Exposing MCo BEAUTY: The Most Shameless Dupe Brand in History! | BEAUTIFUL and BOTHERED | Ep. 79 

Whats truly shameless is the prices luxary brands charge consumers

People like Trixie SHOULD use their platform to talk about the issues in their communities! That's the right thing to do. The WRONG thing to do is saying empty things like, "I did it and so can you!" Calling out systemic issues, not empty statements.

Dupe culture is so pervasive especially in the art and fashion communities. The amount of small artists/designers I see saying their work is on shien or temu and there's no way of them being able to get it taken down. They don't have the resources to fight these massive companies. It's heartbreaking.

“If the house doesn’t have a security system…” “I’m going in.” Legendary way to start an episode

I just saw a reel of Mikayla gassing over the relaunched Flesh Pot and thought back to Kevin's sheer utter disappointment. You guys are the real tea and I hope you continue to educate and help people see behind the foolish curtain/beauty creator scams. Love you guys! ❤

Honestly when dupes first started coming out i was excited to have affordable options but now i’m just craving creativity

As an Australian, I say "thank God for Dupes!"... make-up is very expensive here, even Elf, the primer that I see influencers say "Oh, this only cost $8 in Walmart", it will be $24 here! Even Natashas Denona 15 palette $58 in USA is around $130 here. So to be honest, the high end brands aren't loosing customers, because we can't afford the high prices, we might buy ourselves one or 2 highend products to spoil ourselves in a year, but for all your everyday, its Maybelline, Covergirl, Revlon, L'Oréal and McoBeauty (which is actually a newish brand here)😂 In saying that, we also DO have some very good Australian Made brands (not the McoBeauty made in China) Naito is one that pops into my mind, they make a great eyeshadow and tubing Mascara made here in Australia, I haven't tried their foundation yet (and I'm not a fan of the mco foundation but their lipstick is nice) Oh, and.... we don't get the return policy that you get in USA (you bought it, its yours) so if you spend $20 and it doesn't sit well, you don't like the colour, etc....is a lot easier than if you spent $200 and you have to throw it in the bin!!!

The legalese of their statements about researching if a product is “unprotected” gives me the ick so badly!! That’s the definition of predatory theft if I have ever heard it!!

This while thing reminds me of Shein making dupes of small brands clothing. Blogilates has been fighting with so many multi million dollar companies who took her models likeness and designs, even after she has patents for her designs, and NOTHING happens to the big brands.

Not a lawyer but have taken first year law school intellectual property course work. The thing with trademark in the US is companies have to be VERY active in protecting their trademark. As soon as a piece of their trademark becomes common phrasing for that type of product the company risks losing that trademark. For example, the brand Thermos lost their trademark of using that word to describe a vacuum sealed container to keep liquids hot and cold because it became the common word we use to describe that type of container and they did not act quickly enough. Similarly Band-aid is trying to protect their brand and the use of the word band-aid by changing their commercials and packaging to call out Band-aid Brand. The item is an adhesive bandage. Band-Aid is a particular brand of adhesive bandage.

Sullivan really said: Gaslight, gaslight, "girlboss" 😂 I will never get enough of how real and raw you guys are about the beauty community/industry, yourselves, and, by extension, society itself. B&B is the TRUTH, and you 2 are the very few in this beauty space to give me the raw, unsweetened tea. Stay amazing! 🙌🏾💖👏🏾

Not only are Johnny & Kevin "The View" of the beauty world, they are the "Price is Right", "Entertainment Tonight", and " Girls Gone Wild" of beauty, as well😊

There is something definitely wrong when the lawyer is the first person you call when creating a product. It’s up to the consumer to take a stand

I had a chronic illness flare up yesterday, and I'm laying low today. This is exactly what I needed.

Fellow Aussie girl here and thanks for pointing out some of our point of views. Personally I think McCo should have stayed in their country lane and remained here in Australia instead of trying to go into the US market. It hits different overseas than here at home lol

Australian here💖 MCo is a great affordable brand here in au. I totally get how its annoying that theyre copying everything with no shame. Not defending them on that. I will say that trying to get affordable makeup from the brands that are loved by the states is extremely difficult as the conversion between USD and AUD is insane!!!! Im not saying theyre in the right at all, but i think its nice that a brand is at least attempting to make a brand that normal, everyday people can afford. Ps love u guys so much💖absolute icons

Can't wait for the world to give Johnny and Kevin their flowers 💐💐 It's what she deserves 🙂

The guys are here! Time to pour the coffee for our Sunday chit-chat ☕️

At least Trader Joe's dupes makes sure their packaging isn't even remotely close. Their Laneiage lip mask dupes look like they're from the Dollare Store but the product is just as good as the OG.

In Australia mco is NOT elf pricing. Full price that flawless filter is $35 it’s often 1/2price at the grocery stores. Aussies can get all brands through Mecca. The OG filter is $70 or $24 for a mini. I used to love mco back in the day as model co. But I’ve decluttered pretty much all of it & refuse to buy more.

I think my biggest issue with dupes like MCo is that they could have still created the same product but spent a little bit more effort into the packaging to make it an “original” product. Instead they want the quick money with easy brand recognition instead of developing their own brand image. They are literally just the brand that dupes the product I want instead of the brand that does this product but better.

That Sol de Janeiro looks gigantic compared to the MCo version. I agree with everything that you said, MCo is basically that classmate that steals your essay and then claims that they did it on their own.

I feel like the whole dupe culture takes away from brands actually creating innovative and fun new products so we as consumers are just stuck with the same old regurgitated products. Let’s go back to the good ol days when launches were fewer and exciting because they were unique and well thought out.

You could afford the real thing if you don’t buy the 10 dupes trying to be the original. I have never bought a dupe and will never. I like to support people’s originality and creativity and integrity of a product. I love that you guys are having this conversation. It’s so needed.

lmao we said "not 'common people'" at the same time

Finally, we have a great Cosmetiverse moment with Johnny sending well-deserved praise to Jen Luv. 🧡

I have to tell you guys, I am actively looking forward to these videos on Sundays. As someone with anxiety who gets the Sunday Scaries these videos are fun and informative and intelligent. I could go on forever. Thank you and keep making these amazing videos and creating this beautiful community.❤

Hope for humanity restored!! Brilliance, beauty, hilarity, and common sense are exactly what I needed to see today!

Johnny, you have work so hard for your success. Don't let these jealous people put you down. You are the best!

I'm reminded of the wisdom of "Buy cheap: buy twice"

It's very interesting that McoBeauty has everyone so riled up with their products. Dupes have been around for years and years at this point, and exist in almost every category of consumerism. Supermarket items, clothing, hair care, etc.

Y'all NEED to have JenLuv on about this very topic!!!

I feel like dupe culture is the makeup version of fast fashion

Kevin’s lipstick is ✨stunning✨! Please share that cause I need that color!

I’m sitting here, letting a pot roast cook. You guys are giving me entertainment while I wait for 2 hours for it to cook.

To me, the appeal of dupes is that the barrier of entry is lower so it’s easier to try something that or may not be a good fit for my tastes/routine (or would be something I’d use infrequently) without having to feel like I wasted a time of money if I don’t like it. I’m not rich, but I have enough disposable income that I can afford to pay for luxury makeup if I want to, but just because I *can* afford to buy a $50 item doesn’t mean I *should*. And I’m frugal enough that I can rarely justify paying more than $25 on a product I’m not sure of. If I like the dupe, it may actually inspire me to invest in the higher end product if I find myself reaching for the dupe a lot unless the general consensus is that the dupe really is just as good. I don’t care about packaging much, though I do actually appreciate that dupe makers use packaging cues to telegraph their dupes as it makes them easier to spot. That said, the more spot on the packaging is, the more suspicious I am of what’s inside. As a result, I don’t buy from many dupe brands and instead tend to gravitate toward Elf or from similar products from a brand owned by the same parent company as the duped brand. I do this with fragrance as well. I just bought an Oakcha dupe of Xerjoff’s Lira after finishing up a sample of the real thing I got as a part of my ScentBox subscription. I love the fragrance enough to want to have more of it, but since it’s too soon to tell if I love it enough that I’ll want this fragrance to be a regular part of my perfume rotation or if it’ll be one I grow bored with after a while, I don’t really want to drop $125+ on it just yet. If I find myself continuing to love the Oakcha dupe (which so far is pretty good!) into the fall, I may see if I can get a good deal on a bottle of Lira when I’m in Italy in November.

As someone who lives in Australia, Mcobeauty was the first makeup I ever bought! As someone who doesn't have much money, Mcobeauty started out having great prices but it's gone up a lot since like three years ago which I think happened to everyone sadly. Me and my sister have watched them dupe so many viral products and wondered when people on social media from other countries would find them! Love you two

Thanks for the shout out! Loved hearing your take on this topic!

Church is in people. This week's podcast is paired with a bottle of Cab I didn't know I had left from France. Celebrating because Stevie Nicks rescheduled her gig really quickly and I found a bottle I had no idea I had. Yay.

I’m living for Kevin’s hair ❤❤. Until you guys talked about Mco I never heard a word about them. I’m going pass since nothing blew your socks off. Such a honest conversation about the whole dupe culture and it really made me think. I love to see the passion come out of Johnny when he is stating pure facts !! Us common people 😂 love you both ❤❤❤

My 4 year old glanced at the video and just said it’s Barbie and Ken ❤

I’ve found myself agreeing with you guys on your points, not really paying very close attention, until you mentioned Jen Luv’s RU-vid channel. Then I put down my fork & knife to truly tune in to your discussion. I adore watching Jen Luv’s videos. She goes on the deepest dives into products, creators and any legal filings and lawsuits of any RU-vid channel I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. You gentlemen made some extremely well thought out points. I just wish I could afford Patreon, so I could watch all your videos. But, I do make a habit of watching you both every week. M Co Beauty is skating a very fine line between trade dress infringement & copying other companies products, in an inferior manner. This is going to get them into a great deal of trouble. Should I go make the popcorn in the meantime? Love you guys!

I love the shout-out to @JenLuv! I’ve been watching her for years and she is so knowledgeable.

Not me switching from a Trixie Mattel video to this one as soon as it pops up. Love you guys and Trixie! Both can be true.

I found you because of your Barbara videos. I LOVE your skits. I subscribed to your channel then found out how amazing you are! Edit to add: I love watching your make up videos and this podcast.

I agree with Johnny 💯! I’m a broke ass and rely on cheap brands for my make up when I can afford to treat myself. I like being able to get good products at an affordable price, however!, I don’t think brands should be ripping each other off. Give me a really good product of your own creation for an affordable price! That being said… I really like many of ELF’s products. 😬😊 Love you guys and that y’all don’t pull any punches.

I love JenLuv and how she does all of the legwork and puts it into language simple enough that I don’t have to decode the legalese

Thank goodness for Sunday’s with both of you ❤. It is miserable in Maryland also 😢

Thank you Johnny & Kevin for your honesty and excellent recommendations! It’s so refreshing. 💕

This is fascinating. As you are probably aware by now, I am coming at this from a very low knowledge base. This will impact what I purchase because duping is not necessarily the sincerest form of flattery. It is the same as companies stealing clothes designs, and selling them super-cheap, using sub-standard fabrics, denying the creator (typically an individual) income, and depriving them of their IPR.

I love the shoutout to Jen! I’ve been watching her for years and years, she’s just the nicest and so informative!

I used a dup once not knowing it was a dup and had a reaction. I was afraid to buy highend make-up after that, till I had to go to a wedding and paid a make-up artist do my make-up. She was so sweet and told me the difference. Also I learned what I like. Also Kevin and Johnny you two have made me more comfortable to buy make-up again. I'm waiting to get Colorpop pallet

Finally the best part of my Sunday ❤Johnny ❤Kevin oh the haters going to hate making each other laugh and it’s not even two minutes in

You guys need to get JenLov on the pod! She truly is awesome in makeup news & has a fascinating story as well

Spent £90 on makeup last week I was deceased, wasn't even a full face, rip my bank account. 💀

Johnny one of the many reasons I love you is because you are always true to yourself & you have worked so hard to be where you are today!! And you deserve all the success in the world and I’ll always be cheering you on!! Love you & Kevin! Thank you for always keeping it real! ❤

This is exactly why I will not purchase from Revolution. Got one crappy dupe when I was 13 and never spent another dollar. So you are absolutely right, they lose money buy duping the package for me. It does immediately make me think it was trash wrapped in glitter. I love that your channel promotes quality over consumerism. I consistently get more use and joy out of the products I saved up for and researched vs buying four or five cheap wanna be's.

it feels so relaxing to watch the pod after a long day

TGIS I was just wondering what to watch and here B&B is to save the day

Duping has been around for at least 16 years that I am aware of! I worked in Bath& Body Works back in 05 to 08. People would come in and buy 15 lip glosses or lip balms. The manager told me that they purchased that amount so they can copy it and their company will make it!

Love Jenluv’s channel she really is the news outlet for makeup. When I started the video I was thinking about her video 😂

I love Jen Luvs channel, ive followed her for years, and im so jealous, she's actually going on a cruise to my hometown in Alaska rn. I watch her videos every Sunday morning, I love her show and the community over there❤

I never realized that was Cher, a tattoo video with backstories would be cool for the Patreon

LOVE this podcast. I can't miss an episode!!!! Thanks for working your magic every week you beautiful people!!!

22:41 we love jenluv

I watch Jen Luv all the time. My Sundays are what’s up in makeup, live chat on her channel & then over here for B&B.

I avoided drugstore makeup until a few years ago because I assumed it would be lower quality. With inflation I just couldn’t justify the price of high end anymore. I have been happy with the vast majority of the ELF, NYX, and Moira products I’ve purchased. I did buy ELF Halo Glow to try that type of formula because I wasn’t sure I would get good use out of it. I never would have tried that type of product if the affordable version didn’t exist.

The best way to end the week, loving your outfit today Kevin!! Love from Spain ❤

I would like to add that at this point in time you don't need a dupe in terms of makeup There's so many products that do whatever you're looking for they aren't reinventing the wheel

"Peeling apart grilled cheese" is the greatest visual ever 😂

Love your hair style today Kevin!

Really fascinating topic for the episode. I have mixed feelings on dupes. On the one hand, it’s pretty gross and crappy to just blatantly copy other brands but on the other hand these “luxury” high end brands are so expensive that it keeps people from accessing the products. I wish brands would just try to be original at this point. You both are the best!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

You two are so iconic Ah, just so refreshing, kind, genuine, and fierce!

Revolution was technically the first brand to start the dupes that were kinda clearly dupes. I remember this happened with kvd shade & light palette & the too faced eyeshadow palettes. They clearly blew up with the shape tape dupe & they use to only be in ulta’s now they are in like every drugstore now even tho to me the quality has went down I do think it’s slowly going back up tho. Other drugstore brands starting taking notes & started doing similar things because dupe products were originally a thing by accident. People online would find dupes mostly for lip shades or eyeshadows but these brands to me are so lazy & copy & paste the same product in cheaper packaging & make the colors similar. I do think colourpop was also another dupe brand but I think again it was by accident & they also would put out other products not just making it about just being a dupe. Elf to me tho really pushed the duping culture for brands because they were (& still are) pushing out dupes & the packaging is actually pretty good quality & the dupes are like 70% true to the original products. I think it’s sad cause now these high end brands are making dupes / their own versions of products. Every brand has done a Dior pink type blush, every brand now has there own CT Flawless filter product. Every brand has a liquid blush (because of rare beauty) I mean it’s ridiculous. I have never seen so many brands copy & paste in my life, I understand formulas aren’t the same but like these brands don’t even try with packaging & some brands charge more than the original which to me is sad unless it’s like a designer brand because let’s be real they can kinda price whatever they want they know who’s gonna buy it.

I love how passionate you get for what you believe in...we need more of this ❤

Oooh, and another thing. As an interior designer, seeing dupes of actual design furniture does the same to me as this dupe makeup does for you guys. Like Vitra (the design brand) has continuous improvement and r&d for design furniture that's from the 50's and 60's, because they want to create timeless classics with modern, better and ecological materials. Seeing dupes from a Panton chair is not only dangerous, but it deteriorates quicker due to bad material (most of the time it's ABS that gets brittle due to UV, iso the fibre reinforced plastic they use in the original) and that so bad for the brand image of Vitra and the Panton design, because a unknowing person would immediately avoid it when they had a bad experience with a dupe chair. I hope I'm making sense 😅

OOOOH I’m so ready! It feels so gross to me that a company can piggyback off of the success of another brand. I’m All for affordability as well but at least try to come up with an original product. It’s just so lazy to me! And honestly, same goes to ELF (as much as I love some of their products). Absolutely adore you both 🩵🩵 your energies together bring me so much joy! Have a lovely week! Xoxo

We have charlotte tilbury and drunk elephant in Australia- we have Sephora but we also have Mecca (which is more popular than sephora here). Mecca is everywhere in Australia which have both DE and CT are available. We just dont have access to as many drug store brands America has and people just dont want to spend the money on CT and DE (which i understand because its very expensive here... Hollywood flawless filter is $70AUD). I think its the lack of access to great American drugstore brands that push people to buy Mco which is such a shame because people arent supporting brands being creative or innovative anymore and are just hopping on the virality of products and thats really lends to why brand arent bothering to push themselves and are just all doing lip oils version 1783.0 😢 its literally all linked and the industry is such a mess. Anyways, couldnt agree more with everything you guys said and truthfully absolutely obsessed with how transparent you guys are, keep doing what youre doing.

It’s hot outside here in Montana but being able to watch you two cool characters makes it better!!

I did a double take so fast with that 'Roger' voice 😂😂😂❤❤❤

The wonderful Erin Parsons just posted about fleshpot not being the same as the OG. I love that you were the first to call Mac out. Pioneers! Also love that you sang the "Name Game" brb going to go watch Jessica Lange now 💚💚

I am thoroughly enjoying listening to this!! As an Australian, I cannot even begin to explain to you how disappointed I am in this brand. I have just visited my local Big W (which is similar to Walmart in Australia) Big W is one of the biggest stockist of McoBeauty. I just walked passed the cosmetics section and all I could see was literally hundreds of pink MCoBeauty packaging all over the floor, opened boxes, smashed products and just a big cheap mess. Australians have access to all high end cosmetic brands such as Charlotte Tilbury etc etc, as well as drug store brands such as Elf, Rimmel, Revlon etc etc. we don’t have a hole in the market where MCOBeauty may fit. It’s the kind of brand that you’ll buy for your 10 year old niece because giving her drunk elephant is not a sound financial decision. The brand is horrendous. Morally inept by a greedy and out of touch CEO. I am completely disgusted that my country is associated with this brand. They are paying an exorbitant amount to influencers at the moment to get their products into the US market. It’s all lies! If you say anything negative about them on social media, you will get targeted by fake accounts disputing your opinions. They are the kind of products that will give you a skin reaction guaranteed. They don’t provide testers, you cannot return their products in Australia and they are almost permanently available for 50% off at your local grocery store. We have some wonderful Australian makeup brands that are not internationally renowned and they are amazing and so worthy of supporting. Please try MCoBeauty if you want a rash. Thank you. I just needed to get that out of my system.

Except for a wedding (bridesmaid so, professionally done) I have not worn makeup since I smeared black eye pencil over my face hoping for being close to my eye. I love the towel skits. I’m here because of the towels. I also adore your tutorials. New subscription gained.

I remember when huda released her easy bake powders, and it was talked about all over the Internet, how they were a rip off of someone else’s brand

In Australia we have this other brand normally in some chemist called Designer Brands and they always (over 12 years) made dupes to well known products. Different names, and packaging but influenced by others. Similar to when brands used to do knock off fragrances.

The best part of my Sundays! Love you guys! 💙💙

Sam’s club actually carries sol de Janeiro products. The 8 oz lotion is $38 instead of $48

I’m glad I came for the comedy and stayed for the critical thinking here in the beauty community 💕

Aussie here. I saw a MCo stand at our shops and thought it was weird. Anything that looks like a dupe that obvious usually has some icky things in it. Then the price made wonder is it good? Why are they copying … then never thought about it again til now

Hearing you guys talk about this, reminds me of the “Master Brush” copy lawsuit! It was close to that of Manni’s case of she has the original designs and time making it just for a brush company to copy it, but she had protection for the design. I forget the outcome tho. 😢 ik she had a really big problem of funding the lawsuit and talked about indie brands getting their designs stolen and not gaining anything from it..

I haven't tried benefits roller lash, but the lash n roll was disappointing. My lashes wouldn't keep the lift and curl and would drop not long after applying.

I love these convos ❤️ 1 Q: Do we think their wanting the outside packing to match the OG so much b/c the people that would be most likely to buy a dupe have never tried the OG product so they don’t even know what the formula is that they’re missing out on?? Like they’re getting the money from people under a false pretense anyway so they don’t have to make the inside/formula match anyway.

Wasn’t there an issue between beauty bakery and Huda back years ago and Beauty Bakery couldn’t fight back financially??

Thank you for talking about these things so openly and honestly. I not interested in copies (which is how I see M&co and Elf now).

I hear your argument, but let’s be clear, in Australia MCoBeauty is sold in supermarkets and BigW stores, not at makeup stores like Sephora, David Jones or Myers. And if we could buy the original we would, but we can’t. Drunk Elephant and Charlottes Tilbury is not available in Australia. I have used both dupes and I like them for what they are. Obviously they are not the same and the ingredients are definitely also not the same, but they are made for the Australian climate, and for the price it does what you would expect. Nothing more and nothing less. Also The big makeup stores are only located in major cities. This means over half the population is left buying Supermarket or chemist brands. May be if these high end brands made their product accessible in other countries these issues wouldn’t happen. Additionally, if these original products somehow available, my expectations would be so high, they better be sensational. Just saying.

you’re literally my comfort person i love you kislux !

I got a concussion yesterday (im pretty sure anyway, I cant afford a hospital bill, so I didnt go. I have all the symptoms except for one) and everything has been hilarious since then. I feel like this may not be the best video to watch before bed, when I watched the Welsh twins video earlier I cried from laughing so hard, and you guys make me laugh like they do🫶 If yall get a thousand notifications from me with a hundred laughing emojis, just know I've lost my mind😂😘

Looking forward to this all day. ❤❤❤❤

I truly apologize for gushing AGAIN, but I’m so happy that you two are here. Education and thought provoking content is paramount for me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This was so enlightening. Your opinions, your views. Priceless. Hugs from Chile.