Since 1984, MAC Cosmetics has had a perpetual hold on the Black community, delivering the tools and shade ranges we needed.
Think: their annual VIVA Glam Ball—which invited full-glam guests like Mary J. Blige, Eve, Fantasia, Diana Ross, etc. Additionally, their backstage presence at fashion weeks over the years, with supermodels Naomi Campbell and Iman, MAC has proven to be the makeup behind pop culture’s biggest beauty moments in history—including Lil’ Kim’s archival metallic lipstick.
Now, as we celebrate their 40th anniversary in the midst of Fashion Week (where the brand will be sponsoring shows like Area, Kim Shui, and Luar), we look back at the legacy they’ve built with Black women.
“I think the brand, more than ever, still sits in what made MAC unique from the beginning,” senior vice president and general manager at MAC Aïda Moudachirou-Rebois tells ESSENCE. “Artistry, inclusivity, culture… it was the heart of the brand to make sure that we could help people in our community that needed the most.”
Despite the noise and competition in an over-saturated industry, MAC has remained the loudest in the room—in large part thanks to their ability to listen to their community. That means internally, too.
For MAC makeup pro, Romero Jennings, being with the brand for almost 30 years means being heard. “I feel like I helped to build and sustain this brand for all those years,” he says. “Now, many brands would have claimed inclusion, but we had it from the beginning, which is why we had such a huge Black and Brown following back in the day.”
Jennings recalls women from Harlem and the Bronx visiting MAC for Studio Fix Powder Foundation because no other brand had their shade. “Many people would say that it’s their first introduction to makeup because before that, you would have to mix or the colors weren’t right or it was too light,” Jennings says, like a powdered Grace Jones and Prince.
Meanwhile, the lip pencils developed at the beginning we still use today (like Uche Natori’s favorite shade chestnut) next to lipsticks we miss like CD 96, have afforded Black women the representation we deserve.
Other than products, however, MAC has built initiatives to support their teams and customers from within. From attending the Black Beauty Roster to investing in funds, grants, and creating internal safe spaces, like Black At MAC and the MAC Movement, the brand’s foundation is rooted in not just culture but impact. “We don’t take a one size fits all approach because it’s kind of performative and checking a box,” Moudachirou-Rebois says. “[We’re] really continuing to make sure that we elevate the culture in all its nuances.”
With 22% of MAC customers identifying as Black (compared to an 8% average of US consumers in luxury beauty), the future of the brand is in our hands. “We don’t like to see ourselves as a makeup brand, but as a culture brand,” she says. “We have a responsibility to this consumer to really deliver on their needs.”
