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.”
Mac Cosmetics’ move to widen its distribution is part of a larger operation in play at ELC. In February 2025, ELC president and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie introduced its Beauty Reimagined turnaround strategy, after several quarters of sales challenges. “We have a lot more work to do on makeup. And frankly, with all our teams around the world, we’re continuing to just improve things. Makeup requires more scale,” he told analysts in a recent earnings call, adding that the group will be “accelerating innovation” to resolve the issue in the makeup category.
On TikTok Shop, Mac Cosmetics will be broadcasting live from its stores with its full makeup and skincare range. In the UK, it will be using its Carnaby Street store as its main hub, with more locations set to follow. The live broadcast will be hosted by Mac Cosmetics artists featuring tutorials, demos, exclusive drops and early access to new launches. The brand is also giving all of its employees — across stores and headquarters — the opportunity to enroll into an employee affiliate program, where they can sell Mac Cosmetics products to their followers through a unique affiliate link that will earn them commission.
TikTok users with more than 500 followers will also be able to join the affiliate program. “It’s not just about the sales with TikTok Shop and that’s what everybody underestimates,” says Staniford, explaining that the reaction from Mac Cosmetics’ retailers has been positive as the platform is a driver for all those involved. “It will help us drive footfall into stores and that’s what the retailers have seen from brands that have already done it. We’ve already seen that happen with products that have gone viral on TikTok,” she added.
Mac Cosmetics is treating its launch onto TikTok Shop like American Idol. The brand opened a wide search for all its makeup artists to audition to become a host on TikTok and the handful that were successful were then provided with meticulous training. Mac Cosmetics wants to bring its store experiences to the small screens of consumers as a way of entertainment and converting viewers into consumers. A TikTok Shop live broadcast can last up to six hours. “It’s about making the artist front and center of it, but driving offline action too,” says Staniford, noting that one of the hosts is Vinton Gordon, who is in her 70s and is Mac Cosmetics’ longest-standing makeup artist.
A two-hour test live broadcast took place on TikTok Shop at the end of March to ease the hosts' nerves with a real live audience. TikTok had told Mac Cosmetics that a viewership of 100,000 would be a positive goalpost. The brand reached over half a million viewers by the end of the test and accumulated over 500,000 likes, 1 million impressions that overdelivered forecasts by 42%. Clicks to the live broadcast exceeded estimates by 107%. The audience that tuned in surprised Staniford. “We covered every audience and there was a huge range of older millennials and Gen Z. As expected, there was Gen Alpha and lurkers, people who consume a lot of content without posting themselves,” she says.
Mac Cosmetics has long relied on DTC and brick-and-mortar retail as its main platforms for driving sales, but as multi-brand retail demand softens, it’s important to explore new revenue streams. “We see a halo effect when brands are on TikTok Shop because it’s still a relatively new channel, not everybody necessarily trusts that as an engine to shop through,” says Staniford. “Over 50% of people who are being advertised to on TikTok will take an offline action.”
Mac Cosmetics will not be discounting its prices on TikTok Shop despite the platform’s reputation as a discount-heavy channel. The brand is adamant about its premium place in the market. On the live broadcasts on TikTok Shop, hosts will be given the freedom to create bundles based on makeup looks with special prices. “The bundles are value-driven and they speak to the consumer. Everything on TikTok Shop is artistry-driven and it’s not just for a discount,” says Staniford. The brand will also be highlighting the TikTok Shop bestsellers in its stores.
To stay connected with consumers, makeup brands need to speak to audiences through more than just products. In May 2025, Mac Cosmetics named Nicola Formichetti as its global creative director and has since tapped the likes of Kris Jenner, Doja Cat and Chappell Roan for campaigns. The brand is ramping up its efforts with influencers and its cohort of professional makeup artists. Staniford is confident it will bear fruit. “The TikTok strategy is about putting us back in the hands of the consumer, staying consistently relevant and being in the right conversations.”
