THE RISE & FALL OF MORPHE

The rise & fall of Morphe…

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ALSO WATCH:

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WHAT I’M WEARING:

Eyes: Natasha Denona Glam
Lips: A custom lip shade that I made at the Bite Lip Lab!
Earrings: Amazon

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TIME STAMPS:

0:00 intro
0:31 origin story & “morphe babes”
8:35 private labeling?
12:40 retail & e-commerce
14:50 palettes (good, bad & ugly)
20:27 the business side of things…
29:49 bankruptcy talks

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FAQ:

What is your skin type? Normal to dry
What editing software do you use? Wondershare Filmora
How old are you? 28

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[redrose]

I think the fact that Colourpop came along in the early days of the Morphe controversy with way more transparency, lots of releases, more curated colour palettes (even though they have so many repeats now) and were very affordable, meant they ended up filling that niche

[CaroleEvans]

I remember having difficulty getting MAC's 'soft brown' eyeshadow shade here in the UK. I watched Jaclyn Hill and she mentioned that one of the Morphe singles was a dupe for soft brown. I ordered it from the USA. It took ages to arrive. When it finally got here - I swatched it and it was just ok. When I tried to blend it out on my eyes - it blended to nothing! I couldn't understand why Jaclyn was promoting and promoting this brand when the products were just it was revealed that she was earning commission from them

[christyfielding]

Yeah I remember when Here For The Tea exposed the whole affiliate, codes thing. It was such a huge thing to realize we were being basically lied to to get us to buy stuff.

[arrianna]

I learned recently that it’s sometimes cheaper to buy brick & mortar/mall spaces and utilize the stock rooms instead of buying more warehouse space. You can use your staff at the locations to both sell product during the day and help package online orders. We used to do it at American Eagle and it makes sense.

[maeganmchugh]

I love these deep dives on brand history!

[LP-ctnk]

Learning that one half of the morphe duo was essentially a car salesman or worked in that industry def explains why morphe went about selling their products the way they did 💀

[anaos]

I love your industry deep dives and I've said it before, but I'll say it again... you're so good at them!! Your investigative abilities and how well you put the information together to tell a story is admirable! Idk how you haven't been hired to be an investigative journalist yet 🥰

[jennifergough]

The deep dive videos are some of my favorites! Sometimes I just want to hear about the makeup world without being tempted to buy more makeup 😂

[andreae.]

I have some morphe brushes and they're fine.
The reason why I don't like morphe, is that they came across as very shady after that Jaclyn Hill Vault "reformulation". And then, they stuck with Jeffrey Star for far too long after it became abundantly clear that he wasn't the most decent person; that was the final drop for me.
It's like they attract the very worst in the beauty community, and stick with them. I just cannot disassociate Morphe from crappy people. And tell me who your friends are...

[pryak]

Morphe always had a tacky vibe about them, same with the influencers promoting the brand. Their whole aesthetics never spoke to me and the quality of the few palettes I got to swatch over the years were not of good quality. More is not always more, and Morphe always had too much of everything going on.

[emmavargas]

I audibly shouted “YES!” When I read the title. So excited! Love these deep dives!

[tamarasparks]

All of Jaclyn Hill's debacles are etched in our memories. Including round 2 of her Morphe palette when they changed the formula.
I bought the Coke 1971 Morphe collab for the packaging and was surprised the shadows were better than their usual.

[browniepp]

Despite all the controversy, Morphe was really good at what they did and I have such an appreciation for their marketing strategy. They were probably one of the first to use influencer marketing to push their product. They set the tone for other brands to follow that pattern. Nowadays, with Colourpop, Indie Brands, and other brands that rely so heavily on social media and influencer marketing, Morphe kind of took a back seat, nonetheless they were pretty much a pioneer in this regard.

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[TaraLyz]

When you started this series, I was patiently waiting for this video! Can we PLEASE have a "Rise & Fall of JS" next? I stopped watching all of the "Morphe Babes" influencers once the JS downfall began in the late 2010's. I started watching Laura and Many again once I saw a shift change in how they viewed their influence on their audience, though I do so sparingly. I only just recently started watching Tati again, who I don't believe was ever a "Morphe Babe", but was friends with JC & JS heavily. I started watching her again because of the shift I saw in her with how she now seems to be viewing her own influence on her audience. Her, Laura & Manny may still promote spending money on products because it's their job still, but I'm hopeful that we will see them off setting that with declutters of make up that we KNOW they aren't using for a multitude of reasons.

[rachaelr]

The problem with going after Morphe for private labeling is that unless you have the capital to buy a factory, most brands formulate products by shopping around for manufacturers and testing the base formulations that the labs already make. Brands will usually add their own tweaks and different ingredients, as well as their own packaging, but without defending Morphe overall, it’s not correct for the beauty community to approach the brand as if they’re the only ones buying premade products from labs.

[pasta_girl]

As a marketing specialist (not in the beauty industry), I love these deep-dive videos on makeup/skincare companies with their business strategy and overall brand history 💜 ironically, even though I enjoy beauty consumerism and YT beauty, I feel "wrong" if I were to be the reason behind current beauty marketing. Great video! :)

[skateata]

Thinking back, I feel like it was Jacklyn Hill and Jefree Star that ruined it. You just can't shake the negativity those incidents brought to MORPHE

[morggylynn]

I know multiple people that won't buy morphe because they still associate with Jaclyn. Its true you reflect the company you keep 😂

[sophiebutterill]

I work for LVMH so I always find it so cool when our brands are mentioned! Looovee these types of videos Kelly, & happy happy birthday 🎉❤

[Christine-]

I have been watching beauty YT for so many years and I remember all of this. When all of the big influencers kept having these scandals, I started looking for small to mid sized beauty channels and really haven't looked back. The only one I am still subscribed to is Manny MUA because I truly enjoy watching him. The Morphe brand has and will likely always be mediocre at best. Truly, the first Jaclyn palette is about the only exception and of course they screwed that up later on by changing the formula when they relaunched it. That and I do love their setting spray. That is the only thing I still purchase because it is pretty unique and my fave.