MAC at Target; Real or Fake?

I’m sure many of you would of heard the recent talk regarding Target stocking MAC products in their stores at discount prices. While they have been on line for the majority of this year this is the first time they are hitting shelves, and can be found (albeit in limited quantity) in most stores.

MAC hardly ever discounts their products in their own stores or in David Jones so a lot of people have been pretty excited to see it come to market in a large chain at heavily discounted prices.

At those prices – around 40% of normal RRP why wouldn’t you get excited?

Well.. the answer is, because it is all a little bit sneaky!

Look again at the screenshot from the target website, MAC products right? Notice that there is absolutely no use of the MAC logo anywhere..?

Sara-May from Make Up Utopia got in touch with Target regarding the stock and their reply was

” We wish to advise that our MAC cosmetic range is certainly genuine. They were purchased from a supplier overseas, rather than directly from MAC in Australia. We can confirm that Target have sourced these products lawfully. We hope this information clarifies your query.” 

They have more recently stated on their facebook page

“Hi everyone. We’ve paid close attention to the feedback about Target’s MAC range on Facebook, Twitter and from bloggers. The MAC product Target sells is genuine and is sourced from a Melbourne-based supplier. Our supplier has imported this product on our behalf. Wholesalers in different countries can have different packaging which may explain why our MAC products look different to others you may have seen. We hope this clears up any confusion and encourage you to give us a call on 1800 814 788 if you’d like to discuss further.”

Dollhouse Makeup & Beauty managed to get a statement out of MAC  today (View her post on the issue here)

‘MAC products are only distributed for sale at our authorised retail store accounts, or at our free-standing stores. Products purchased at one of our authorised accounts are genuine MAC merchandise of recent production. In addition, consumers can feel confident when they are serviced by one of our trained representatives, who are familiar with our product line. Target is not one of our accounts, and we therefore have no way of knowing how they obtained our products.’

(my emphasis, not theirs)

I’m a little ashamed to admit that in my curiosity I purchased a MAC blush – would I do it again – Don’t think so..

I checked the batch number of the product

This product has a three digit batch number of A51 – to determine when it was made, you can see a guide here or use a site such as checkcosmetic.net/. This indicates the blush was made in May 2011, however the batch number print looks different to others that I’ve been before, so I am a little bit sceptical this is correct..

I have also contacted MAC regarding this and will update you if I hear back.

Here is a look at the “display” set up in Target

Notice again.. No logos at all?

This display certainly didn’t encourage me to shop (the store was the one in Warringah Mall if you’re wondering) and If I wanted anything else, I’d go to the MAC store in David Jones.

There were no testers for anything and it just felt weird buying from a Target store. But everyone has a different opinion, I will never buy from strawberrynet (here’s why) but I know a lot of people do and will continue to do so.

Ultimately, of course, it’s up to you so while I would encourage you to think about it a little before this is more about trying to help you make a more informed decision regardless of  the eventual outcome.

Will you buy MAC (or Bobbi Brown) from Target? Do you want to?

UPDATED: It appears all MAC products have been removed from the target online store – there are a couple of Bobbi Brown items but certainly not the range they had yesterday, it MAY of sold out but it’s more likely something they have been forced to do. Another blogger has also done a photo comparison of target products v MAC purchased products here.

Colourmatch with MAC

Early last week I visited the lovely ladies at MAC to get a colourmatch & purchase a new foundation. I’d actually been intending on doing this for a while, but my local MAC counter is always busy and you get little to no attention from the staff. I was in Chatswood Westfield – Myer and I was glad I ended up there to get this done because the lady helping me was such a sweetheart and very knowledgeable!

This was my first experience with MAC foundations, I’ve been using Rimmel & Bourjois lately but always had trouble finding the right shade, and they managed to match me perfectly at MAC.

I asked for something with medium-full coverage that was longlasting and was directed towards the Studio Sculpt range. (Apologies for the picture, something funny is going on with my camera!). They matched me with the NW20 shade which is the second fairest in the range (yes i’m quite pale..) and I can say I have never had a foundation match my skin so perfectly! It is also incredibly hydrating and as I have some problems with dry skin on and around my nose I don’t get that flakiness which I often do with other foundations.

I also got the pro longwear concealer which is great for spot concealing, as well as covering dark undereye circles.

The brush I purchased is the MAC 168, which I’ve heard good things about before as a great allrounder brush. This is also the first MAC brush I’ve used and i’m finding it really does help in applying both the foundation and concealer. The foundation especially as it needs to be applied quite quickly otherwise it tends to sit ontop of the skin and not blend quite so well.

Overall my MAC experience so far has been fantastic, and the foundation really is long lasting. I would highly recommend going to a counter to get colourmatched if you, like me, have trouble finding your perfect shade.

Studio Sculpt SPF15 retails for AU$52 and the 168 Brush retails for $65.

Have you been colourmatched by MAC? Or are you able to find your perfect shade with drug store brands?