THE BLOG
March 1 2021
Happy Birthday To Us! A Look into M2U NYC’s Past, Present, and Future
One whole year.
It wasn’t too long ago when high-quality, trendy, affordable makeup was just an idea. Now, almost 365 days later, it’s your reality.
We want to celebrate our one-year birthday with a return to our roots. So, basically, we’re going to re-introduce ourselves! Who we are, our journey, why and how we established our brand… all that good stuff.
M2U isn’t just a cosmetics company, it’s a connection. After all, M2U stands for Makeup 2 You. It wouldn’t make much sense if we didn’t have a bond with you, right?
And you’re actually more important than you might think. First of all, we literally wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your ideas, feedback, and support. But, without you, we also wouldn’t be doing what we love — making you look and feel like your best self.
So, let’s talk a little bit about what M2U NYC is at its core.
Spoiler alert: you’ll get to catch a glimpse of M2U’s future, too!
Our journey…
We pride ourselves on being a makeup brand that’s anything but the norm.
Our team was in the industry for a combined 20+ years, working for a couple of big-name brands, before we launched M2U. Although these companies were great places to work, we were super frustrated by the crazy markups they put on their products. Like, for a lipstick that costs $2 to make, these brands are selling them for $40 — that’s a 2000% markup.
Insane, right?
We discovered that they’re overcharging to pay for things like A-list celebrity photoshoots and TV ads — things that have nothing to do with the actual products. Which isn’t fair or right to their customers.
And real talk: how many of you give a damn about perfectly airbrushed celebrities holding products they don’t even use?
Our guess? Not many of you.
So, we decided to start a new brand. One that eliminates the crazy, wasteful expenses traditional beauty brands face.
We figured that without these extra costs, we wouldn’t have to overcharge for our makeup. Like, hello? It’s 2021! There are easier, cheaper ways to get things done. And it’s about time beauty companies stop charging more than necessary for their products.
We wanted to create a brand that is not only affordable, but high-quality, vegan, and cruelty-free, too. And that’s how we came up with M2U NYC — a brand where you can have it all.
We decided that Gen Z would be our muse. Like us, your generation values transparency and style. So we went ahead and asked for your help before we even sketched our prototypes.
When M2U first began, we sent out a survey to 400 of you, asking about what you wanted to see in a new makeup brand. Based on your answers, we chose our packaging, cost, color palettes, and ingredients. From our minimalistic design and safe formulas to our insanely low prices (always between $3 and $12), we designed M2U to provide you with products that you’ll love now and forever.
It wasn’t an overnight thing. It took us nine months to formulate the makeup we’re sending to you now. It definitely wasn’t easy, creating low-cost, high-quality products that don’t come at the expense of animal lives or your health.
But now, here we are, in the middle of something truly unique.
What do we stand for?
When we started M2U NYC, we wanted to stand out from the crowd in a number of ways. But, most importantly, we wanted to stick to our own personal values — ones we knew you shared, too. So, what matters to us?
1. Vegan and cruelty-free ingredients.
All of our products are PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free. Why? Because, no matter what, makeup shouldn’t come at the expense or exploitation of animal lives.
2. Your health.
Our products are also completely paraben-free. These artificial preservatives are known to cause long-term health problems, but cosmetics brands use them anyway because they’re cheap and effective. Not us — your health is our first priority.
3. Inclusivity.
We offer many different shades in all of our products to accommodate all skin tones, with either warm, cool, or neutral undertones. Our line was also made for all kinds of makeup-lovers — whether you go for minimal or bold looks, our products are for you.
4. New York City.
Not only are M2U’s headquarters in NYC, but we also draw from the city’s energy. Our goal is to capture its diversity, uniqueness, and spirit in our products. That way, we can always be on top of the latest trends and spread New York’s magic to our customers across the world.
5. Transparency.
Like you, we value transparency. We’ll always be straight up with you, in good times and bad. And we’ll never do things like overcharge you for marketing or keep ingredients a secret. We’re an open book, baby!
6. For people, by people.
It’s important to us that you know there are actual people behind the brand. As of right now, we’re a pretty small team, which gives us the unique opportunity to establish a real connection with you. And we’re always here to answer any questions you have. You’ll always be heard.
Listen — we’re not some machine pumping out products and ignoring our customers. You belong in the equation. You’re actually the most important part of it! So why wouldn’t we treat you like it?
What’s in the works?
And now, what you’ve been waiting for… what does 2021 look like for M2U?
We’re excited to announce a new product coming out on March 1st — a long-wearing, deliciously creamy Eye Primer. M2U has been carefully formulating this one for a while now, and we can’t wait to hear what you think about it.
M2U’s products will also be featured in IPSY and BoxyCharm in the second half of the year! Since our marketing relies heavily on word-of-mouth (we don’t overcharge you for marketing, remember?), this is a really amazing opportunity for more people to hear about us and try our products. So, if you subscribe to either of these boxes, keep an eye out for our goodies.
We also just found out that we’re officially part of Target Takeoff Beauty 2021! M2U will get personalized, in-depth mentoring from experts in the field. The best part about the Target Takeoff program is that it’s all about supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in creating accessible, inclusive, and inspirational products… which is basically everything we stand for. We can’t wait to get started.
And we’ll be resuming our campus ambassador program — because of COVID, we had to postpone in 2020. Our new ambassador program is now a tight-knit digital community that celebrates all thing makeup - you can apply here to be our next ambassador!
We’ll also continue to do direct Zoom and phone calls with our customers (for those who accept our email invite)! We want to hear all about your makeup journeys and how you’re liking M2U’s products. Your feedback is incredibly important to us, and we’ll keep shaping our brand around your thoughts, opinions, and needs. If you missed the invite and would like to participate, please email us directly at hello@m2unyc.com.
After a year like 2020, we’re hopeful for this new year. Our team is really psyched about the future, and we can’t wait to continue developing our company.
Even after a year of growth and change, M2U NYC is still what we set out to be: a certified vegan and cruelty-free makeup brand giving you high quality, stylish makeup at mind-blowing prices.
And from here on, with your help, we’re going to keep growing and glowing.
Click here to see Our Story