit, morphe2, sugar rush (tarts), the glossier 2 line- I don’t remember what it’s called. But I feel like brands should be able to evolve or expand within themselves. It seems silly to make a whole new brand to stay relevant bc that is more costly.
Morphe was never really reasonably priced. It's still too expensive for what it is. Plus the influencers they chose to work with was a huge turnoff for most people. Brands need to realize that most products only last 6 months to 1 year then it expires and needs to be thrown away. Most people won't use up an entire product in a year. products should be priced to use up and buy more new things.
Hi Kelly! Happy Wednesday. :) Wow. For Morphe, this video kinda explains why they are still having that 50% off discount. 😮 It has been that way since mid-summer.
I don't buy from morphe bc they aren't interesting to me. But in ulta a month ago, my sister in law and I walked past the morphe stuff and she said I can't believe anyone buys stuff from them still. I can't with them because they still support Jaclyn hill after everything that woman has done. And I was just like wow its interesting to me to hear that and always know why people support or don't support certain things! So I definitely agree that they are going under because of their choice in influences.
I really don't get why people have so much makeup in the first place. I see so many people owning 5 or 6 lipsticks that are the same shade, just from different brands. Considering their shelf life, I don't see how this is necessary.
Personally I don’t think the whole “people not buying as much makeup and the makeup boom dying down” is really anything surprising; especially right now when everyone is trying to save money as we head into a recession here in the US. It’s a back and forth thing. For a while people will be obsessed with maximalism in their clothing and makeup then they will turn to minimalism for a few years, then back to maximalism.
These videos are very interesting. You may do this already but if a company is publicly traded you can also read their SEC filing 10K, which is usually under their “Investors” tab and find out a lot about the structure and more details about the operating results of the Company. That should be helpful for your research as well.
I was so sad when I heard BH had filed for brankruptcy because I used to be a BH cosmetics fiend lol I have the Take me back to Brazil, Zodiac, and Aurora lights palette + other items and they are incredible. But at some point they just became... boring. I think the last exciting release they had was their collab with Iggy Azalea. I'm subscribed to their newsletter and when they came back I only saw the same products and not a lot of stock. I really did love the brand, so I hope they get back on track.
The sweet shoppe palettes from BH were so amazing. I have three of them (the red, blue, and pink palettes) and they are still some of my favorites. Have a few in my shop my stash this week to play with.
I work in a luxury cosmetics store that carries Lilah B and its so so heartbreaking! they’re beautiful, amazing quality products and I’m so sad to see the brand go. I’ve definitely noticed a shift in consumer mentality in the sense that most people (esp. millennials and gen z) tend to gravitate towards drug store products over luxury!
Make up has become just like “fast fashion” as quick as something is trending something else replaces it just a quick. There seems to be no sentiment to any products anymore and tbf smaller businesses are really starting to come up providing a affordable good quality products I also believe “no make up make up” has been really detrimental to many beauty brands.
It's unfortunate that companies have to keep releasing products to stay relevent and survive. The only products from Lila B I've ever heard great things about are the blushes, which isn't a product you need to replace very often, which is probably another reason why they had to close. And I agree that their products were too expensive compared to other similar products on the market.
Lilah B is also pretty much half off on everything at Sephora rn! I picked up a couple things during the Sephora sale, since I've always been curious but I definitely didn't want to pay full price for that
I got an ad for rem while watching this video lol. lilah b has always intrigued me especially when i see them at anthro but that price point has always stopped me.
People very curious why brands like Chanel/Lancôme/Gucci and TF still survive with insane prices, but all those clean beauty with affordable prices are closing?? Because their main market located in Asia. All this “clean beauty” marketing is another quick money grab that won’t survive for long. Just follow the money 🤷♀️
I stopped buying anything Morphe because of the influencers they used. I used to wear makeup six days a week, now I wear it once or twice times a week. I have almost completely stopped buying makeup. I buy a new product when I run out but do not go shopping for makeup anymore. And if Ulta is going to continue using Dylan on their platform, they will loose my business too.
okay so what i'm getting from this is you're transphobic lol. dylan is the least of ulta's issues. she's a kind person and a great influencer using her influence for good. cry.
Is it any surprise the market is, saturated and people are struggling to make ends meet these brands are over priced anyway they have priced themselves out of business
I think a lot of women downsized their makeup wardrobe during the great”does this bring me joy?” Marie Kondo purge of 2020. And, many have never turned back.
I am very sad Lilah B is closing up shop. That was my go to brand for blushes and concealer. Its a shame. I hope another brand can come through maybe recreating with a larger shade range. I love the packaging but not being refillable was a huge downside.
I find morphe 2 to be very underrated! I love their concealer it’s really good! But I definitely wouldn’t be surprised to be morphe go out of business in the future.
There are a lot of very expensive brands biting the dust recently... I am surprised that Forma would also be struggling. I suppose brands now need to strike a balance between hype, quality, and pricing. Those two brands are on opposite sides of the spectrum but are lacking in one of those 3 things.
I’ve only purchased 2 products from morphe. The continuous setting spray is really good. I also purchased the JH neutral palette after seeing a review from Brianna Fox. I must say it is a very good palette. I’ve always heard mixed reviews on Morphe eyeshadows so never was interested in it. To see that palette preform nice and was exactly some neutral brown shades I was looking for. I was happy.
I dont think it was the price point for lilah b...they lacked marketing...they were trying to compete on price with brands like charlotte tilbury, victoria beckham and westman atelier..without having a hero face to the brand (the former are all celebrity makeup artists, or a celebrity already)
Recession aside I feel like the trend away from more is more is long gone when it comes to makeup. In the 2016 heavy makeup era I used to collect palettes and really believed I needed to order more than one morphe palette all at once, but post covid I use my bronzer as eyeshadow and maybe a 5 shade mini palette
About the REM beauty situation, they used Forma as a brand incubator but my guess is the that REM decided to distance themselves and take themselves out from their umbrella once the initial launches did not meet expectations. I feel like Forma is going to bounce back in some respect. Or at least they're going to hold on for another 5-8 years.They need to restructure and pair down for sure as Morphe has lost it's edge. The brand is no longer leading any trends or even setting their own micro trends anymore. On top of that most of the online beauty community has now some years past the drama decided that Morphe just irrelevant. Which is another sign that they need to restructure and pair down for sure. I had the thought the other day that Morphe 2 could have worked out if they launched it as a glossier competitor in like 2016-2017 rather being late to the trend.
I don’t like Morphe. I see their products as very bad quality. It is a brand that doesn’t care about the customer, they just want profit, they don’t have a “why” or a purpose, they just created the brand to make money. Their brushes are really bad quality too. They make everything in China, and as the brand is, it gives me the feeling that they don’t care about their workers there and try to explode every penny to the limit. For instance, Colourpop wants to make money too, but they produce in the USA and show their workers in a regulated and nice work environment, making me feel like they care at least about their team. I hope I express myself, writting my thoughts in English is difficult 🙏🏼
It looks like they make everything in China to make as much profit as they can without caring about the workers. That’s what I wanted to say. I hope I’m wrong in this, but it’s how it feels.
I stay clear of made in China products too, especially food. Horrible, non-existent regulations on products, corrupt government that hates their own people and practices all kinds of evil on them.
Learning years ago about the Morphe owners and JH, made me more aware of the power with my purchases. What they did to MUG and their own customer's SMH. The strange following they had after multiple expired makeup controversies and more, It was enough for me to never ever want to purchase a single item from them ever! I doubt it was CV. This has been coming for a long time.
The market is too saturated. If brands can’t keep up, they’re going to go away. I don’t support any brand under the Forma brands influence, so this doesn’t bother me at all.
Spot on. Lilab had gorgeous packaging with too little product in it for too high a price, For a new product line, that's not a good recipe. I don't know a single person in person who bought any of it, only YT'ers who likely got it in PR or bought to try the brand, It was destined to fail, esp in a pandemic market where people stripped back to essentials because they weren't going anywhere. Morphe, indeed suffered from the JS and JC fiascos and I stopped buying their stuff because they supported them. When money is more powerful than integrity, I'm out. Makeup in general I feel has taken a hit because we had the dawn of the RUclips Guru and we all bought a thousand products and learned a thousand tips and tricks and everybody was excited, but then, over time, we all knew the tips and tricks and had a thousand products and when drama became excessive and ugly and the pandemic hit, we all decluttered 8 or 9 hundrend products and just decided that's enough makeup for awhile. We veered to more lifestyle stuff as our fav YT'ers made that transition, wisely, and now we're more sporatic in our makeup YT watching. We're looking for the next great topic and I think TicTok filled that void for many (not me, I'm a YT purist. lol). I think that's where we are as a collective these days. We want holy grails over quantity. We'll be seeing a lot more going under soon I feel.
i recently bought my first morphe palette because it was on discount, and I have to say it's pretty damn good. Like it's not just good for the price, it's actually good. as a matt lover, I've tried some high end brands like Natasha denona and I'm so disappointed that they aren't even as good as drugstore brands. I would be so sad if brands like colourpop or morphe go out of business, especially colourpop, their palettes make up the majority of my collection
Personally...I never bought anything from Morphed or an associated brand because I didn't feel they were quality products, but after all the influencer drama I wouldn't have bought from them even if the quality improved
Never bought Lilah B and haven't bought anything from Morphe in a very long time. I only like their setting spray. I'd rather buy 1 Sonia G brush than 20 Morphe brushes and would prefer one nice palette from Natasha Denona or Christian Dior than 10 Morphe palettes. It's quality over quantity. Less is more.
I feel like REM is definitely not successful it’s not like the perfumes which I think definitely sell. The packaging is terrible quality from everything I have seen. It is not that surprising that those brands under Forma would fail except maybe Jacklyn because it seems to be doing pretty well all things considered. I feel this does explain exactly why Jacklyn started a PJ/home Brand. I feel like brands that don’t keep up with trends or provide strong basic products are going to fail.
I actually stopped buying makeup as an avid lover in 2018. I realised just how much money and resources were being wasted with me throwing out unused but expired makeup each year. I decided I needed a lifestyle overhaul. Nowadays, I only buy when I need to and have downsized my makeup collection to something a regular user would have. I think sustainability is something the makeup industry will never be able to achieve because of the need to get consumers to jump on the next trend and that's just sad imo.
Higher end brands that aren’t as popular will most likely start closing down. And morphe never evolved. They’re still doing the same stuff from 2015 Brands like that will not survive.
With Lilah B, it's just saturation imo. When I refreshed my makeup, I considered them, Becca, and similar brands. The makeup's beautiful and guess I can afford a little of it, but I can get the same quality and colors from Urban Decay and MAC. I can even get the same quality and colors from the drugstore sometimes, but UD and MAC's regular half off sales are close to higher end drugstore these days anyway! Why pay more?
"If your message is quality over quantity, where are your repeat customers coming from" Well, that is just depressing. Really, is this where we are as a society? Loved this brand and will miss their powder foundation and packaging.
The era of overconsumption that was so big mid 2010s is over. People want and maybe can afford less makeup anyway. Other brands cheaper options are also more popular
Morphe doesn't sell at my place because despite all the influencer hyping if someone cannot test something at a physical store, not many people will take the leap of faith online especially when you can't return stuff. All I see are knockoffs though.🤣
I see two things happening simultaneously: 1. Minimalism is fundamentally incompatible with Capitalism. You cannot base a brand on your customers needing fewer products or purchasing less frequently in the long term. Brands I see running into this problem right now are Glossier and the Ordinary, but all makeup brands whose whole identity is "clean girl" will have to deal with this sooner or later. 2. The big money tap that has been going practically uninterrupted since the 80s is shutting off. Up until now, borrowing money was basically free. There isn't as much VC money sloshing around to throw at absolutely anything that might turn out to be the new unicorn brand. Parent companies have to be more scrupulous and curate their stable to make sure their investments pay off.
I'm suspicious of any brand that hides behind it depends exclusively on influencers and their clout to promote the brand. To me, it means they aren't that proud of their products so they're resorting to smoke and mirrors to get people to buy their stuff and think it's good.
Tbh the makeup boom is dying down. The market is way over saturated. Some companies were bound to die out once the makeup boom died down. As a consumer I’m so overwhelmed with all of the options, so I stick to the tried and trues. I don’t want to waste my time trying brands and being disappointed if I know what products already work for me.
Facts I’m so much more wary of this now than I was circa 2016
Also mostof them are too expensive these days. Getting 3 lipglosses will cost you 30 bucks, mean while you could get more of them at the drug store.
Agree. Also drugstore lines are improving & expanding. Offering better products at lower prices than the makeup brands that flourished during the boom. Regardless I don't feel bad for any of these companies. I'm looking at this -- *we're finally at the point where consumers are realizing their power but also more mindful of their money and where it goes now. So this is merely Darwinism at play. The makeup companies that have substance (quality products, range and or good pricing) will last and the ones that rely heavily on marketing & gimmicks will fall.*
Hi Kelly, its a sign of the times. Things are lean, necessity dictates and most of us have plenty of makeup. Brands rely on overconsumption and when that declines, so do the brands.
Well said
Agree!
Yep, spot on!
dilly dilly
I'm glad overconsumption is declining! I just wish we didn't have to rely on manufactured desire so much just to survive.
repeat customers come from core products. which is why some brands stay in business for ages because they have solid core products ppl love. i’m talking foundation, concealer, powder, mascara. if you have at least one or more of these you should be able to hang on cause most ppl don’t buy new eyeshadow palates or blushes or even lipsticks all the time, those last for a while, but mascara and foundation etc get used up pretty quick
I think you're right, and to add to those, brow products because that's the backbone of Benefit's whole brand
this is exactly why urban decay for example is still around. people always say "no one talks about them anymore and they dont release anything interesting, how are they still around!??" and its because they live off of eye primer, eyeliner, and setting spray sales. they are one of the few brands that have a really really good line of core products.
I have found myself purchasing from companies who don't sell in China, and have found my staples from them: Essence, ELF, Nyx, and Pixi. I used to love Wet n Wild, but they are somewhere in a gray area where they are unclear on how they test.
As someone who has been very plugged in to the beauty community for a few years…this is the first I’m hearing of Lilah B
same lol
Same
It's sad to me that brands have to rely on people who buy more makeup than they can use in order to remain in business these days. I am definitely guilty of this, but I have slowed down a lot on my makeup purchasing since I have been trying to pan items and seen how long it takes to use things up. And now that I have a job that pays hourly, I have been thinking more about how many hours I would need to work to purchase things, and if they won't be used up, they are not worth being purchased with my hard-earned money. And with inflation of essential items being so high, it is becoming much harder to afford non-necessities. Most people, if they have to choose between their grocery bill or their beauty budget, will choose to eat, for example. Not to mention, I know a lot of people got into makeup during the parts of the pandemic where it didn't feel safe to leave the house, but now that things are opening up more, we have more options for how to spend our time. I used to take an hour every day to play with my makeup, now I maybe take that much time once a week to get ready for filming, and otherwise either don't wear any or just slap on a little bit for work. That means I am not using as much makeup, and I definitely am not using as many different colors and types of products as I used to. I think that if makeup brands need to rely on people over consuming products, there are a lot of reasons why that isn't realistic for a lot of beauty consumers right now.
I totally agree, I hate the idea that all brands need to infinitely grow to survive. This mindset is not sustainable for anything.
That's how all businesses work, right? For the average person, the only things you repeatedly buy are the essentials that you use and run out of quickly. If you're buying something that's just a fad, chances are that you won't have to buy it again. Fads can create short-term demand, but only essentials create long-term demand.
It's an over supply because ppl over-buy. I think the pandemic has made us all realise we don't need so much, and with inflation ppl spending less so yes, something as non essential as make up would dwindle at this time
It pains me to say this but that is the situation with most indie brands, who sell mostly special eyeshadows. Like 99% of their customers are not running out of eyeshadow every few months and repurchasing what they need, most of their costumers are people in the "beauty community" either as a content creator or as a viewer.
And even bigger brands luxury or drugstore, most of their money come from the sales from mascaras, eyeliners, foundation.... things the average consumer buys every 3 months or so.
Not really makeup but I love Krave Beauty and what they stand for.
I don’t know why but I always get Ilia and Lilah B confused
I can see why!
I do too! I saw Trendmood post about it and I was like wait what. Then I saw it was lilah b. I’ve never heard of them and I’ve never heard of anyone talk about them.
I always confuse them with RMS because of the product and price similarity.
Lol me too. I always confuse the 2.
I think quality over quantity is a long overdue lesson we are seeing in the beauty space right now. You can only take in so many new products till you long for some calm and clarity in your collection and the products you use
REM beauty just doesn’t impress me or catch my attention. I consider it another lazy celebrity brand especially when you compare it to rare beauty and Fenty beauty which were built out on their own instead of using an incubator. Ariana has the ability to do the same but she chose to be lazy about it.
I agree. And I also think that Rihanna and Selena were very invested and involved with their brands. You could see that it was a career shift to them, while Ariana doesn't seem to show the same level of commitment. Idk, that's just my impression.
@@anaos1004 I won't be surprised if it's a management push on her side since her fragrance line got popular. I'm so sick of smelling Cloud though.
It's just a cash grab for Ariana. Most celebrities think they can make easy fast money off of makeup brands now.
@@lipstickzombie4981 i feel like i was the only one that did not like that perfume. it's way to strong and it's weird when every single person walking down the street smells the same now
I think the major difference is they made their brands to suit a need, fenty brought the shade range and really excelled at it. I believe rare uses more accessible packaging but don't quote me on that.
I mean....I am surprised at how many companies have been able to stay in business, I would expect the number closing to be far higher. The makeup market is super saturated. I think inflation and the coming recession is going to cause a huge correction in the makeup consumer market, i.e. more closures.
I always think of Morphe as a controversial brand with Trash Products. I am not real familiar with the beauty youtube space so if I notice a controversy then it's probably 1000x worse than I even know. When a brand like ColourPop can do a similar price point but make formulas better and do better marketing w/ minimal controversy, I think the decision becomes easy. When someone tells me something from morphe is good, I do often give them the benefit of the doubt and try it, but I just stop now and won't touch anything they make b/c I'd rather just spend my money on one good item from a brand I know won't disappoint.
But I think it's also interesting what you said about keeping up with new releases. I think I know more people than not who are cutting back..myself included. I had 500 makeup items in my collection last year and now I have about 40 total. I think brands will have to adapt in the coming year and rely on quality vs, quantity and cuteness. Which, in my opinion, will create a whole new level of competition. (And one that I prefer)
Yeah, Morphe is the brand I buy from when I need something fast and cheap and don't care too much about the quality. Which doesn't happen often, but for example, I wanted a tinted sunscreen while on holiday snap quick and grabbed a Morphe one from the nearest Mecca. This was a few years ago, though, and nowadays there's probably a lot more, cheap and probably better quality options.
I think Morphy should’ve stuck to the brushes which are not bad and not bothered with most of their cosmetics which are trash
@brandigarcia How we’re you able to go from 500 products down to 40? Did you end up having to trash everything? I’m asking bc I, too, probably have around 500 and can’t bring myself to just get rid of it or donate it when I spent very hard earned money on those products! Any feedback would be appreciated!
@@alissawhite8772 it was super gradual. I am going to say I have dwindled down from 500 over be past 3 years and from 200 this year...basically what I do is I start decluttering about once a season b/x it easy to get rid of seasonal things you didn't use during that quarter at all. It really was just a matter of finding my preferences and makeup style, as that changed a lot when I transitioned from my 20s to 30s. It was a mindset thing. All of that makeup overwhelmed me and I became extremely un happy putting on makeup everyday.... My collection is now only things I love and yes, I do keep backups (I'm about to buy all my mascaras for next year) and I kept a couple of ColourPop star wars palettes to collect but took them out of my collection, as well as my very first high end palette. I also would change my mind over these three years in regards to the size of my collection, so that's kind of why I would just place some things "out of sight" for a while to see if I came back to them but now only things I love I left. a lot of it was expired so it got thrown out but I also gave tons to my sister and mom and some of my friends had tween daughters just getting into makeup so I gave it to them. I used the cinema secrets sanitizer from sephora to spray the powder products down. I still have so much variety. I think the biggest advice I have is not to base your "minimalist" collection on what someone else does. That's what tripped me up for so long. The minimalist beauty community can have the same impact as the influencer beauty community..you end up getting rid of too much because that's what you feel like you should do. My collection works for me. I only have 2 foundations but 4 primers, 1 concealer, one highlighter, 2 powders, but 4 bronzers b/c that's a hard category for me..I have dwindled myself down to 5 eyeshadow palettes...there are still a couple of things I'm looking to add as it's holiday time but I know myself better now that I won't buy something I won't use. Give yourself some grace. It's a long and hard process. I have just recently started doing this with my skincare, haircare, and clothes.
@@alissawhite8772 and also, don't put a number on it. It's all about being purposeful. It is very hard to get rid of things you spent a lot of money on and it took me a long time to get rid of some things. Especially the eye palettes and lipsticks. Start slow. And I would swatch everything...you might find that you have Soo many dupes that you can just keep the formula you like better and so many palettes that are also dupes. So, starting there and also doing what's expired, you could probably get a good chunk. Definitely don't just declutter 400 products at once. Break them up into weekly shop with me baskets and declutter slowly from those
From what was shared in interviews and articles, REM was supposed to be a Forma brand but they decided to not go through with it - I remember there was someone who mentioned they couldn’t afford to work with Ariana which makes sense since, similarly, Doja Cat worked with BH Cosmetics and was sited as a reason the brand filed for bankruptcy. Celebs wants more from the deal than they can bring in with sales on a regular basis. Celebs are great with marketing at the launch of a line or product going to market but they don’t commit to marketing beyond that.. even the ads with Ariana for REM (the videos where she talks about the products) appear scripted and lacking enthusiasm (imo) and it made me wonder if she actually is involved in the line at all, beyond the marketing.
I completely agree with your comments on Ariana and REM Beauty. I don't feel that she's ever been enthusiastic about her brand. A few months ago, there was a little Ulta ad for REM that she did, and she seems SO bored with it.
Big brands don't need celebrities to market their products. If their makeup is good people will buy it regardless.
@@la6136 It's not a need, it's a want. Big brands tend to have the budget to afford hiring a celebrity for marketing, but it's not a necessity. It's a status thing for brands to be associated with someone famous beyond the beauty industry.
For real that Ari ad that keeps coming on before videos here is the most boring. She’s supposed to be selling and giving a fantasy yet she’s so blah. The lighting is terrible and it’s just obvious there’s no love there
Omg, I looove your industry analysis videos!! You're so good at them! And I do agree that a big problem for morphe was to associate too much with the same group of influencers. Once the drama started in that group, everything they had touched became tainted. And I think you were spot on in saying that the competition was also a problem, because people don't need to rely on morphe anymore for good, affordable (and especially) drama free makeup brands. There are so many options nowadays that once people put morphe behind, there was no need to look back.
When they said Y2K is back they are not joking. Minimal makeup is in and just like in the early 2000s everybody will only have 5 products in their makeup bags
Even with a couple brands closing, I’m shocked how many are still around! I wear the most basic makeup and not even every day. I buy a new foundation 1-2 years a year. New eyeshadow pallet every 3-5 years. I can’t imagine buying heinous amounts of products that you’ll never finish just…to own them? Just because?
sadly MANY people did and still do this and fueled this massive bubble
You receive a distorted impression of how many people do this based on how many influencers do this IMO. At a certain point you will have a wake-up moment when you realize the "relatable" content creators you enjoy aren't actually on the same level as you, and the way they live is a way very, very few people can afford to.
I feel like COVID changed a lot in how consumers make purchases and with inflation and possibly a recession a lot of us have changed our priorities when it comes to how we choose to spend our money.
I think the Make-up industry is at an all time low these days.
Speaking for myself I wear the same 5 products for work every day. In mz spare time I rarely wear makeup as I’ve gotten more comfortable in my own skin getting older
Same!!
I’m not surprised to hear about Morphe. I have never purchased anything by them because of the type of influencers they were associated with. I don’t follow, never have, those people. I’ve even started scaling back on beauty content and those I follow. I’m not working as much now as I was before the pandemic (thankful I still have a job) , so money for makeup is mostly for replenishing essentials. If a lot of people are doing that then I can see companies profit margins shrinking
Very interesting. I wonder how much Morphe’s move into “bricks & mortar” impacted their bottom line as well. I’ve noticed the Morphe stores in malls are usually in premium locations, and that seemed to be established right before the pandemic. They might be shedding those leases as part of this action.
and they're always totally empty. it seems like kind of a struggle for makeup stores with only one brand - even mac stores are never crowded and those are usually much smaller. compared to sephora or ulta which are always busy
Lilah b was very expensive. I had a small amount of eyeshadow sent to me as a tester. It was stunning. But something always held me back buying from them. At that time I already had lots of make up
The price always held me back too!
I have several products from lilah b that I love, but I think you hit it right on the mark when you said that the recent influx of affordable clean brands has brought about the demise of the brand. Back in the day when clean beauty meant expensive beauty, lilah b didn't seem all that out of line with other brands in that category. That's no longer true. It makes me sad to see the brand close, but at the same time, I'm thankful that there are so many more affordable clean beauty brands around these days.
I have 26 eyeshadow palletes and most of them are barely used . I don't care about bb dates. I'll use them until they are gone or gross. There's literally no need for me to buy makeup for at least a year. At this point I'm over the daily application and will likely be getting semi permanent makeup done. It's cheaper over all and I can pay for makeup on events.
You've made some great points. I am not surprised about Morphe. People truly started distancing themselves with all of the repetitive influencer drama (one right after another). Also, there are some really great affordable makeup companies that honestly put out better quality makeup at great prices. I haven't looked at Morphe in a long time and wouldn't consider buying from them again. They are STILL using influencers and the quality just isn't where it needs to be compared to other affordable companies. I also believe we will see yet more cosmetic companies downsizing or closing altogether. It's such a heavily saturated industry and people can't keep buying and hoarding makeup like in the past. I have SO much makeup and I really give serious consideration when making any purchase these days. Do I 'really" need it or can I dupe it with what I have in my stash.
I remember the big backlash around morphe, and the undisclosed affiliate codes. I haven't really paid attention to them since then though.
I have heard some good things about the products like the quad goals, and just looking at the products granted they have a lot and really diversified into alot of creams. It seems they tried to keep releasing relevant products but it's more likely the various different controversies hurt the brand meaning less and less exposure for the brand as influencers decide that its more trouble than it's worth.
I do wonder about Jeffree stars makeup brand as there's alot of people who will eat his shit up regardless. But surely that fanbase can only last for so long
Part of it is definitely the recession and money getting tighter. Seeing bigger brands that have been around for ages closing or filing for bankruptcy like Revlon, Becca, and now Morphe/Forma brands, makes me worried for the smaller and/or indie brands. Not only may they (hopefully just temporarily) lose some of their customer support, but those owners could face financial issues, too, when they rely on their brand for a big chunk of their income. While my staple products tend to come from the drugstore (face products and everyday essentials) products I experiment with more like eyeshadow tend to be from those smaller brands because of the high quality formulas and unique or fun color stories.
Lately I’ve been leaning more towards drugstore makeup products, because the high end brands are just too expensive. There’s no reason a lip gloss should be $25. I’m planning on only keeping my tinted moisturizer and setting spray from Sephora, everything else is coming from target 😅
the repeated customers could come from selling refills and stuff like that. like powder pact refills? brand centered around buying less could work, it seems like there's a market buying singles beyond eyeshadow shades. korean brands sell cushion foundation refills however once a couple years they renew packaging and the old cushion cases become useless 🙃
I guess when you see a ton of Morphe palletes at TJMaxx and Marshall’s that is not a good sign! This video was so interesting and loved your eye makeup look!
I like that Morphe 2 has talc-free eyeshadows because that is still difficult to find at the drugstore. The palette I wanted was sold out everywhere so I had to order it online, so I don't know how well it performs yet.
I feel like those secondary brands trying to channel the new trends never work. I’m thinking estee edit, morphe2, sugar rush (tarts), the glossier 2 line- I don’t remember what it’s called. But I feel like brands should be able to evolve or expand within themselves. It seems silly to make a whole new brand to stay relevant bc that is more costly.
Morphe was never really reasonably priced. It's still too expensive for what it is.
Plus the influencers they chose to work with was a huge turnoff for most people.
Brands need to realize that most products only last 6 months to 1 year then it expires and needs to be thrown away.
Most people won't use up an entire product in a year.
products should be priced to use up and buy more new things.
Hi Kelly! Happy Wednesday. :)
Wow. For Morphe, this video kinda explains why they are still having that 50% off discount. 😮 It has been that way since mid-summer.
Oooh that makes sense!
that makes sense everytime I go to TJmaxx, most of it is morphe
I don't buy from morphe bc they aren't interesting to me. But in ulta a month ago, my sister in law and I walked past the morphe stuff and she said I can't believe anyone buys stuff from them still. I can't with them because they still support Jaclyn hill after everything that woman has done. And I was just like wow its interesting to me to hear that and always know why people support or don't support certain things! So I definitely agree that they are going under because of their choice in influences.
I really don't get why people have so much makeup in the first place. I see so many people owning 5 or 6 lipsticks that are the same shade, just from different brands. Considering their shelf life, I don't see how this is necessary.
Personally I don’t think the whole “people not buying as much makeup and the makeup boom dying down” is really anything surprising; especially right now when everyone is trying to save money as we head into a recession here in the US. It’s a back and forth thing. For a while people will be obsessed with maximalism in their clothing and makeup then they will turn to minimalism for a few years, then back to maximalism.
The Morphe in in towson (Maryland) just closed down last month
These videos are very interesting. You may do this already but if a company is publicly traded you can also read their SEC filing 10K, which is usually under their “Investors” tab and find out a lot about the structure and more details about the operating results of the Company. That should be helpful for your research as well.
I was so sad when I heard BH had filed for brankruptcy because I used to be a BH cosmetics fiend lol I have the Take me back to Brazil, Zodiac, and Aurora lights palette + other items and they are incredible. But at some point they just became... boring. I think the last exciting release they had was their collab with Iggy Azalea. I'm subscribed to their newsletter and when they came back I only saw the same products and not a lot of stock. I really did love the brand, so I hope they get back on track.
The sweet shoppe palettes from BH were so amazing. I have three of them (the red, blue, and pink palettes) and they are still some of my favorites. Have a few in my shop my stash this week to play with.
Bonus video. 🎉Happy Wednesday
Thanks for watching!
I work in a luxury cosmetics store that carries Lilah B and its so so heartbreaking! they’re beautiful, amazing quality products and I’m so sad to see the brand go. I’ve definitely noticed a shift in consumer mentality in the sense that most people (esp. millennials and gen z) tend to gravitate towards drug store products over luxury!
Make up has become just like “fast fashion” as quick as something is trending something else replaces it just a quick.
There seems to be no sentiment to any products anymore and tbf smaller businesses are really starting to come up providing a affordable good quality products
I also believe “no make up make up” has been really detrimental to many beauty brands.
Can't concentrate. So distracted by your flawless skin in this video 😂❤
I’d love to hear about how the lipstick index is doing right now two years into covid.
I am happy to see the brands that produce so so makeup are closing. We. Don't. Need. Them. More power to the consumers ✊️
I had never heard of Lilah B. But those prices seemed wild.
Same!!
It's unfortunate that companies have to keep releasing products to stay relevent and survive. The only products from Lila B I've ever heard great things about are the blushes, which isn't a product you need to replace very often, which is probably another reason why they had to close. And I agree that their products were too expensive compared to other similar products on the market.
I prefer to buy from Besame which has refillables.
Lilah B is also pretty much half off on everything at Sephora rn! I picked up a couple things during the Sephora sale, since I've always been curious but I definitely didn't want to pay full price for that
I got an ad for rem while watching this video lol. lilah b has always intrigued me especially when i see them at anthro but that price point has always stopped me.
People very curious why brands like Chanel/Lancôme/Gucci and TF still survive with insane prices, but all those clean beauty with affordable prices are closing?? Because their main market located in Asia. All this “clean beauty” marketing is another quick money grab that won’t survive for long. Just follow the money 🤷♀️
Sad to see vesca beauty is also closing
I stopped buying anything Morphe because of the influencers they used. I used to wear makeup six days a week, now I wear it once or twice times a week. I have almost completely stopped buying makeup. I buy a new product when I run out but do not go shopping for makeup anymore. And if Ulta is going to continue using Dylan on their platform, they will loose my business too.
okay so what i'm getting from this is you're transphobic lol. dylan is the least of ulta's issues. she's a kind person and a great influencer using her influence for good. cry.
@@minumeyli he
Is it any surprise the market is, saturated and people are struggling to make ends meet these brands are over priced anyway they have priced themselves out of business
I think a lot of women downsized their makeup wardrobe during the great”does this bring me joy?” Marie Kondo purge of 2020. And, many have never turned back.
Great video! I'm all about getting the best bang for my buck when it comes to cosmetics.
I am very sad Lilah B is closing up shop. That was my go to brand for blushes and concealer. Its a shame. I hope another brand can come through maybe recreating with a larger shade range. I love the packaging but not being refillable was a huge downside.
It looks like everything will be on sale now though if you wanted to stock up!
I didn't know about Lilah B. Love these videos from you.
I had zero idea Playa and Lipstick Queen were Forma brands... They don't make sense to me with the other brands under them.
I find morphe 2 to be very underrated! I love their concealer it’s really good! But I definitely wouldn’t be surprised to be morphe go out of business in the future.
Ooh interesting!
There are a lot of very expensive brands biting the dust recently... I am surprised that Forma would also be struggling. I suppose brands now need to strike a balance between hype, quality, and pricing. Those two brands are on opposite sides of the spectrum but are lacking in one of those 3 things.
Won't catch me buying anything from Morphe. Personally am buying less makeup in general and using what I have. 🥰🥰
I’ve only purchased 2 products from morphe. The continuous setting spray is really good. I also purchased the JH neutral palette after seeing a review from Brianna Fox. I must say it is a very good palette. I’ve always heard mixed reviews on Morphe eyeshadows so never was interested in it. To see that palette preform nice and was exactly some neutral brown shades I was looking for. I was happy.
Are revlon still going under? I haven't heard many people talk about that one so I wonder.
But they're such a huge brand for so many years
I dont think it was the price point for lilah b...they lacked marketing...they were trying to compete on price with brands like charlotte tilbury, victoria beckham and westman atelier..without having a hero face to the brand (the former are all celebrity makeup artists, or a celebrity already)
Recession aside I feel like the trend away from more is more is long gone when it comes to makeup. In the 2016 heavy makeup era I used to collect palettes and really believed I needed to order more than one morphe palette all at once, but post covid I use my bronzer as eyeshadow and maybe a 5 shade mini palette
I think Morphe will rebrand themselves like Haus Labs....New look, new image pitch
I’ve been wondering if REM might do that too!
About the REM beauty situation, they used Forma as a brand incubator but my guess is the that REM decided to distance themselves and take themselves out from their umbrella once the initial launches did not meet expectations.
I feel like Forma is going to bounce back in some respect. Or at least they're going to hold on for another 5-8 years.They need to restructure and pair down for sure as Morphe has lost it's edge. The brand is no longer leading any trends or even setting their own micro trends anymore. On top of that most of the online beauty community has now some years past the drama decided that Morphe just irrelevant. Which is another sign that they need to restructure and pair down for sure. I had the thought the other day that Morphe 2 could have worked out if they launched it as a glossier competitor in like 2016-2017 rather being late to the trend.
I don’t like Morphe. I see their products as very bad quality. It is a brand that doesn’t care about the customer, they just want profit, they don’t have a “why” or a purpose, they just created the brand to make money. Their brushes are really bad quality too. They make everything in China, and as the brand is, it gives me the feeling that they don’t care about their workers there and try to explode every penny to the limit. For instance, Colourpop wants to make money too, but they produce in the USA and show their workers in a regulated and nice work environment, making me feel like they care at least about their team. I hope I express myself, writting my thoughts in English is difficult 🙏🏼
It looks like they make everything in China to make as much profit as they can without caring about the workers. That’s what I wanted to say. I hope I’m wrong in this, but it’s how it feels.
I stay clear of made in China products too, especially food. Horrible, non-existent regulations on products, corrupt government that hates their own people and practices all kinds of evil on them.
I’ve had nothing but quality products from colour pop. It’s inexpensive yet good quality
Revlon is done too!
Learning years ago about the Morphe owners and JH, made me more aware of the power with my purchases. What they did to MUG and their own customer's SMH. The strange following they had after multiple expired makeup controversies and more, It was enough for me to never ever want to purchase a single item from them ever! I doubt it was CV. This has been coming for a long time.
The market is too saturated. If brands can’t keep up, they’re going to go away. I don’t support any brand under the Forma brands influence, so this doesn’t bother me at all.
Spot on. Lilab had gorgeous packaging with too little product in it for too high a price, For a new product line, that's not a good recipe. I don't know a single person in person who bought any of it, only YT'ers who likely got it in PR or bought to try the brand, It was destined to fail, esp in a pandemic market where people stripped back to essentials because they weren't going anywhere.
Morphe, indeed suffered from the JS and JC fiascos and I stopped buying their stuff because they supported them. When money is more powerful than integrity, I'm out.
Makeup in general I feel has taken a hit because we had the dawn of the RUclips Guru and we all bought a thousand products and learned a thousand tips and tricks and everybody was excited, but then, over time, we all knew the tips and tricks and had a thousand products and when drama became excessive and ugly and the pandemic hit, we all decluttered 8 or 9 hundrend products and just decided that's enough makeup for awhile. We veered to more lifestyle stuff as our fav YT'ers made that transition, wisely, and now we're more sporatic in our makeup YT watching. We're looking for the next great topic and I think TicTok filled that void for many (not me, I'm a YT purist. lol). I think that's where we are as a collective these days. We want holy grails over quantity. We'll be seeing a lot more going under soon I feel.
ilia ALSO reminds me of Lilah b! lol. the letters and products are similar
i recently bought my first morphe palette because it was on discount, and I have to say it's pretty damn good. Like it's not just good for the price, it's actually good. as a matt lover, I've tried some high end brands like Natasha denona and I'm so disappointed that they aren't even as good as drugstore brands. I would be so sad if brands like colourpop or morphe go out of business, especially colourpop, their palettes make up the majority of my collection
Personally...I never bought anything from Morphed or an associated brand because I didn't feel they were quality products, but after all the influencer drama I wouldn't have bought from them even if the quality improved
Hey Kelly , i knew some brands be closing :, iam not surprise.
Never bought Lilah B and haven't bought anything from Morphe in a very long time. I only like their setting spray. I'd rather buy 1 Sonia G brush than 20 Morphe brushes and would prefer one nice palette from Natasha Denona or Christian Dior than 10 Morphe palettes. It's quality over quantity. Less is more.
Loved watching this and doing my makeup it was like i was doing my makeup with you! So calming. Have a lovely day
I feel like REM is definitely not successful it’s not like the perfumes which I think definitely sell. The packaging is terrible quality from everything I have seen. It is not that surprising that those brands under Forma would fail except maybe Jacklyn because it seems to be doing pretty well all things considered. I feel this does explain exactly why Jacklyn started a PJ/home Brand. I feel like brands that don’t keep up with trends or provide strong basic products are going to fail.
I feel like rms beauty has the same customer base as liliah b, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they closed shortly too.
I've never even heard of Lila B. I got into this scene in like 2019-2020 though.
i’ve actually never heard of lilah b before now
Ngl I completely forgot Morphe 2 existed so that speaks volumes lmao
Morphe also had crazy prices. I only buy from them when they have a massive sale
I actually stopped buying makeup as an avid lover in 2018. I realised just how much money and resources were being wasted with me throwing out unused but expired makeup each year. I decided I needed a lifestyle overhaul. Nowadays, I only buy when I need to and have downsized my makeup collection to something a regular user would have. I think sustainability is something the makeup industry will never be able to achieve because of the need to get consumers to jump on the next trend and that's just sad imo.
I like your concealer brush!!
Higher end brands that aren’t as popular will most likely start closing down. And morphe never evolved. They’re still doing the same stuff from 2015 Brands like that will not survive.
Imagine the Drake meme format
Hoping for brands to succeed: No
Hoping they fail, so Kelly will make a video on it: Hell yes
I'm surprised Bad Habit is still listed. I thought it ended a couple of years ago.
I thought so too!
With Lilah B, it's just saturation imo. When I refreshed my makeup, I considered them, Becca, and similar brands. The makeup's beautiful and guess I can afford a little of it, but I can get the same quality and colors from Urban Decay and MAC. I can even get the same quality and colors from the drugstore sometimes, but UD and MAC's regular half off sales are close to higher end drugstore these days anyway! Why pay more?
"If your message is quality over quantity, where are your repeat customers coming from"
Well, that is just depressing. Really, is this where we are as a society?
Loved this brand and will miss their powder foundation and packaging.
The era of overconsumption that was so big mid 2010s is over. People want and maybe can afford less makeup anyway. Other brands cheaper options are also more popular
Morphe doesn't sell at my place because despite all the influencer hyping if someone cannot test something at a physical store, not many people will take the leap of faith online especially when you can't return stuff. All I see are knockoffs though.🤣
What brush was used to blend out the concealer? It looks perfect
I see two things happening simultaneously:
1. Minimalism is fundamentally incompatible with Capitalism. You cannot base a brand on your customers needing fewer products or purchasing less frequently in the long term. Brands I see running into this problem right now are Glossier and the Ordinary, but all makeup brands whose whole identity is "clean girl" will have to deal with this sooner or later.
2. The big money tap that has been going practically uninterrupted since the 80s is shutting off. Up until now, borrowing money was basically free. There isn't as much VC money sloshing around to throw at absolutely anything that might turn out to be the new unicorn brand. Parent companies have to be more scrupulous and curate their stable to make sure their investments pay off.
The Ordinary has bigger chance than the others, since we replace skincare on more often basis
Still sad about Becca :’( Anyone got a good face powder recommendation?
The people in charge of Morphe are terrible, with no morals. It's their staff I feel sorry for.
I love these videos, Kelly. 💛🌻💛🌻💛🌻
I'm suspicious of any brand that hides behind it depends exclusively on influencers and their clout to promote the brand. To me, it means they aren't that proud of their products so they're resorting to smoke and mirrors to get people to buy their stuff and think it's good.
I'm confused, I thought Makeup Geek was still in business? They are still selling products on their website and there is a 40% sale right now 🤔
I assumed REM just used a Forma lab maybe.