It was back in 1984 that two Canadian men by the names of Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo came together and made an agreement to begin collaboration on a cosmetics business concept that Mr. Angelo had conceived of not too long earlier. Mr.Toskan was a well established makeup artist and fashion photographer and Mr. Angelo was the owner of a successful chain of hair salons, so they each had a wealth of knowledge to share on the subject.
MAC Is An Acronym for the Words Makeup Art Cosmetics
They decided on the name MAC, which is an acronym for the words “makeup art cosmetics” and they also decided early on to take a different direction with their products than all other conventional cosmetic companies they would be competing with. In short, they wanted to design and develop a line of products that would cater to the unique needs and requirements of professional makeup artists.
A Diverse Line That Could Stay Abreast of Rapidly Changing Trends
They also wanted a line that was diverse enough to keep up with the changing trends in fashion and makeup. Trends that seemed to be manifesting themselves at a quicker pace then in years past. Glam, goth, glitter etc. They had both witnessed how time and again, conventional cosmetic companies seemed to either ignore trend changes or attempted to adapt to them on the tail end, and they wanted to do things differently in this respect.
MAC Cosmetics Commitment To Important Social Causes
Hence; the almost uncountable variations in colors, shades and tones of so many of the products that MAC features. 160 different shades of lipstick and 150 shades of eye shadow are proof that MAC cosmetics has kept their original promise and accomplished that goal. Still another promise that the original founders made and have kept was that MAC cosmetics would get involved with and contribute to important social causes.
The MAC AIDS Fund Has Raised a Full $128 Million
This policy continues to this day even though the company was acquired by Estée Lauder in 1998. The MAC AIDs fund was established in 1994 and provides help and financial assistance to men, women and children living with AIDS. Its financed entirely by the sale of their Viva Glam products of which a full 100% of the sales revenues are directed to. Incredibly, as of 2008 the MAC AIDs fund has raised a full $128 million.