This BIG BRAND is scamming their customers! | Mecca Max

[@shars85]

Mecca has an absolute monopoly on the Australian market. They have location blocks on a number of brands so they can out price certain brands vs their own. 😢

[@justilou1]

Not really. We have Sephora too.

[@lizzi7128]

Same for New Zealand. Absolute domination

[@TracyD2]

What’s a location block?

[@KharonDeLune_vtb]

​@TracyD2 They prevent other stores in the same industry from being nearby. Doesn't seem to be in effect in WA because they're literally a 50 metre walk from a Sephora and barely any further from a W Cosmetics (Korean, Chinese and Japanese beauty) within a centre. Nonetheless I absolutely believe that there are location blocks in Queensland, Victoria and NSW

[@AnUrbanGypsy]

@@TracyD2- It means we can’t buy certain brands from overseas and have them shipped to Australia. If we try to ‘add to cart’ it will say ‘this item isn’t available for purchase in your country’. Those brands can only be bought in Australia and oooh, look at that… only supplier is Mecca.

[@baronessboomer3865]

And, just to add to the shame, think of all the additional waste in the landfills. 4 plastic powder containers vs. just one. Disgusting.

[@stacieface7427]

Ooh good catch!

[@Glammums]

Hi, Aussie here, Julie is 100% right. Another thing I have told my followers is to check the Mecca & Sephora prices of products against the price if you buy direct from the brand. Buying at Sephora & Mecca can be up to an additional $20 for said product. Sometimes it’s the same but often no. Buyer be ware - shop smart beautiful people. Xx

[@SigynRegn]

Thank you for the informatiom and cheers from Poland ❤.

[@KharonDeLune_vtb]

Sometimes it's just enough to cover the shipping difference, but it's absolutely worth having your phone out to compare prices everywhere.

[@CandeeseNotCandiss]

except Mecca make it impossible with their exclusively contracts to buy direct from the brand.. but yes great idea. brand DTC is always best, brand makes more profit, brands actually do sales, discounts, GWPs etc - Mecca do not.

[@cmaden78]

This is also known as "pricing out" the poor or middle class 🤬🫤

[@verityv5284]

Thanks for letting us know.. there are brands where physical stores or even online stores that are not available in my country otherwise... Guess I will stick to sellers with good rating from online shopping platform that sell overseas products

[@rebecca5379]

maybe it’s just because my dad ingrained this in me as I was growing up but I ALWAYS consider price per unit for anything I buy whether it’s food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, etc. this is actually a huge thing with brands like elf too. the initial cost is cheaper but it’s almost always less product making the price per unit actually higher. I guess I don’t expect everyone to run the comparison math when they shop but I didn’t know this was a secret lol

[@Lizzypoohxo]

Yeah, I used to love going to the grocery and hardware stores with my dad on the weekends. Same thing, he'd always point out the price per ounce, unit, etc. I'll even do some quick math to figure it out if it's not on the tag 😂. I love numbers so it's really fun for me plus I've saved tons of $ doing it.

[@Siyanibingelela]

I agree with this, but also make sure when you’re buying products you note its expiry. If it’s a big container and there’s no way you’ll make it to pan before it expires, think twice. I’d rather hit pan before I toss expired product.

[@LJL-4377]

This is such a non-story lol like its common sense? I always check. How do people live to adult age completely oblivious to the most basic stuff and need some girl on TikTok to tell them, then act like its some huge revelation 😅

[@duchess_of_petty9323]

@@LJL-4377 common sense really isn’t that common

[@Lizzypoohxo]

@LJL-4377 common sense is less common that you may think it is 🤣 I know plenty of people that just buy the cheaper price not realizing they're getting a very small amount compared to a different brand or quantity.

[@ezzmay2000]

Aussie here Mecca is a megalith here in Oz. Not only do they price gouge but they never ever ever have sales. I’ve made the switch to Sephora a long time ago even though I had to say goodbye to some brands I really like 😢

[@Silvermouse27]

Amen! After being a loyal customer of Mecca for a decade (I was there before beauty loop was a thing) I was dumped from tier 3 to tier 1 last year. Whereas I’m Sephora gold. So a clear sign I’ve switched, like you have, due to Mecca’s dodgy practices

[@gummibearvodka]

Same here across the ditch. I'm happy that Sephora entered the Kiwi market actually, with physical stores. Although there are some brands that are exclusive to MECCA still.

[@hmm701]

​@Silvermouse27 The sad thing is Sephora no longer gives 25% to gold members during sales!!!!! So I've dropped from Gold to Black..... And Mecca!!!!!!! Don't get me started...... bought hourglass face palette from cult beauty.... Mecca took forever to get and sold out within hours😂😢

[@Glamwith_zee]

OMG I despise Mecca too! I have also switched to Sephora!

[@lizzies6787]

Sephora ANZ is also going the same path as Mecca, by signing exclusivity agreements with brands. Sigma no longer ships to ANZ customers from their own websites. Sephora although better than Mecca also do not have great sales and no where near the "deals" that the brand themselves have.

[@lisapoulsen5452]

She explained this so well and had no “pick Sephora instead” tone to it…she is legitimately pissed off and wants to let people know. James did show the 50 cent face portion of this…I didn’t know she had already called them out for their shady pricing!!

[@sammybang]

Yea! She was very factual not like turning to Sephora or another brand in those instances. She hear sounded well inform.

[@AngelaSmith_1970]

James?

[@Kalleesto]

@@AngelaSmith_1970They are not the same person!

[@lisapoulsen5452]

@ Robert’s twin brother is James…he discussed it on his channel

[@avic666]

Completely agree. Being this passionate about the cosmetics industry; you'd expect her to have a career within makeup and that so happens to be with Sephora. The tone I'm getting is it's coming from a place from genuine concern and frustration within her industry. She mentioned she works for Sephora just to cover her own back incase of people trying to find 'cracks in her story' but at the end of the day like you said there's no " Run don't walk to Sephora we do everything right!!". It's just pure annoyance at how almost predatory a cosmetics brand can be on individuals facing the cost of living crisis. No matter which way you look at it, that's morally wrong.

[@leam.9998]

In Germany things like beauty products or food always have to say how much it is per 1kg, 1 liter etc. It safes you so much time comparing prices.

[@hashtagmate]

Für mich ist das so common sense auf das gewicht und den preis zu schauen, scheint wohl nicht üblich zu sein in englischsprachigen ländern 💀

[@owcaznadmorza]

Same in Poland. I through it is an EU norm 😮

[@fa.ben-beauty1621]

Ist in ganz Europa der Fall nicht lebe in Frankreich und hier ist das genauso 😊

[@belle.m]

Yes, that applies in Australia too. But I think the point is that Mecca products don’t give you options on your sizes. They only have one size.

[@Jana-gz9ho]

@@belle.m as someone who used to live in Germany and now lives in Australia: no it doesn't apply in the same way. Yes, supermarkets have the price per 100g or 1kg on their price tags but Mecca and Sephora do not. They may say this product contains x amount of grams but then do not do the breakdown for you. For example Sephora AU is listing the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Blush 7.5g for $45.00 while on the Sephora Germany page the price for the same product is listed as follows: 27,95€ (3.726,67€ / 1L). This would make what Mecca does way more trasnparent for consumers.

[@pearlite6243]

I'm an Aussie, and I have gripes with both Mecca and Sephora Australia. I prefer to buy from Adore Beauty or Kbeauty stores like Lila Beauty these days.

[@pearlite6243]

Or Priceline / Chemist Warehouse if they have what I'm looking for

[@hmm701]

I'm 💯% with you..... I love Adore Beauty that you can stack codes❤ and lilabeauty is also one of my faves, l'm constantly buying from there.❤❤❤❤

[@phunk8607]

yep. same, love all those kbeauty stores...

[@shoobeedoowah5452]

Yes - Adore Beauty is great for online sales & discounts! I hope they can get more brands in the future too.

[@elledejong5308]

Cult beauty also ships to Aus❤

[@spring121]

this is the classic “it’s expensive to be poor” thing. when you can’t afford higher quality/higher priced items, you end up with cheaper quality items, you have to replace them more frequently, and they are less sustainable overall. you actually end up spending *more* money. and the brutal part is, even if you know this, there often isn’t any way to prevent falling into this trip. many people just can’t afford to spend that much money (in this case, $60+) on one product. this is how the cycle of poverty continues 😢

[@EnvyBlu]

Exactly! It HARD to climb out of poverty once you’re in a family that’s been in poverty for generations. Most people in poverty can’t even afford to go to college to GET OUT of poverty so the cycle continues and continues

[@Chelseabee55]

My ex used to get mad at me for going to the dollar store and paying $1 for 4 rolls of toilet paper when the mega pack worked out to half the price. But I didn’t have the money for the big one so none of cat mattered

[@mirandacoulter888]

Terry Pratchett describes this very well in his “Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ Theory of Economic Unfairness”

[@Honeyin2013]

It really is disappointing how brands take advantage of that and market their “lower” prices when they could just make multiple sizes of a product for the same (or close) cost per gram

[@becasaurus1563]

This is the most ridiculous thing I've read. No-one experiencing genuine poverty is going to be spending money on Mecca makeup.

[@AllieWaltzing]

I’m genuinely so sick of the Australian makeup market. It’s just filled with questionable brands and garbage products. And many major online retailers from overseas cost an arm and a leg to order from if they actually have the brands you want. It’s a genuine struggle.

[@liss441]

Yep and always get stuff too late or never in Australia like overseas

[@AllieWaltzing]

@ Yess!! Every brand is like a year or two behind, if they get a collection at all! 😭

[@alexandraclavijo8149]

Buy asian beauty products. I stopped using western makeup like 2 years ago and I don't missed it at all. Plenty of Asians stores in the CBD to choose from (at least in Melb and Syd)😵‍💫.

[@apricotjam1692]

​@@alexandraclavijo8149 any rec for stores in Sydney?

[@stratosphere94]

​@@alexandraclavijo8149unfortunately not an option for everyone. Altho I love Asian beauty, they don't have very much range in skin tones

[@dkeinow]

Robert, it's not about men wearing makeup but 17:30 comes across as "let us mansplain it to you women because women don't understand math and science"

[@teri2466]

That's how I take it, too. 🫤

[@helisalmiakki]

Yeah. That was the vibe of the ad

[@taciaronning]

On top of that, they made it look like the math was entirely to complicated for the average consumer to understand with all that computing nonsense to further drive home the point that Jillie was making about not wanting their customers to “look behind the curtain” It was very much a “nothing to see here ladies!🤭 Just trust us to do the math for you!🙂‍↕️” kind of ad

[@odettavonkasek358]

It reads that way to me too

[@ajfuller83]

This, 100%. There's a blatant unconscious bias across pretty much everything in the world that that men are "smarter" than women, especially in math and science. If you aren't aware of it as a woman, it's super easy to not even realize when you fall for it too. I'm glad your comment is one of the top of my comment feed - you are absolutely spot on!

[@missvalntinee]

as an aussie i can confirm despite conversion it isn’t affordable :’) that’s a lot of money.

[@meremeth]

Honestly.. if you want affordable you go to chemist warehouse. No one is looking for affordable in Mecca anyway

[@thatsfunny2051]

Oh for sure! I've been unemployed for a year so I haven't been shopping at Mecca lately, and I had forgotten just how exxy it is there! I've been sticking to Chemist Warehouse and Priceline

[@laur83]

especially when drugstore makeup is also available

[@stratosphere94]

​@@meremeth Chemist warehouse has very shady business practices

[@bernicemakeupartist8257]

@@thatsfunny2051 if you havent been in a year, you will be hard up SHOOK at how much more expensive it is... its f*cked up...

[@arynphillips5888]

This is insane. Robert, I'd love to see you do a makeup look with these "exact measurements", but the rule is you stop when the product runs out. So like if you only get one cheek of foundation, two spots concealed, half an eye shadowed, and 3 lashes mascara'd, too bad stop there!

[@Susies-art]

Oh, please do this! It's such a good idea 💡

[@sarahgarlick4753]

@@Susies-artYes!! Mecca would be mortified.

[@trin80]

Oh this would be so good!! I hope he sees this!

[@jeansalvatore6143]

i love this

[@kasm_nME]

He should do this with James on their twin's channel😂 That coupled with Marcus' subtitles will be fantastic👏

[@ValhallaCupcake]

As someone who worked in analytics, I guarantee that the 'experts' are a team of analysts who, when they presented the data to their bosses, were told it was too expensive and to get that 'cost per wear' under a dollar. Some sales exec or marketing head decided the 'cost per wear' value and had the 'experts' make the numbers fit it AFTER.

[@solsthrash2603]

That is also what I assumed, they first came up with the "head line" 50c per face and then reverse engineered the numbers 🥴

[@gasparinha]

They must really be pushing that cream blush, since it was more expensive per use for an unmeasurable amount. I'd imagine a powder blush would be cheaper and have more product - and cost significantly less per use! 🧐

[@kaid2025]

The craziest thing is a dollar per face would still be impressive and could be more realistic. But no...

[@hausacat]

This is how many experts operate. And not just in the cosmetics field. The term "expert" is there to bamboozle the populace.

[@TallulahFoxxx]

@@kaid2025the reason is from a marketing standpoint: The Fifty Cent Face. It’s alliteration, it’s catchy. The Dollar Face doesn’t sound great so I agree with the original commenter: the campaign slogan was thought up first, in a boardroom, and they just expected the analysts to “work it out” and find products to twist, bend and blur into fitting the parameters.

[@GabbyJibblit]

Thank you for calling this out Robert! Unfortunately this is not even close to the worst thing Mecca does. They’re such a dodgy, greedy company who have a monopoly on Aussie and Kiwi consumers

[@valeriewilliams6294]

exactly and i buy from others in USA , if Mecca was the only makeup company around ,I would go without makeup

[@alexandraburgos8748]

How are they dodgy?

[@rubydoo3307]

I don’t know why Sephora isn’t trying harder to give them competition. We have barely any Sephora stores and a billion Mecca stores. If there was competition Mecca higher ups might change things.

[@brookef2368]

​​@@rubydoo3307 it must be because Mecca already had the contracts with a lot of these brands. Sephora took forever to come here. A lot of the Mecca brands are sold in Sephora overseas.

[@maddyc2412]

​@@alexandraburgos8748watch the video 😅

[@nikitanewman2401]

Finally! Someone talking about the SCOURGE that is Mecca. Australians have suffered under their shady business practices long enough!

[@annemurray99]

When she pulled out the syringe to measure 👏👏👏 I love that she went there. Sometimes a mini or smaller product makes sense but it should be transparent that you are making that choice and not being deceived because the product "looks the same" at a lower price point. I know at the grocery store here they show the price per gram on the price tags - they should do that in beauty stores too!

[@rachelamber3227]

stuff like this has me TRAINED and ready to check the grams and ounces in a product to weigh out what’s a better deal. And yeah, often times it’s a better deal to buy a more quality product that has a ton more product. This depends on a lot of things and may not always be true. But in these case it definitely is.

[@Siyanibingelela]

Yes but be sure to check expiry in products. Depending on the product I’d rather hit pan then throw something out because it’s expired.

[@whatever3145]

Okay but alot of people are poor and there is no option there. I'm buying the cheapest one, period. Bc that's all the money I have. Costs more to be poor. Obviously.

[@lostgiirl]

@@whatever3145i think the point is it's better to save up for better products with more longevity?

[@KateKatastrophe]

We do it with our food, so why not our body and face products.

[@jody4946]

They absolutely would have come up with the phrase "50c Face" first and then made the numbers work because it sounded good.

[@obnoxiouspurring]

yes thats right. There hasn't been 50c anything in forever. I think a potato cake when i was in high school went from 55C to a dollar while i was there. (90s)

[@court6389]

the other controversy is probably that majority of their boxing day sale ended up being expired products, i saw an hourglass product someone received that was manufactured nearly 6 years ago!!

[@katechipata9934]

😮😮😮

[@barbthegreat586]

It probably wasn't expired though, especially because it wasn't opened (at least I hope). I also came across years old products being sold. It just shows that their 'expiration date' is rather a marketing trick to throw away perfectly fine products and buy new ones.

[@court6389]

@@barbthegreat586 of course it wasn’t opened, but Mecca notoriously doesn’t do sales and when they do, it’s just to get rid of really old stock. Their customers deserve more than that

[@GabbyJibblit]

@@barbthegreat586plenty of people received non-powder products that were expired and mouldy. It’s well known that Mecca uses their once a year “sale” to offload old products

[@hanav1764]

I’ve seen several photos of several different products covered in mould (all posted by different people) in the Australian Makeup Subreddit after the Boxing Day sale. They also sell ‘clean beauty’ makeup in that sale, and those have no preservative system, so they go off SO much quicker. They could severely hurt someone doing that, from exposure to the mould, fungi and bacteria etc - like it could literally turn someone blind, and worst case.. it could actually ķìII someone. (Excuse the foreign letters for that word lol; don’t wanna get my comment removed)

[@lyndatewell4604]

"It's 2025; men wearing makeup is the least of your worries.." OMG, Robert, you are so funny! And so true! I loved breaking down the math(s) on this stuff. I am not familiar with this brand as I live in the US, but I appreciate the analysis that went into this.

[@rayacarr2354]

But the brow on the left absolutely DOES and SHOULD! Lol

[@oracal1]

It wasn’t a criticism of men wearing makeup. If he was applying the makeup it would have been better. It was that it is mostly women that buy/consume beauty products and we needed a “man” to work out the maths/science for us.

[@Stephanie-hq6py]

True, but after they did it wrong, I am glad they used a man for their Campain 😂

[@deniseschnurr1765]

​@@Stephanie-hq6py LOL. This is such a good point. The one case subtle misogyny worked out well.

[@rawwwren13]

I'm entirely unsurprised they tried this to be honest. I went to an interview they were holding and a lot of the content was revolving around women particularly straight cisgender women in the millennial/ gen x bracket despite the interview being open to anyone. The oppressed/minority groups felt REALLY tokenised as a presence particularly when they in this open interview with a lot of people made a point of bragging as if it were novel at a openly gay man who was attending in full makeup, they also did this with a trans woman later on but not as centred just a passing head nod after she told them how important it was that she had this opportunity as makeup was her pathway to finding acceptance in herself. It really left a bad impression as a member of that community. Felt really condescending. So yeah totally not shocked at the comphet tone of it all.

[@chairslatte]

another thing mecca does is lock-in contracts with brands which at the time they opened in 1997, it made sense to. no other big retailer store was coming to australia that would stock all of those brands. because of the exclusivity, they NEVERR have sales. i know in the states that Ulta and Sephora sell the same brands so they can have sales to be more competitive but Mecca and Sephora don't stock the same brands however, Sephora still does sales. yeah so not only are we getting scammed by mecca's products, they're also blocking any other stores from selling the same brands which sucks because mecca doesn't even sell the full line!!

[@Giannas1096]

I absolutely abhor Mecca.

[@KFennnny]

As an American I’ve never seen this creator before but I love her! So concise and funny, instantly feel so comfortable watching her

[@kr0wn.aSSaSSin]

As an Aussie, never seen her before either.

[@maxhall2086]

In food production a lot of jars and bottles have concave bottoms now, so they can reduce the amount of product without it being obvious when you take the item off the shelf. All round sneakiness from retailers.

[@Atlantis95]

Pretty sure it's an engineering thing, square edges are a weak point and stacking would be a nightmare since everything would need to be perfectly flat. So most likely it's a cost effective thing since you would have less breakage during transport and handling

[@alwaystakemarktwainsadvice4269]

They’ve always been that way

[@justalittleturtle5600]

Wasn't there an expose on the concave getting deeper and deeper over the years without any real reason though? It's 100% easily believable that companies are pulling sneaky shit to save money and rip people off.

[@EnvyBlu]

Shrink-flation is so real right now. So many companies are making their packaging small, and their products much smaller. I bought a box of granola bars a few weeks ago, and me and my teen daughter were stunned at how small they were out of the packaging 😮. They fit in the palm of my daughter’s hand. They are teeeeeeny tiny. Governments need to get a handle on all this greed in the market

[@kodasweet8425]

They still have the measurable amount inside them labeled on the packaging,so you pay for that amount plus the jars have always had a concaved bottom... Even coke bottles back when they used to be glass in the 1980s

[@emilylerman9028]

a lot of brands do this. if you calculated price per oz for a lot of drugstore products, they’d be comparable to luxury prices.

[@retrogradepink]

Yes! I notice I go through drugstore products much more quickly. The bright side is that I actually finish products in a timely fashion and don't risk it expiring.

[@AmatooMoo]

Australians are big on saving $ per g/kg/L so this is a big deal. Our grocery stores have is mandated that all food products have a small text stating its price per 100g or 100 wipes etc I’ve seen a big push for all items to have some sort of label stating this.

[@bernicemakeupartist8257]

apparently the rest of the world were already doing that labelling.. sounds like australia is a bit behind doing that.. but glad its finally here.

[@sum1rllyspecial]

Be careful tho, I bought better branded hand wipes because the price per wipe was better, but the wipes were half the size as normal. I was pretty bloody annoyed. Not buying that brand again.

[@kellymichaels3568]

Australian commenting here… I was recently shocked recently, at how many folk buy, HEAVILY dependent on price!! They don’t even factor in the cost per gram/per litre/etc. So no bloody wonder companies like Woolies (Woolworths), Mecca, Bunnings, etc are making MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR profits, whilst we cry poor!. C’mon people…!! Let’s stop this nonsense. And thank you Robert 👏👏👏

[@Kizzabell]

At Woolworths they have to put the price per gram on the price label. I always look at that. I wish beauty products were required to do that too

[@lizzies6787]

These are all great points, regarding the suggestions that Australians and New Zealand customers to buy online from brands directly however the issue is that in ANZ customers cannot access the brand themselves (websites) as they will not ship to ANZ, as many brands have signed exclusivity agreements with Mecca. This means that these brands cannot sell their own products directly to ANZ customers. Mecca even took Hourglass to court because they sold to Australian customers directly from their own (Hourglass) website. The reason why people feel upset at this is because Mecca never offer sales and at times sell above the RRP. This is shady behaviour all round and remember these brands agreed to exclusivity in the first instance with Mecca, so shame on them as well.

[@EnvyBlu]

That is awfull. Citizens need to get together and file a class action lawsuit on Mecca for monopolizing the makeup industry in Australia. They can’t legally do that. It’s about time the public puts a stop to it

[@kathydurow6814]

​@EnvyBlu Monopolies & oligopolies are a thing here, unfortunately. Maybe the ACCC might do something; maybe not. The other problem with getting products from overseas is that often the shipping costs more than the product, especially post-covid. For example, I used to quite like EM Cosmetics (not stocked in Australia) but don't buy it simply because of the freight.

[@shoobeedoowah5452]

You & Wayne Goss are my fav MUAs on YT! No nonsense, no following hideous trends & using CLASSICAL AESTHETICS! Love from Australia! 🇦🇺

[@felinemoonchild]

Hello, Robert and everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! 💜 ETA: Except Mecca. I hope they're sitting in the corner thinking about what they've done.

[@_Sakina_1]

That is so sweet❤, I hope you have a great and wonderful day/week too 💕✨️

[@whelkpeopleofdoom]

Thank you :)! Hope you are as well 💜

[@dinasilva9263]

Thank you, i hope the same for you.

[@alicialynette]

Have a great one💜💜

[@vanessarayfox]

I'm an American... so I've been better. But your comment did make my day a bit brighter!

[@yoweemma]

Omg I'm so glad you're talking about this. I bought a bunch of makeup in their boxing day sale and it was OLD. I reached out to some of the brands to ask for production dates. Some of the manufacturing dates came back nearly 3 years old!!

[@SigynRegn]

4:50 tbh 0,08 g is also ridiculous. That's why i buy traditional eye pencils made with wood. Look up grams on those. I recommend them especially if you use pencil only on water line or beneath the eye in general. There's just no point imo to pay more gor the plastic ones (less ecological) that have less factual product in them.

[@xamyx725]

If I’m going to use it on my waterline, I prefer a retractable pencil due to the risk of the product being contaminated by wood shavings… Also, I find gel formulas to wear better, and tend to be more pigmented, so I never end up reaching for the traditional wooden pencils, which ends up going to waste…

[@tiny6205]

Yeah eyebrow I agree on but for eyeliner I stick to plastic retractable mostly because I use them so infrequently that I can justify it

[@AnUrbanGypsy]

Adore Beauty, a Melbourne online store is great… and you get a TimTam with your order 😊. Mecca was great in the early days of small stores, it was our version of Space NK - though that’s probably changed too. Everything was carefully curated with great products that weren’t available elsewhere in Australia and buying from overseas was virtually impossible, nobody shipped here back then. About 10 years ago something changed and many beauty products began disappearing from our department stores only to turn up 6 months later in Mecca alone. In addition, the past 3-5 years have now seen Mecca restrict several brands shipping from overseas to Australia leaving them as the only place to buy. Their greed may come back to bite them on the bum someday.

[@noodles5004]

Didn’t realise they were based in Melbourne! Love ADORE beauty they are fantastic and are getting more and more products. I think it’s contracts with particular companies so if Sephora and Mecca are making all the money the companies will keep the contracts with them. If we don’t give them our Monopoly money they won’t the Monopoly over us. They must have struck a deal at some point with a Myer department store framework in mind but marketed to young women and it was available online.

[@joshmarsland]

I wouldn't be surprised if shiseido and kiehls are an example of brands locked into some sort of exclusivity contract with mecca after vanishing from department stores. Although Kiehls have a few stand alone stores depending what part of oz you're in. Also, I swear every time I purchase something in mecca and it's beauty loop time it's like "oh well none left"...not sure what the point of having a rewards system is if you can't follow through with it 😆

[@rosg3893]

@@noodles5004they are no longer based in Melbourne, they moved to Sydney

[@sabrinam2280]

This!!! When I worked at Sephora in college I would discourage people from buying the cheaper/minis all the time, not worth it! I always go by the price per gram/use.

[@Nebhet]

Even at the grocery store I use that method it's the best way to go.

[@katechipata9934]

I like the mini mascaras because I get to try without spending too much, and it lasts long because I don’t wear mascara 7 days a week…

[@katechipata9934]

@sabrinam2280 Do you recommend any of the Sephora Collection products?

[@kennedystarr8094]

@@katechipata9934I do the same thing. I like to try different ones and get the minis so I’m not out a bunch of money.

[@NikitaHunt]

⁠@@katechipata9934I prefer minis too. I probably wear makeup 7 times a year so small is better for me. Generally prefer minis in all cosmetics cause I hate waste and minis are so cute ❤

[@arualblues_zero]

Yes, men wear makeup, but... I get the strong feeling that they chose a man (who doesn't look like he's wearing much of anything, but that's unimportant) because men are stereotypically the ones who are good at maths. I think that's what bothers me about that.

[@judymcdougall]

I love a good call out on shady business. I think an even more deeper dive will reveal so much more. People like this are so greedy they just can’t stop themselves from wanting more 🥶♥️

[@Amilovesperfume]

Aussie here! She is definitely not talking 💩 Not to mention Mecca sent me completely EXPIRED/USED and OFF products that I purchased in their sale! I even did an unboxing video where I was so shocked when I discovered mould yes MOULD on my Kosas blushes 😳 After my video I discovered that 23 products were unusable and I had to get a refund on!

[@ACAC-ll5jh]

Thats shocking!!!

[@KPolinger]

Dollar stores here in the US are notorious for offering “lower prices” on smaller versions of things like soap, paper products, etc. for less money. Of course it ends up being more expensive in the end. It’s sickening. 😢

[@mackenziekita9920]

Yeah, especially dollar tree w/ LA Colors brand. I noticed it’s only bc they sell in a smaller amount, not necessarily by it being cheaper per Fl oz

[@SynicalSam17]

Poverty tax! This affects so many things, if you can't afford the upfront cost of better quality / value items, you end up paying so much more in the long run having to replace so often 😠😥

[@foolsgo1d]

The way this has gone international!! Shoutout to our queen Jill for bringing this to light 👑

[@jurrassitol15]

I am so glad that I’m slowly switching all my products from brands that Mecca retails to more affordable ones (namely Japanese and Korean)…they unfortunately have a monopoly here and are convenient if you need something quickly…but I’m definitely going to be checking the cost of the “cheap” one versus the “expensive” one!

[@kr0wn.aSSaSSin]

Yeah! I switched to Korean & Japanese skincare about 5yrs+ ago. I used to spend $1,500 /6mos on skincare alone at Mecca/Sephora, for almost nothing. I now only spend $200-350 /12mos at Stylevana and I get triple the products. And as my makeup look is so much more natural now too, drugstore liquid liner, brow pencil & tinted moisturiser, cream blush etc is just from Priceline or drug store. I have saved a serious killing by not buying from Mecca & Sephora anymore.

[@vapiddreamscape]

out here begging influencers to stop citing chatgpt and especially to stop having it be their calculator. its worse at math than you think it is

[@CNoT-p1q]

It’s basic high school (more likely middle school) algebra. If a person can’t figure out price per ounce or something similar using a calculator on their phone, there’s something wrong.

[@geniej2378]

Preach! Hate when people cite ChatGPT as a search engine or calculator

[@elleisonyoutube]

Well she said “I did the maths and so did chatGPT” which implies that she did, in fact, do the maths herself and maybe just wanted to confirm that what she came up with was correct…

[@3verlastinglove]

It might’ve been to help convert it. We use mL and grams here but the products are almost always as oz.

[@vapiddreamscape]

@elleisonyoutube maybe they e improved its math capabilities. I'm just a tired freshman composition instructor

[@kelseykmua]

As a consumer, I always look at the cost per gram.

[@scorpion-lg4ic]

Not surprised by this at all. I think just about every manufacturer of goods does this. No one has noticed food prices going up but the product amount inside has decreased?? This is rampant in the USA. I bought power bars & the price had increased by a dollar but instead of the 8 bars you used to get now there are 6. Same with some spaghetti sauce i used to buy .. price increased but the ounces in the jar decreased

[@barbthegreat586]

It's been rampant everywhere since 2008. They also grossly reduced quality with inferior materials and ingredients (strategy for us plebs). The prices don't seem to rise that much (until recently) but we get massively shafted.

[@charmayne161]

Shrinkflation is real.

[@charmayne161]

​@@barbthegreat586 They deliberately reduce quality so we'll buy again - that's why we don't have the repair shops that we used to. Companies save money by making cheap quality items & make more money because we buy again when those items break. That's a world defined by greed for you.

[@amyed3415]

I find it amusing in a way because some products will literally not be able to shrink anymore pretty soon because there will literally be nothing left. What annoys me the most is the “now tastes better”. Which usually means they are using cheaper ingredients and tastes much worse now.

[@bettylehmann2351]

Yes it happens with everything.

[@tiffanywilliams7763]

Getting evicted & just sat down. Going to move the rest of our stuff tomorrow. Glad that you remain a constant in my life Robert

[@EnvyBlu]

I’m sorry you’re being evicted. I’ve been there years ago, and it sucks for sure. It’s an awful, humiliating experience. 😢 I know it may not seem like it now, but things will get better and eventually this will all be in the past 🙏🏼

[@bluecobaltsteph2689]

😢😢❤

[@mackenziekita9920]

😢😢😢

[@mbcunningham29]

I just want to say that you are my absolute favorite person to watch on KZbin

[@sarahgarlick4753]

Same. I got an actual dopamine rush when I realised you were covering a story at our end of the earth (I’m Kiwi not Aussie but still made my day). Thank you for being You Robert!!!

[@TheIndustryOfCool]

her commitment to the truth is what I'm living for!

[@keisha6937]

This is so real! I bought some mecca concealer on a trip and noticed it ran out so much faster than any other concealer.

[@blubeel]

this happens often for the “more affordable” product in more industries than just makeup, the cheaper option is also usually poorer quality, causing you to replace it more often when it inevitably runs out or wears out, etc. poverty charges interest.

[@pinkmonkeybird2644]

It’s kind of sad to think about, but so many of us cannot do the most basic math. And even if we can, we often don’t calculate price per unit before we make a purchase. Marketing types know this and exploit this weakness with slippery words and deliberately misleading statistics. The end result is the consumer gets ripped off time after time while the marketing team gets a fat bonus.

[@Silverwolfpriestess]

That's why I love that in Germany we have the price per gram/l/unit included, both in-store and on-line (even if it's in a smaller print). Makes it a bit easier for people unwilling/unable to do the maths to not get screwed over.

[@pinkmonkeybird2644]

@@Silverwolfpriestess I agree. My first thought was that people are too lazy to work out the simple math and deserve what they get, but then my empathy kicked in and I realized that many people cannot calculate the tip on a check or sales tax properly and rely on an app to do it for them. So expecting someone to work out price per unit is unrealistic. I will always be grateful that my children’s school invested time and effort teaching students how to think analytically, how to detect bias and misinformation, how to identify statistics manipulation to obscure the basic data, and more. Of course we taught this at home as well, but I was glad it was reenforced by educators. I wish it was a requirement for all schools to cover these topics, but public education in the US has much larger challenges now.

[@cathrynanderson9524]

Either someone had the decimal place set wrong on their 10-key, or they pulled a random number out of their rear thinking no one would actually do the math. It makes you wonder how many businesses do this very same thing. Shame.

[@poshdelux]

I find it baffling that they so boldly insult people’s intelligence when there’s Google right at our fingertips 24/7 to answer any questions.

[@hanav1764]

Nevertheless in the age of AI! where we can simply just ASK the computer to do all the calculations/work for us, by typing literally just a sentence or two - and get an answer instantly! These shady, dodgy, unethical business practices are gonna have to come to an end (sucks in to be them lol 😈); as the average consumer is becoming much better well-informed, and w apps like TikTok, videos like Jilly’s get pushed out into the algorithm for the masses to see. Their time is (finally) done; I doubt many companies will try and keep pulling this shit for much longer 👏

[@MsDecens]

​@@hanav1764 ai is really unreliable. You're better off just using google. It's literally the same amount of time.

[@rianorman3526]

How much foundation??? I leave more than that on my brush!!! 😒😒😒 Mascara?? How many individual lashes does that cover??? Absolutely ridiculous!!! 🙄🙄🙄 It's like ready meals.."serves 2"..2 what?? 5yr olds?? Ice-cream 6 servings??? No!!! ONE serving depending what a day I've had!!! Mecca should be ashamed..ripping off their customers!!! 🤨🤨🤨

[@xamyx725]

The difference with the meals is actually legit, though… It’s based on an average 2,000 calorie/day diet… I can’t speak for other parts of the world, but we have a serious obesity epidemic in the US…

[@folfelit]

​@@xamyx725this is correct. It's using the old health formula - the average man was 5'6" ~150, lightly active and needed 2000 calories to maintain. Nowadays the average man is taller (5'8"-5'9" depending on figure used) and completely sedentary. It would take approximately 1800 for him to maintain a healthy weight (middle of healthy is 140-150) although if he's American he's likely overweight (nearly 80% of Americans) or obese+ (40% of all Americans) so eats far far more and weighs far more. The average woman back then btw was 4'11-5'0, active and only needed 1300 to maintain. Modern women are taller (5'4" average) and dead sedentary, and could maintain on the same calories, becoming a morbidly obese 234lbs if they eat the *recommended* 2000 on every nutrition label. That's a bmi over 40 for following what you were told was a healthy diet in terms of calories. A bit of a ramble, but serving sizes being based on expected calories does make sense, but keeping the 2k calories system just leaves all the sedentary people overweight or obese. Every time I see someone complaining a 1.5 quart tub of ice cream being 9 servings instead of 1, I have to remind them that it would be more than a whole day's worth of calories of they were a healthy weight.

[@Sidetracked81]

Hello from Perth, Australia 🇦🇺 I absolutely ADORE YOU! As a MUA myself, you have the exact same approach to Makeup as I do which is why you're my favourite on KZbin. Xx

[@KateKatastrophe]

YES! THANK YOU! I'm sick of Mecca's monopoly here. I have not purchased anything from them in years, but I hate that the alternative is a big USA company.

[@monicaglenn7878]

As a lower income single parent, i taught my kids this logic in everything, from food, toilet paper, house hold goods, etc my 2 are on their own now, making pretty good money, and they still use this logic!

[@mackenziekita9920]

😂😂😂 that sh!t is hilarious but I only say that bc I’m trying to teach my mom that rn especially when it comes to make up. I try to tell her there’s no point in buying the LA Colors at dollar tree bc ultimately it’s a gimmick that ends up being just as much as bigger drugstore brands in full size products. She hasn’t been using much of LA Colors and has now defaulted to using my Nars radiant creamy concealer and lied to me about using her LA Colors still while I’m sitting there looking at my Nars tubes that’s nearly empty 🙄 “yeah mom, sure” 😂😂😂

[@robjette7140]

Had to chuckle at your comment about the man in the Mecca advert. I'm old enough to remember the No.7 campaign back in the 1980's that had men with bold make up stripes etc that had the tag line " if it looks this good on him" iirc . I used to use make up back then ( serious goth until my 30's when I was no longer able to afford it) and it tickles me to know people are still upset by men wearing make up.❤ your uploads and keep being gorgeous :)

[@leora_in_london]

I don't think people are upset about men wearing makeup so much as they were asking why the scientist was cast as a man instead of a woman...to promote women in STEM

[@AKbaby89]

Your cost per wear goes up when youre my level of clumsy. I used a blush for a few months before i dropped it, and the center of the pan hit the corner of my nightstand, and shattered *all. Over.* 😂

[@Itgirl98-ct7zh]

Same. I splurged once and bought nars orgasm blush. I was doing so good with it until I was rushing for work and dropped it. I cried 😂

[@mackenziekita9920]

When I was in the military I literally had to bring everything to work since I would have to wake up 03 to get into work by 04. I wouldn’t get home until 19. So I would end up just having double of everything, a set at home, a set for work! Which included makeup and skincare.

[@erinh2775]

I’m Australian and this isn’t unique to Mecca at all. I am surprised people are only just now thinking to look at the weights? This was a big news 10+ years ago across KZbin worldwide 🤔

[@xamyx725]

I’m over 50, and this was “a thing” when I was a kid, in the US…

[@puterjess]

I compare weights but I can understand not doing it if they’re in different sections. I’m used to comparing products that are right next to each other.

[@victoriaskully]

Times change. She is prob talking to the newer generation.

[@cocoline5692]

Thanks for covering this Robert!❤️ I saw James mentioning this in his other video, and I was hoping this would get more media attention! We do have other international companies shipping to Australia and NZ but the shipping cost is usually horrifying! Mecca though ships for free and fairly quick, but the steep prices (and the lack of sales and promos) is also a point of contention among their customers. I wish they'd listen to us a bit more! 🙁🙁

[@BossL-o8g]

They also block out companies like cult and space nk etc from selling certain brands to us. Mecca are potentially worse than Sephora with exclusivity deals. Mecca don’t have 20% off sales etc. They do a sale once a year selling old stock, lots of people returned mouldy gross stock that was up to 8 years old !

[@helenpearce141]

It's mad how these big companies dupe their customers, thankyou for highlighting this , I will be much more aware when purchasing my next set of products ❤Hx

[@lizstyla88]

Thank you for talking about a massive issue with Mecca even if it only affects your Australian viewers.

[@thefrogzillq]

Omg, I was just watching the last episode of glow up UK. I saw you and screamed to my mum 😭

[@laurynoliver4078]

Bless you!! I live just outside Melbourne and it feels surreal to hear you talking about my city!! Love your content and your transparency 🤍

[@rchltrrs]

One caveat is that it can still be cheaper if you wouldn't normally finish the larger, high-end product before it expires (or before you want a change). For folks who don't wear makeup very often, even basics like concealer will expire before finishing. I mean, I can never finish a full-sized mascra before it starts to change consistency. So, if you're regularly tossing half-empty cosmetics, something that is half the size is probably better. I think if the packaging was more honest (no extra packaging to make them look normal-sized) and these were marketed as minis for folks who like to change up their look frequently, it could work.

[@baronessboomer3865]

Makeup brands are predatory in general, but this is truly criminal! Shame on them.

[@alexplantum177]

Leaning the price per unit of items (the one I use most is food, it’s listed in grocery stores in the US (I think that’s regulated but not certain)) and how to calculate if it’s not listed up front was one of the most important things I’ve learned pretty young. It’s one of those real-life things that companies typically rely on ppl not thinking about. Ofc it sucks to overthink and anxiously obsess over that stuff, but times are tough, money is super tight for everyone everywhere. I understand why it isn’t taught to everyone (capitalism tbh) but it’s so important to be mindful of how much stuff costs per unit to make sure you’re fully informed. Formulas are also important and such, but no matter the brand, they are usually run by people trying to bleed everyone else dry, don’t volunteer yourself for that. Informing ppl who aren’t aware is the most valuable response any one person can have, companies will almost always weather the storm, trying to help others while also not sacrificing yourself is all we can do sometimes

[@pinkapoppy]

17:46 I think that's a fair criticism considering that they rarely use men in their other marketing... so it's kinda implying that if someone is doing maths and calculations, it has to be a man

[@SpiffyPenguin]

You lived in Melbourne too? Oh Robert please do a video all about the places you’ve lived. (I know it may not all be makeup related)

[@bambilanz]

Love that idea 😊

[@3verlastinglove]

Yesssss thank you!!! I was the one who tagged you on TikTok. I thought you might find it interesting

[@arcaderat1613]

The thing with the expiration date gave me another thought: if they're misrepresenting the timeframe that the product is good, was it being done in hopes people would throw away their product early and buy a new one even though it was still good? Some people follow the expiration timeframes very closely.

[@nicolabaker4391]

We have Best Before dates on food and they always underestimate the date for safety reasons, There are so many things that can change how long the food lasts from the manufacturer stage through to transport and then storage that aren't under the companies control. Yet if they overestimate, make the date longer and the product expires the Company is liable and it will cost them. In the UK we have "Use by" which is used for the high risk foods and basically mean DO NOT eat after the date, Best Before means you are fine to consume afterwards but if the food looks and smells OK and has been stored in the correct environment. Knowing that the PAO system for non food items is similar to Best Before makes sense and the Company have a point about being able to use the product afterwards, but because it is unknown how long they still should have used the PAO in their calculations as it was misleading not to.

[@arcaderat1613]

@@nicolabaker4391 I understand the differences between the types of dates and the reasons they are what they are. None of that changes the point I was making. There are a lot of people who follow expiration, best by, and period after opening dates closely. Because this company has already shown they are being deceptive, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they're purposely misrepresenting the timeframe so that some people will throw out and replace items sooner.

[@isabellatsaketas]

as a long time aussie fan this is so exciting I've been so invested in this drama

[@REP090]

Mecca have a firm, unyielding grip on our market and blocks us from being able to purchase direct from brands. Even some products sold in AUSTRALIA for cheaper they still charge an excess price against USD - eg Le Labo 50mL fragrances are $30 more at Mecca than the Le Labo Australian website. I've always compared price per gram and ml (as I do in supermarkets), and Mecca's 'Max' range is more expensive than higher-end ones. They charge less, but the size of the products is also much less. Beauty in Australia is pretty outrageously expensive these days.

[@jimin8006]

Charging more for le labo is wild given how expensive the brand already is??????

[@GabbyJibblit]

They claim to have a “price promise” where they won’t charge more than the conversion plus shipping costs but have proven time and time again that’s a lie. Multiple Aussie retailers stock Dr Jart and Mecca started stocking their products at $20-$50 more

[@fatema____]

Omg I noticed that when I was looking at getting a Le Labo fragrance! Bought direct from Le Labo and got my name printed on it too.

[@natashacutmore7005]

Another great video. Companies that behave like this should be ashamed.

[@CountrySheeper]

Absolutely NO ONE is using that little skin tint. No one. That is an INCREDIBLY stupid campaign to double down on!

[@liisabjork76]

Companies have been playing this game for decades. I remember when I noticed this on certain brands.

[@lauraedmonds5367]

It kills me too because they have exclusive rights to sell a large number of luxury brands, thus stopping us from buying from the brands sites, international retailers eg cult beauty so can't take advantage of their sales or gift with purchase and whats worse. Mecca has one sale a year and it's VERY average.

[@Silvermouse27]

Agreed! Their exclusive rights on brands like Hourglass is a reason why I rarely shop there anymore. When hourglass releases one of their most desirable products (eg face palettes), I don’t want to wait 2 months to be able to buy it in store. Also I don’t want to risk not being able to get it at all because I’m no longer tier 3 despite being a loyal customer for a decade

[@missspic]

This! It’s so true, and frustrating isn’t it! x

[@alishasimms2846]

Yeah, my Grandma taught me to look at the per unit price when doing price comparisons - even in the grocery / food stores.

[@ez9556]

That second video, as CC Suarez would say, got me all boned up 😂😂😂 just chef's kiss!

[@AlejandraBecerraR]

Thanks for this and the lady who did the video. I will not be buying no more Mecca products moving forward ❤. It’s insane what she mentions

[@therealJamieJoy]

Maybe the higher end brands should sell more minis? Maybe not mini but smaller sizes to offer a retail customer the ability to buy more different products. If you're on a budget maybe you want the ability to spend less money at once. Also -- hauls seem to be more satisfying than saving up to buy one powder, or one eye pencil.

[@katechipata9934]

Yes, it would be great if they sold more minis. Yesterday at my local Sephora I saw a mini Elemis Cleansing Balm and a mini Nars Orgasm powder blush ❤

[@_sleepy_panda]

I love minis so much. As a person who doesnt wear a full face of make up all the time, my liquid products usually go bad before I can use them up. Minis safe me some money and they are better for the environment!

[@mazzS]

An Australian long time watcher of you & consumer of Mecca max products & i am floored 😮. Thankyou for the video and information from you and the other video with Jillie id not heard of her. Ill definitely be buying smarter xx

[@recommendationsfromrach]

I'm here for the Aussie content. Much needed this week! ❤❤❤ We lost Louie as well. I need some Robert content distraction x

[@mayanovak2497]

Who is Louie? 👀

[@RituMakhijaritumak]

Well, my eyes have been opened today. Thank you for this! ❤

[@UndertheNeedle282]

I'm actually amazed that people don't look at price per gram or ounce. I've always done it, especially when shopping for groceries.

[@phunk8607]

u missed the point of this video

[@jacquialeksovski9408]

Thank you, Robert & Jill, this has opened my eyes. I live in Melbourne Australia and visit Mecca a lot and have purchased Mecca max, seems I need to do my sums as I do in the supermarket, same thing, I always check prices against weight. ❤

[@MJ-98]

The first part of the video I don't think is a scam, because it doesn't take that many steps to get to comparing cost/unit to cost/unit. I DO however think the second part is definitely false advertising.

[@tasha7827]

THANK YOU for talking about this. As an Aussie cosmetic consumer I have been fed up with Mecca for years. They have an absolute monopoly on the Australian market and unfortunately hold a lot of great brands by the throat with their exclusivity contracts. So happy to see this finally gain some traction from creators outside of Australia. ❤

[@jasminekuehn5133]

16:30 maybe it’s enough skin tint for a toddler 😂

[@Ichigo-HKC]

A newborn more like it XD I wanna see someone attempt to apply that to their face and see what it actually covers

[@mish_elle1450]

The Mecca Max brand is much better quality than Sephora after using numerous Sephora products (even the advent calendars are a joke) Products like the brow guru don't exist under other large brands as I prefer its thinness and although there is less product, it is enough to use for the eyeshadows and concealer for the duration a product is supposed to be used within e.g. 12 months

[@sunbeam3658]

'affordable' never meant better value

[@peggymorales6888]

Thank you for shedding light and helping spread the word about dishonesty within the beauty industry also backing Julie’s platform.

[@Kristyn.roberts13]

My hubby is from Australia , I'm from the USA. I was not impressed with Mecca at all. I shopped at Sephora or Department stores when cosmetics were needed. 💜💜💜

[@ericasherry2185]

Woah she came with facts figures and receipts!!!!! Love this girl!!!❤

[@miffy_bean]

western beauty products are so overpriced that I've replaced most of my beauty and skincare with asian brands that i can buy from w cosmetics or online for even cheaper. mecca rarely ever does sales and when they do, it's always on stock that either no one wants or is expired. not to mention their customer service sucks :/

[@stasiacat.]

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all of your videos and hard work Robert (both channels). You've helped me so much when my bipolar and depression gets really bad. 🖤💖

[@Uhohlisa]

7:41 this is the boot theory in economics in action! It’s always more expensive to be poor, folks.

[@HEP0516]

This!!!!

[@tanyac4869]

Wow, this is eye opening! Thank you Jillie (and you, Robert) for bringing this to light! Indeed, buyer beware and be informed!