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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Is Colorbar copying MAC's product names?

Well I thought naming lipsticks would be probably one of the coolest jobs in the world to have- I mean I can imagine myself flipping through my Giant-book-of-Lipstick-names Plucking a word from here and one from there and french(ing) it up a bit and voila there you have it- "Sugar Kisses" or "Caramel Toffee" or 'Passion Pink" or something.. you get the general drift.
They say,Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...Don't believe me ? Ask Colorbar!

Just as our home grown Colorbar USA, has been stepping up to the plate and dishing out one hot product after another I was feeling mighty thrilled that finally an Indian brand has managed good bunch of products at nice price.Now Imagine my surprise when I spotted some lipsticks and shadows in colorbar named after some very popular MAC lipsticks.
At first it was a fleeting doubt but then I decided to do a bit of Nancy Drew style investigation.And lo & behold here's what I found-No less than 28 MAC lipstick and eyeshadows names appear to have been copied by Colorbar.

Most times the shades are not dupes, but 28 similar names was well too much of a coincidence, don't you think?


Caught in the act- 'Lil one?
Image source- google,copyrighted to respective owner

So I decided to put together a list and let you decide for yourself -Is Colorbar duping MAC's product names?
  1. MAC Ruby Woo lipstick- Colorbar soft touch lipstick Ruby woo
  2. MAC Brick O la lipstick- Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipstick Brick O la
  3. MAC Expensive Pink -Colorbar Expensive pink eye shadow
  4. MAC Fushia Fix Lip conditioner -Colorbar Velvet Matte lipstick Fushia Fix
  5. MAC Creme Cup lipstick- Colorbar velvet matte lipstick Creme Cup
  6. MAC HOT HOT HOT Eyeyshadow- Colorbar HOT HOT HOT Lipstick
  7. MAC Verve Lipstick -Colorbar Verve Lipstick
  8. MAC Venus lipstick -Colorbar soft touch lipstick Venus 
  9.  MAC Rose quartz mineralize skin finish-Colorbar soft touch lipstick Rose Quartz
  10.  MAC Amethyst eyeshadow- Colorbar soft touch lipstick Amethyst
  11.  MAC Rebel lipstick-Colorbar soft touch lipstick Rebel
  12.  MAC Flamingo lipstick-Colorbar soft touch lipstick Flamingo
  13. MAC Rougemarie Nail Polish-Colorbar soft touch lipstick Rougemarie
  14. MAC Mystique lipstick-Colorbar soft touch lipstick Mystique 
  15. MAC Red She Said Lipstick (2008 Limited edition collection)- Colorbar Diva lipstick Red she said
  16. MAC For Keeps Pro Longwear Lipcolour- Colorbar For Keeps Diva lipstick
  17.  MAC Passionate eyeshadow- Colorbar Creme Touch lipstick Passionate (surprisingly similar shades both these two)
  18.  MAC Plum dressing eyeshadow Colorbar Full finish long wear lipstick Plum dressing 
  19. MAC Tempt Me lipstick- Colorbar Full finish long wear lipstick Tempt Me 
  20. MAC Stunner Blush Colorbar Extra durable lip color Stunner 
  21. MAC Siren Lipstick Colorbar Extra durable lip color Siren 
  22. MAC Chic Lipstick Colorbar Extra durable lip color Chic 
  23. MAC Bare Again Sheen supreme lipstick Colorbar Lip Pot Bare Again 
  24. MAC Warm me up lipstick Colorbar Lip Pot Warm me up 
  25. MAC Meltdown lipstick Colorbar Lip Pot Meltdown  
  26. MAC Astral Cremesheen Glass from Heavenly Creatures collection- Colorbar Metallics Lip Gloss Astral 
  27. MAC Bare Necessity dazzle glass- Colorbar Metallics Lip Gloss Bare Necessity 
  28. MAC Lipglass Bare truth- Colorbar Star shine lip gloss Bare Truth
My two cents on the copycat debate-I love a budget dupe as much as next makeup addict, but that doesn't keep me off spending on high quality products I really like. 
Shakespeare summed up the name debate well when he asked "what's in a name?" At the end of the day quality matters and MAC remains gold standard when it comes to quality,style and sassy-ness. 
Colorbar has pleasantly surprised me of late with lots of really fabulous new launches and copycat names or not I find myself busting my wallet at Colorbar counters just as often as I do at MAC.

So I hand it over to you ladies to decide- Colorbar duping MAC names cool or not?

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    25 comments:

    1. NishaAugust 28, 2012 at 12:51 AM

      LOL! I noticed this too, especially the liptick names. XD They're copying packaging and logotype from Inglot and names from MAC and added a USA to their name. Fullproof way to awesome. :P

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 12:58 AM

        LOLz yes i did notice that too, btw u missed out that didn't even spare OPI's iconic bottle design in their Pro lacquer range!
        I picked Colorbar true gloss y'day and its packaging looks exactly like MAC's limited edition Creme sheen lipglasses! Thir motto currently seems to be If you cant beat them-copy them! :)

        Delete
      2. NishaAugust 28, 2012 at 10:31 PM

        Oooh yeah, I forgot about the bottles! LOL! Copy ALL the things! :P I also forgot to mention that now their copying prices also from high end brands hehe..

        Delete
      3. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 10:42 PM

        Oh yeah the high street pricing,that's just not so cool CB

        Delete
      4. NiveditaAugust 29, 2012 at 12:09 PM

        I wish there was a like button so that I could use it for Nisha's comment :D

        Delete
      5. indian beauty centralAugust 29, 2012 at 12:31 PM

        LOLz :)

        Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 28, 2012 at 2:36 AM

      So not cool Colorbar..Cmon you can do better than copying and pasting right??

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 9:30 AM

        Totally agree CB is churning out nice products so they shud definitely get innovative with their product names too!

        Delete
    3. See BeeAugust 28, 2012 at 9:15 AM

      zomg those kitty cats are so cute.......

      sorry I got distracted...ahem...copying lipstick names...not good...ahem..yeah

      KITTIES!!!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 9:32 AM

        Oh yeah that lil kitty's expression is priceless ! :D

        Delete
    4. UnknownAugust 28, 2012 at 9:32 AM

      Iam buying more colorbar than MAC these days though MAC is my fav brand..I agree they have common names but the quality definitely differs..great job poo..summarizing all these dupes must hav been a tough task

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 9:38 AM

        Thanks Preetha! Yes even I've picked a lot of stuff of late from CB more so coz many things I want from MAC r out of stock.i like CB quality and pricing but they need to get inventive with the names

        Delete
    5. NehaAugust 28, 2012 at 11:17 AM

      Though not cool at least they are copying the best in the business haha :P I think it will be a long before colorbar catches up with MAC in terms of quality and customer satisfaction - what it does have is variety and affordable prices. I have read a few reviews and many people have a love-hate relationship with CB. I personally love the brand but yea, copying is a definite no no, flattery or no flattery :D Thank you Pooja for that extensive research and offbeat yet totally informative post!
      LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog.
      Neha

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 11:34 AM

        Thanks Neha *hugs*!
        Totally agree with u the variety and price point colorbar has is very attractive,though their prices have steadily been climbing up with every subsequent launches. I think CB is still in the process of reinventing itself and one can actually create such a strong brand identity with their product names,I' hope they learn a lesson from NARS and Illamsqua and spend some time giving nice original iconic names to their products.

        Delete
    6. shrutieAugust 28, 2012 at 2:05 PM

      Imitation is the best form of flattery.... :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 2:46 PM

        It sure seems so, though at times it can result in multi billion dollar law suits just look what happened in Samsung n apple's case!

        Delete
    7. NainaAugust 28, 2012 at 2:53 PM

      Hi Pooja! I've been a silent reader of your blog for a while and absolutely LOVE your posts especially the lip reviews and eye-makeup looks...you have NO idea how helpful your blog has been to find great new beauty products for beauty buffs like me. I'm a total CB fanatic because their quality and colors are amazing so I'd like to add my two bits here...copying is NEVER cool but I also feel that a lot of these copycat names are of the older CB products. They've been doing a lot of interesting names and concepts recently...I've just picked up Bloody Mary and Tangerine Mojito from their Cocktail neons nail collection and all the shades of the Iglide pencils also have such awesome names (Flirty Turquoise!). Anyway, I guess CB's a relatively new brand and they're trying to find their originality slowly - I'll keep buying as long as the products are good and I'll love them more if their names are creative! Ok, Colorbar rant over.
      Please keep the good work going Pooja!

      ReplyDelete
    8. indian beauty centralAugust 28, 2012 at 6:51 PM

      Hi Naina, thanks so much for taking time out to comment,You just made my day!Ur words were inspired me to try and do better work on my blog.whenever u can try and comment feedback from readers is the fuel that keeps a blogger going :)
      Totally agree with u,I'm sure as CB evolves they will focus more and more on carving their unique identity. They indeed have improved their product quality and yes even the names are getting more fun and interesting.

      Btw- Flirty turq is my HG tourquoise liner, love it!!

      ReplyDelete
    9. aditiAugust 28, 2012 at 9:50 PM

      good observation..
      i personally use and like many colorbar products..gud alternative to lakme
      but copying names from other brands, is so not happening..
      atleast lakme is original with their names :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 29, 2012 at 12:33 PM

        Yes totally agree atleast Lakme scored with original names :)

        Delete
    10. Kejal ShahAugust 29, 2012 at 12:13 AM

      Quite lame yeah..how difficult can it be to give a name to a lipstick!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. indian beauty centralAugust 29, 2012 at 12:45 PM

        True true else one can always copy inglot and just number them :)

        Delete
    11. NiveditaAugust 29, 2012 at 12:11 PM

      Dupes in terms of shades... good. But so much of admiration, I think is leading them to go overboard and tumble into 'plagiarism' this time.
      Even when I was a total novice, at one point of time I got confused if "expensive Pink' was from MAC or Colorbar.
      But yes, i think except for the hike up in price every now and then, they are doing a great job IMO

      ReplyDelete
    12. indian beauty centralAugust 29, 2012 at 12:42 PM

      I agree good shade dupes are a treat but duping names is a recipe for confusion..Guess they r improving with new launches but seriously now I've to fork out as much on colorbar as I did on revlon or inglot and that often makes me do a double take.hope they make sure they don't lose their pocket friendly price points

      ReplyDelete
    13. ShilpiAugust 29, 2012 at 1:32 PM

      This is such an interesting post! I have also noticed brands copying MAC names and it's very irritating. For eg.Maybelline's got Peach Blossom, Pinch of Peach, Warm Me Up and a lot of other names that are total copies of MAC and sometimes they use names of one MAC product for a differnt product,like the name of a MAC blush for a lipstick. I've seen same names in Lakme and Revlon too, will post if I remember them :)I like Cb products and I'm even (sort of) ok with the higher pricing coz the quality's very good but I want amazing products with creative names!

      ReplyDelete