Mac Cosmetics has launched on TikTok Shop this week. The Estée Lauder Companies-owned makeup brand already operates over 500 stores in over 120 countries, but this could be its biggest launch to date, as it connects with TikTok’s 1 billion monthly active users, and plugs into a booming world of beauty social commerce. One beauty product is sold every second on TikTok Shop in the UK alone.
The move comes at a challenging moment for Mac. At parent company ELC, the makeup category is experiencing a slowdown across Mac Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder and Too Faced, due to fierce competition and market saturation. In fiscal 2025, ELC makeup sales fell 5%, and in its second quarter of fiscal 2026, the category still faced headwinds, with sales down 1% on the previous quarter. The group detailed that the losses were due to “retail softness” at Mac Cosmetics and declines in Estée Lauder and Bobbi Brown’s face products, as well as declines in lip and eye products at Too Faced.
In response, Mac Cosmetics is rethinking its retail offering to meet modern consumers where they are. In March, the brand entered Sephora and online beauty retailer Cult Beauty, joining the likes of Charlotte Tilbury, Hourglass and Nars Cosmetics.
But its move to TikTok Shop is its most radical change yet. Now, alongside its competitors, Mac is up against viral young labels, like Wonderskin, Sacheu Beauty and Glow For It. US beauty retailer Ulta Beauty also joined TikTok Shop in March. “We’re going where our consumers are in a really bold and deliberate way. We want to go where the consumer is shopping and not necessarily where it’s comfortable for us,” says Sara Staniford, vice president and general manager of Mac Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown and Too Faced. “TikTok Shop has been evolving and this feels like the perfect time to join because people are really engaged now and understand what it is.”
Over 200,000 businesses are active on TikTok Shop in the UK and the beauty category has been growing by 60% year-on-since 2021, when the shopping feature was introduced. According to Emarketer, e-commerce sales are expected to reach over $28 billion by 2027. “Live shopping sessions within the beauty category have increased by 90% over the last year as more brands lean in to connect with customers in real time,” says Emily Caine, head of beauty at TikTok Shop. “That blend of entertainment, education and discovery is why beauty performs so strongly.”
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