A Rumble in Lipstick Land!

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First and foremost, I want to apologize for being away for a while.  I have been occupied with a busy work schedule and taking care of family issues.  For those of you who may know, my father is in the early stages of Alzheimers. Things have been good lately but some days are better than others.  I took my parents away on a little holiday to the beach for a few days and we all had a lovely time.

Nevertheless, I want to talk about the craziness that ensued regarding MAC Cosmetics' release of their "MAC By Request" collection.  Back in March, MAC had an open vote on their Facebook for customers to chose discontinued shades of lipstick, eyeshadow, and lipgloss.  Once the tallies were in, MAC debuted the winning three lipsticks, three eyeshadows, and three lipglosses. The shades were amazing for sure!  I really was pleased with the lipsticks.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/whats_new/9327/New-Collections/MAC-By-Request/index.tmpl

The collection was released exclusively online in three parts.  First the lipstick, the lipglosses (a few days later) and then the glosses (a week after the lipsticks).  Due to the buzz generated on various websites (ie Specktra.net), several people were 'site'stalking' the MAC online site in anticipation of the collections' release (especially the lipstick).  On Specktra.net, fellow MAC devotees stated how they stayed up all night waiting to get their hands on the coveted colors. I got up early on the first morning of the lipstick release and was able to order two "Moxie" lipsticks and one "Candy Yum Yum."

Once the lipsticks were made available for purchase, the real "feeding frenzy" began!  By mid-afternoon the first day, "Candy Yum Yum" was sold out. The next day, "Moxie" was gone too.  (MAC stated that once the colors were sold out, they would be gone for good).

The eBay auctions for the three lipsticks further intensified the flurry of buying activity.  Get this, these lipsticks were not even shipped to the sellers, and they were getting bids (even on the first morning the lipsticks were up for sale)!!  I saw one auction for "Moxie" with 7 bids and it was already up to $70.49 USD!  This was for ONE lipstick, girls! ONE!! MAC lipsticks normally retail for $15.00 USD and people were willing to shell out over 70.00 bucks.

Another ugly element to this makeup frenzy is how people were trying to buy 5  or even 8 of each shade! I called MAC customer service to place my order (my computer refused to work for a few days) and the MAC representative told me that MAC would reject any order that contained more than 4 lipsticks per color.  When I asked if multiple orders were common, the MAC rep said she had scores of customers calling to demand why their orders for 6 "Moxies" and 7 "Candy Yum Yum" were cancelled.  Now, I bought two Moxies but why would I need more than that?  I mean how quickly does one go through a lipstick?  I, for one, wear lipstick everyday, and I have colors I wear often (like Besame Red) but after nearly two years of having Besame Red, I still have quite a bit left.

I understand that these colors were limited edition but why do people go crazy when buying?  I am a self-confessed makeup nut but even I have my limits. Why buy scores of lipsticks that may or may not get used?  Why pay 70.00 dollars for a color (that's normally 15 USD bucks), even if it's "special?"  Now, my real question is: if MAC knew the draw this collection would have, why not make more available? Maybe it's the whole "supply and demand" aspect, I am not sure.

What do you girls think?  How do you feel about "limited edition" and/or special release makeup collections?  Do they warrant the buying frenzy and do they just encourage hoarding by customers?