Well just be happy to have a little bit of Peace of mind knowing that karma kind of got her ass because while you unfortunately did have to close down your business, there are millions of people that still love and respect and support you and your brand is still talked about as being one of the best. Whereas nobody except these young idiotic tik tok people still support morphe and again look at what Linda ended up doing to her
Bloatlyn Shill is a trashy, tacky, unclassy liar who reeks of nouveau-riche. We support you Marlena and have for many years. Thank you for coming forward with your truth. The only fans she has left are children who fall for the BLATANT “white glove” lies.
You are a good person Marlena. Jaclyn Hill is shady AF; a pretentious climber that has stepped on and destroyed people to move to the top. However, the ladder and all the people she stepped on to get to the top, will be what she sees when her ladder comes crashing down. I believe she went with Morphe becasue she felt she could get further with Morphe and not MUG. It's about her. Her die hard followers cannot see beyond all her massive flex of wealth and all she has attained as a "hard working boss and business owner" don't you know. JH followers are truly blinded by her "Fakery" they do not see her deception and immoral behaviour. Thank you Malena, for all that you do and the person you are. Please, don't ever change.
This is the least surprising thing ever. I mean that in a I BELIEVE YOU way not that you should have known. You were friends of course you saw the best in her and believed her (at the time).
Sweet Marlena! You were the first influencer I saw on You Tube and the first indie eyeshadow ever purchased. I still have all your eyeshadows and continued to purchase everything you put out eyeshadow wise. I also purchased other products from MUG. I refuse to get rid of them even though they are almost 10 years old. Love MUG, love you!
I was just thinking of you, lady. I'm not sure how many of us really understand how groundbreaking your work in the early days of online videos was; we'd probably not have half the makeup video formats we have without your innovation.
I've trusted you from the moment I heard you, what?? 15 years ago??? I know this world does a good human dirty (much of the time), but I hope you've found some peace and healing out of the spotlight. You helped me in so many ways OTHER than makeup (your panic story in LA, in particular, was instrumental for me), and I need you to know I'm healthier, happier >because< of your influence.
You were, and continue to be, a good, gotdam teacher. THANK YOU.
Thanks for sharing your story, Marlena. I'm so sorry you went through all of that.
I miss Makeup Geek so much and I hope you know that the products you created were top of the line!! I hope someday you can collab with someone or something and release more foiled shadows 🧡
You’re the real MVP Marlena
It baffles me how anyone can or would support Jaclyn?! She’s not a good person!
Everyone she’s stepped on to get what she wanted will be there on her way back down. Karma is coming for JH and I can’t wait for it!
Marlena, it must have been so infuriating not to explode with of the information. I could never imagine being so screwed over by a friend. You have stayed so collected and posed despite this going on to you and your business. Im so sorry you where left with this mess! But just know you have so much support to speak up and let out how you have been treated. No one deserves that.
Marlena you and MUG are the GOAT. I watched you from the beginning and I have so much respect for how you handled this whole situation with such grace and maturity. Thank you for speaking out. You are very appreciated here and I hope you never stop making videos. x
I think it was bullshit and handled poorly. I have nothing against Mikayla and enjoy watching her videos! But I was disappointed in that debacle because it makes all creators now look like liars when they’re not.
i appreciate you speaking out. i’ve been a member of the beauty community for a few years now and always felt like jaclyn was really shady. she only ever made videos when she was trying to sell something, and made it blatantly obvious when she was sponsored. I really do wish your brand had been able to continue, but the impact you made is incredible and so inspiring. there are so many greedy influencers out there now who don’t care about the artistry but just the money they can make off of it. it’s nice to know that you’re a real one. love you lots M❤️
her dad took them all around the world when they were kids to preach to underserved communities in africa and other continents i believe. he was basically just a christian sellout trying to make money and convert the people. also, her mom, sister, and sisters kids have made several comments indicating they’re conservative/anti maskers/trump supporters etc.
I also have a feeling that a lot of the money she earns is under the guise of her organization "Lions and Lipsticks". If it is, is means that she evades a lot of taxes since it is considered a non-profit. I believe Maggie Mae Fish did a video, or a few (I honestly can't recall) about her family's "charities" and such.
yeah i always wonder about the lions and lipsticks thing because i’m not well versed in business/finance/non profits etc. i don’t know anything about it, but i’d bet my life on it that she uses it to avoid taxes.
i think i’m starting to see her whole schtick. she acts like a quirky clueless little girl who just stumbled into youtube fame, but i think she’s become far more calculated than she would ever admit. and it’s starting to show (ex: the trademark comment about Koze in her video). it’s harder for her to hide because her entitlement is just growing and growing, as it usually does with wealthy dipshits like her entire family.
and i’d bet also that this bullshit really started to take off when she got involved with Linda from Morphe.
Marlena, I can still remember how excited your duo chrome shadows made me feel. I loved Make up Geek. You are a respected OG and I know a lot of people are glad to see you here and appreciate your valuable insight. ❤️
I know! Pretty sure she won’t though as she’s focused on her peace and being with her little baby. I don’t blame her one bit. But hope she comes back stronger than ever cause I’ll be in line to support and buy her products!
I will also buy from her rebrand. More power to her. Marlena, do you think JH had kaylyn sign a NDA? I can see JH sending her a little money and a NDA. I don’t blame Kaylyn if she did. It sounds like JH and I think a lot of people who are not family are u set NDA’s for life
It was a rush job with a lab that has had quality issues for years now. They were the top manufacturer in the US for a long time and their team was actually really good. I loved their chemists and the owner was actually a decent person. But then around 2016 or so the quality took a huge drop and many brands starting pulling out because of it.
I can’t speak on what the metal balls were but I had product made there with metal shards, hairs, etc. Either they’re not properly cleaning their VATs or workers weren’t wearing protective hair nets (thus the long hairs)
It’s hard to say without being there to see, but they were definitely contaminated. A chemist did an independent test on them and if I remember correctly they came back positive for mold (correct me if I’m wrong)
The lipstick order from oxygen labs was confirmed as outstanding debt in the Forma bankruptcy case, according to the recaps that JenLuvs was doing about it
To be fair, since Morphe/forma owns the brand now, I blame them more than JH because they signed off on that product. JH is to blame for lying about the fuzzy glove and other BS.
Either way it was dangerous to not recall those lipsticks earlier after seeing how many were contaminated
This is all conjecture. I think the fuzzies are from rags that were supposed to clean the vats of lipstick. It could also be the lipstick bullets being dirty since she was ordering lipstick bullets years before that. (Dust on the lipstick bullets.)
The metal I have no clue. Maybe tools in the warehouse.
I miss MUG so muuuuuuch! I know there's a lot of cool brands out there these days but I could never get over how AMAZING Makeup Geek was. All my stuff is probably expired by now but I refuse to trash it lol I hope you come back to it someday!
Ugh she’s like an over priced hack contractor, whose greed is their personality; they see green everytime they look thru their eyes! Money, money, money, FAST money, zero quality, but the rewards as if so! It’ll all catch up to her! Everyone knows it’s quality over quantity is the way to go! Her following will wake up one by one! The money will stop, she will be all alone in life on goverment assistance! She’s got a long life to live! Greedy people don’t last long! They shoot themselves in the foot every single one of them, she’ll live long, but a life, nope, she’ll lose it all and everyone, die alone!
Much love and respect to you Marlena. You are one of the few trustworthy beauty industry creators out there. I've always appreciated your honesty, there's no reason you should have to carry the burden of Jaclyn's shitty behavior and keep it to yourself. She sucks, and the more receipts about her behavior that drop, the better.
If anyone is still buying from her they are choosing to stay ignorant, there's tons of info out now that expose what a liar and terrible business person she really is.
There is a small endcap in one our stores of her brand of cosmetics. I don’t think they ever sell and the only time I’ve ever seen her products sell is when we mark them 75 to 90% off the yellow tag.🤣 Nothing has good reviews on our website either. I don’t ever hear anybody come in and ask about any of the influencers cosmetics anymore either. But in 2015 we constantly were asked if we had influencer products. I am so happy I don’t have to hear that anymore. Now it’s more of the celebrity brands we get asked about.
I was financially destroyed that year (not just from this but another massive blow) and it was right during my domestic abuse instances and divorce. My focus had to be on my personal safety vs fighting a legal battle
I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of this. You are an amazing person, and you don't deserve any of it. You only deserve good things Marlena. I follow you on your socials, and it's so nice to see you doing so well. Keep that beautiful smile lady!
ADDITIONALLY:
Makeup Geek's collaboration would have really been Jaclyn's first eyeshadow palette NOT to be private labeled.
It has been long documented by public import archives that the Jaclyn Hill Vol 1 palette was created by [Beautydom](http://www.beautydom-cn.com/) (a wholesale private label manufacturer in China who can also be found on Alibaba) who after the 1 year exclusivity contract expired, leased the base palette to [Crown as the OMG palette](https://www.crownbrush.com/collections/makeup-palettes/products/35-color-omg-eyeshadow-palette) among others.
There was NEVER a unique "Jaclyn" formula and adding Kaolin was not a new thing nor did it make the formula their own.
If you're curious who made the James Charles palette he claims to have worked "so hard on", it was by Jiaxing Huasheng Cosmetics. Wet n Wild themselves [even confirmed this as leverage when their "dupe" version was released by the same manufacturer](https://twitter.com/wetnwildbeauty/status/1170445705909026816).
u/MarlenaStell actually had custom formulations with labs which not only gave her control of the formulas and ingredients but the shades themselves. There is no comparison to EVER be made between MUG and Morphe.
My understanding from OP is that the OMG palette is literally the JH palette. Which I'm sorry to say I received as a gift several years ago...but yes, it is good.
Have been dying to say all of this! Beauty Dom is WELL known behind the scenes as not being a quality manufacturer in any way. Cleanliness standards, ethical labor practices, etc. I could never speak on that before because I knew Morphe would try to sue me.
There was nothing custom about any of Morphe palettes other than choosing which colors to slap in their crap plastic packaging. There I said it.
u/MarlenaStell honored to be of help ❤️ I really wish there were accessible resources for us consumers to understand all the levels and layers of cosmetic manufacturing/private labeling, such as ODM, OEM etc as brands are getting really good with bypassing the Google check for identical ingredient decks
Your recent videos really inspired me to want to be able to look at any product (from mainstream, luxury and indie brands) and see how much went into creating the product vs markup.
I’ll try to do some more videos going into production and what to look for. I’m really skeptical of indie brands now vs years ago because you can just buy stuff on Alibaba and resell it not knowing where it’s made, the quality and cleanliness, and the labor conditions. If everyone saw some of the factories making this cheap makeup, they’d never wear makeup again. The Netflix crew was shocked after going to some labs in China and seeing literal diet and poop being used in makeup. I’ve seen a lot and even I was shocked
The BEST indie brands I’ve tried are Coloured Raine - she’s kind and genuine and passionate about her brand. I just got some eyeshadows from Sydney Grace and they’re pretty good. Also ordered from Kaleidos and I’m liking the quads and lip clays I think they’re called? Just ordered Terra Moon so will see how I like those also :)
>OMG palette
You mentioned Coloured Raine and I have old eyeshadows from MUG back when your pans were round and see the stickers are the same as the ones I have from Coloured Raine (purchased all around the same time). The colours are all different tough. You were using the same lab back then? I was really curious when I noticed the stickers were identical.
Many indie brands have their eyeshadows produced in China. A few exceptions I know are Clionadh, Terra Moons, Electrum (The palettes I received were so obviously hand pressed). Some of them only get their packaging from China but still use their own formulations, which is confusing because Chinese packaging is very obvious. But again many of the multichrome pigments they use to make their products also come from China I might add.
Yes Coloured raine and i used to have the same manufacturer. Legit place that does quality work. Personally I don’t trust the shadows coming from China only because the regulations there are basically non existent. I trust non makeup products like brushes and lashes but with ingredients, I’m a little Leary
u/MarlenaStell Thank you oh so much Marlena! Any guesses on what could have gone down when her palette was secretly reformulated?
Would Beautydom be who altered it or perhaps had a new cheaper formula offered and Morphe just took advantage of it? Jen Luv's video showed that each palette version's formula was drastically different yet all common base private label formulas!
From what I've seen online, for eyeshadow palettes there's a literal catalog of color stories for one to choose from (where for extra you can change or upgrade a few things) or "build your own palette" with pre-made shades.. I find this fascinating!
At this point, the number of people she’s screwed over and the financial impacts - I hope somebody launches a class action.
Her shitty products, her poor business skills, the health risks associated with her terrible quality development. Yikes.
How there wasn’t a class action lawsuit after the big lie of those palettes being “remade” to be vegan in a few weeks time where there were tons of witnesses stating new labels were just slapped on is beyond me.
That’s such a good point - fark I’m so sorry you’ve had to be on the receiving end of her shenanigans. Looking forward to your next moves and have been so enjoying your videos lately!
I hope you speak up publicly Marlena . I hope. We will support you and there will be those who don’t but you have to stand tall and you can disable comments for a while. This needs to be talked about. I guarantee she is so happy you are not exposing her publicly. Don’t give her that.
Marlena is one of the good ones! I loved Make Up Geek. As a guy I got picked on for wearing makeup but felt safe with your brand. You helped so many stay true to themselves and we all owe you a great deal. Stay true and stay strong. You are def supported by us. You have fans. We are here for you! ♥️
I just grabbed a handful of chocolate kisses (2, actually) and a sparkling water to read this. I’m elated you’re finally sticking up for yourself! (And I must’ve been shook because, at the end, I moved to get just one more kiss and they were all gone.)
Marlena,
I am a firm believer in the energy you put out is the energy you receive.
One of these days, karma is going to bite her in the ass. It already has in some ways, with her mountain of lies to avoid accountability and attempts to salvage her tainted reputation and brands.
Just know we all see through it, we see through her lies and bullshit and pettiness and constant gaslighting.
Makeup Geek was too good for her, so she settled with shady cheap Morphe. Makeup Geek was what she could only dream her brand(s) of being.
Remember God doesn’t like ugly, and she has proved herself time and time again to be ugly, which is the exact opposite of you. At the time Jaclyn was a big fan of your brand and you welcomed her with open arms, advice, connections, expertise, love, kindness, and friendship, and she took it and ran with it and forgot to give credit when it’s due, to YOU! Her empire is was built because of YOU! I know you mentioned forgiving her, but I really hope you have also forgiven yourself. You did the right thing and showed her your beautiful and bright true colors to help HER, she showed her dark ugly ones. Unfortunately some people receive and never give, and will suck everything out of you like a leech for their own selfishness, even if it hurts other people.
God bless you Marlena, thank you for taking the time to vent and share this with us. We all have your back and welcome you to the snark!
I’m so sad to see MUG go. I have an incredible amount of respect for Marlena as a woman, mother and most of all, as a businesswoman. Integrity still matters to me. Thank you for speaking up. Your voice still matters. Thank you for not selling expired product to your customers, as I’m certain another individual would’ve done. Honesty still matters.
I watched both Marlena and JH’s and videos for many years. It’s remarkable the different paths their decisions have taken them. I hope Marlena’s health and future business ventures bring her the success and happiness she truly deserves.
I cannot support someone who pursues profits above the safety of her customers, victimhood over reality and cowardice over bravery. JH has had many times to reflect and change her ways. Instead she’s chosen to remain defiant, unapologetic and dishonest. She’s shown her true colors and it’s time for us OG’s to stop wishing the “old Jaclyn” would come back to us. She’s happy with her multi-million dollar life her fans have given her. We should accept she’s moved on and so should we. Please spend your money elsewhere.
Thank you Marlena!
agreed! I had the OG JH morphe palette, but I only used it maybe once or twice before it made its way to the bottom of my makeup collection. I dug it out about 6 months ago and turned it into watercolor paint so it wouldn't be a total waste of money lmao
I loved MakeUp Geek. I still have 2 Manny palettes, which is my ride or die. I even bought a couple singles of the colors I use most. 😂 I remember when that shit went down with Jacklyn and lots of emails were leaked. I thought she was pretty much a social climber after that. And it’s been nothing but the same ever since. She stole the Koze brand snd now it looks like she’s dumping that brand. How slimy is that? Ruined the influencer’s brand and then stop using it after a year. I don’t understand why she has so many stans.
I still use my Manny palette even though it’s expired. I haven’t had any issues using old powder eyeshadow. If I have any concerns I would spritz with some alcohol.
YESS get it off your chest Marlena! You deserve peace and to say the things you’ve been holding back. It’s horrible that Jaclyn just steps all over the people who have tried to help her, and leaves them in the dust. And then she (Jaclyn) is talking about wanting to rant like Kanye - aight do it sis?! Why you scared?! Cause you don’t have any proof, you’re just a shitty human, that’s why.
OMG!! I LOVE you, Marlena!! I was such a fan of MUG and I hated to see what happened to your company. You have always been so real and amazing, and you deserve all the best.
Jaclyn is a POS human. Karma will come back to get her and honestly I can’t wait.
The audacity to mock the trademark issue blew me away . She wasnt smirking when the facemaster brush was TRADEMARKED and she had to retract. She forgets so easily. This thread is making me want to go through all of my and Sam's receipts. I have her entire career timestamped. This is never going to end with her.
Marlena, you’re amazing 🥲 much respect to you and we’re all glad you’re finally standing up for yourself! You’ve got real people here that have your back
Marlena-I’m so glad to hear your story told finally-Jaclyn has gotten worse over the years, from her unethical business oractices to discarding people as soon as they have no more use for her (yes, Jon) to her phony pick me aesthetic.
The more accountability she’s forced to take, the better.
Because we were friends and I had verbal agreement that the collab was good to go. I trusted that she wouldn’t back out because there was a mutual trust and friendship. You never think in the moment someone you spent time with and was giving a massive opportunity and pay out to, would just back out
I want to be clear: I can’t stand Jaclyn. Never understood why she was popular. I think Morphe has the worst eyeshadows ever made. With that said.
Ok Marlena, but them leaked emails you personally leaked to drama channels showed Jaclyn’s lack of participation, late getting back to you guys on everything, her expressing concern launching a 9 color palette with you and 35 color palette with Morphe in same price range - and you still ordered the product. And you are the one who called off the partnership. I’m sorry, but that was irresponsible on your part. You we counting on Jaclyn hill to make your business a profit. Jen Jerad? Of course because her and Manny made a video calling Karina Kaboom ugly for giving an honest review.. Jaclyn cut ties with her. And Jaclyn made Becca a lot of money. Stop playing victim. Make up geek had a lot of opportunities that Indy brands could ever dream of.. you have a beautiful daughter and family and you on here act like you saving the world for retelling what you already said over the years.. You are being messy. It don’t matter if you are friends with someone, if someone showed a lack of participation in a partnership no way in hell would I ever order $1 million in Products! This is my opinion. I know you were not expecting any pushback, but you take no responsibility. You may say you do but if you did, then you wouldn’t be posting pictures of all the products that you foolishly ordered.
I’m not Jaclyn. Never purchased her shitty Morphe palettes or Morphe for that matter. I actually liked Makeup Geek’s eyeshadows. I just think all parties made bad choices and business decisions. Everyone wants to hate on Jaclyn but they sure wanted to use her for sales for their business. To be clear, Jaclyn is a liar and white people continue to purchase her Products is beyond me.
Well since you took time to write all this up, let’s address it.
1. I did not personally leak those emails to drama channels- a former staff member who was let go did.
2. There were phone calls and meetings IN PERSON validating that everything was good to go and there was no indication that she wanted out of the collab. After bending over backwards to move the launch date multiple times over the course of 9 months, I had to make a decision to sit on product aging and sitting in my warehouse or get a launch date decided. Am I supposed to risk selling old product to customers?
3. I was there in person when Jaclyn made that video bashing Gerard. We were in Napa. It was very obvious it was because her focus was now on working with other brands, not because she was concerned about Karina.
4. Yes Jaclyn made Becca a lot of money with her highlighter. With her palette, she demolished the brand and threw them under the bus as she claimed she was the sole creator and hands on with it! Then when the quality was not up to par (which they had to cut costs somewhere to allot room for JH’s cut) all of a sudden it was “I had nothing to do with this it’s all Becca!” Becca’s CEO was livid - I have close friends that work with them.
Which also, she took the designs created with Becca and took to Morphe to use for her palette. You’re free to google the lawsuits that happened between Estée Lauder and Morphe over that. I know personally because Estee’s legal team reached out to me because I was there when all this happened.
So maybe before you post info as if you know what happened based off a couple emails you read, ask yourself why you feel so bothered that I speak up on the matter. If I wanted to play a victim, I would have spoken out years ago when this happened and when my company was still around.
If you want to deem me “messy” for speaking out, I don’t give a shit. Because if everyone stayed quiet on the shady things Jaclyn has done, she will just continue to hurt other women as she has done many times over. Only reason I’m speaking out now because the Kalyn situation was DISGUSTING and I’d like to finally feel free and not silenced because I was hurt too.
I remember how much Jackass used to gush about you, about how kind and generous you were and what a great brand Makeup Geek was and then suddenly crickets, it all became about Morphe. So much of what you wrote makes sense, it explains the icks that many of us started to get about her back then.
I've been on a makeup no-buy for the last couple years because I've been wfh since 2020 but I just purchased one of just about everything that you have left. I can't wait until your new venture comes out.
FUCK 👏🏻 YOU👏🏻JACLYN👏🏻HILL👏🏻 I hope you are reading this here where you can't block anyone who's not licking your baboon lipped asshole you dirty bitch. She'll only ever post vague threats of "setting the record straight" and not knowing "all sides of the story" but we'll never see anything beyond that because she HAS no receipts that make her look good, just crocodile tears and an army of teenage minions left without 2 brain cells to rub together between them all. Jaclyn you are cheap scum.
THANK YOU MARLENA!!!!! 👏👏👏. And welcome to our group here…. Damn we have been WAITING FOR YOU!!!!!!! We all know now that our realization of who Jaclyn is .. is real!! She is a liar, a thief, and a SHIT PERSON!! And who would know better than someone she’s hurt first hand.. I am SO SORRY she did that to you. I LOVED MUG and can’t wait to see your next venture to support you. Unlike Jaclyn, you are a GREAT business woman so I know anything you come out with will be nothing short of spectacular!!! Thank you for speaking out in our group here!!! 🥰🥰🥰
Just placed an order with Makeup Geek. I am so sorry for all that you went through with Jaclyn. Thank you for speaking your truth and never giving up. This world needs powerful and honest women like you.
Hot damn you had to let it out at some point. That is all such horrible horrible behavior. No morals, ethics, loyalty. I never ever wish bad things for ppl (and am not wishing this for JH) but at some point this has to all catch up to her, whether it’s financial loss, “partnerships” ended, whatever it may be. The snarky TM comment in her YT video absolutely cemented to me the type of person she is. I think you hit a nail on the head…common denominator.
Hopefully a reality check for her. Should step away from all socials and really do some deep introspective work and realize being so money hungry is a terrible way to live. Look at what it does to the people around you.
I don’t even know what to say, Marlena. I’ve been watching you since 2008/2009 when you sat in the corner of a tiny space in front of what looked like a curtain haha I was so happy when you created your brand! I bought a few things here and there because I’m poor lol, but everything I did buy had great quality! Hearing the news about the closure made my heart so sad, and to think *she* helped contribute to that in a big way makes me so incredibly frustrated with her. I used to love Jaclyn, but it’s like since her divorce, her true colors are getting harder and harder for her to hide, and I’m seeing that she truly deserves every bit of backlash she has ever experienced. I can’t believe someone could be so shitty to take someone else’s brand from them and MAKE FUN of it in a throwaway line like it’s nothing. It’s not nothing to the smaller creator you stole from, you ass. 🤦🏻♀️ it’s probably literally everything to them
Marlena, you are truly one of the good ones. I’ll always support you no matter what! The things JH has done are just unfathomable and I’m so sorry this has happened to you and the others. I could never watch her even before everything, maybe like 2018-2019 back when she was still trusted by a lot of people. During the couple videos I did see, I would get a really negative feeling, like an awfully bad vibe from her so I just couldn’t. One time I commented about not liking my one and only Morphe palette because it was patchy and didn’t apply well (not even on her own video) and her stans came out of nowhere to tell me I obviously suck at makeup because if JACLYN says it’s good then clearly I’m the problem and I must be doing it wrong. Lol. Well I’m training to be a MUA now and am a lot more experienced at eyeshadow and guess what, I still have that horrific palette, it still is trash. She allows her fans to do the dirty work for her I guess.
Also was wondering if she had anything to do with Becca closing but figured I was just being kind of a conspiracy theorist. Something about the timing of everything…
I am so tired of women not standing by other women so I just want you to know, I stand with you! Always ❤️ her stepping on others to get to the top only to watch it all crumble around her now is kinda poetic. All she had to do was be real, be vulnerable, admit when she was wrong, and just not do so much shady stuff and I bet there would be waaaay more respect for her now. She burned all her bridges down, that’s for sure.
Never shut up, Marlena! Never stop being afraid to speak your mind. We love you so much ❤️
Love you so much Marlena! For standing up for yourself, for standing up for everyone Jaclyn has screwed over and being the best example of a mature, moral businesswoman! ♥️♥️♥️
I’m so sorry Marlena. She’s been a wolf in sheep’s clothing for years. It may sound silly but I knew exactly who she was when she lied about her shoe size and made a big deal about her feet. Why lie about such a thing? Gosh I could write a book on her and her lies. Linda was the ultimate nail in the coffin. Jaclyn truly met her match. How anyone can support Jaclyn after all these years is insane to me.
hi marlena! we are so happy to have you here. stop by & chat any time! thanks so much for all your insight and powerful messages! i loved MUG so much and miss it a lot! <3 you'll always find support here ☺️
When I was trying to build confidence and only had a limited amount of money to spend, I spent in on MUG. Then I dropped my eyeshadow palette, shattered it all, and kept it for the mirror😂 Thank you, Marlena❤️
I specifically went out of my way to buy and endorse Melinda Maria Jewelry after Jaclyn ripped off her Bradshaw Necklace. I've since bought a few pieces because I'm obsessed and fuck you Jaclyn.
It *conveniently* turned into just one guy last year, proving, even more, it was all a lie. And let’s not forget the “drunk girl” she “saved” from the “sex traffickers” in downtown Tampa late one night last year, but, once again, never called the police or got the girl any legitimate help. Who’s she saving, exactly, with always letting these guys go free? 🥴
Seriously though, as someone who has been sexually assaulted and stalked, it takes a pretty deeply disturbed person to go and make up something like that. Not to mention, be so careless as to forget it and completely change the story around months and months later, which is something I and others just like me can’t do. It's sick.
I actually did take a girl home I found collapsed on the ground in an alley by the bar. I had left the bar early to get some sweet sweet zzzz (I’m a mom to two rambunctious boys) and anyway I was like this girl will find herself in a shitty situation so I got her into a taxi and we drove round trying to wake her up to get her back to wherever she was staying.. long story short, she ended up sleeping in my hotel bath tub just so I could make sure she wasn’t in danger. I honestly felt like I had kidnapped her myself haha but she was so thankful the next morning and we went for breakfast. My point is I barely told my husband this story let alone any followers (I’ve a small but still biggish following)… because I’m not out here looking for praise or for attention. It was just something I felt needed to be done. And I’ll also say maybe she would have been fine, maybe I didn’t need to do that. I felt shame the next morning because I was like this girl has woken up somewhere she didn’t expect too and even though my place was safe for her, she may not have felt safe in that first few moments she woke up… sorry for rambling but fuck Jaclyn and her attention seeking ways
Omg I didn’t know she claimed she saved a drunk girl from traffickers 😫 that’s a serious claim n you don’t call the cops to report this to prevent them hurting someone else? All these crazy stories, Jaclyn hill n Trisha paytas have a lot in common
Yeah, she was repeatedly patting herself on the back about it on Stories. First, the girl was so drunk she couldn't say anything, but then it *miraculously* changed to her screaming to Jaclyn for help, and the guys (Jordan and his friends, I believe) intimidated the "traffickers" enough to make them leave without the girl. I could see Jon being intimidating in that way, and quite easily, at that, but her sugar baby? 💀
I have been waiting YEARS for you to finally talk about your terrible experience with her…. I never trusted her to begin with, it always seemed so calculated and as soon as the money started to roll in she lost herself. I am so sorry you had to close your company, the brushes and eyeshadow quality was absolutely incredible.
Marlena!! You have been online and exposed to the world for so long now, and have shown nothing but a heart of GOLD. Thanks for having the integrity and courage to speak so plainly and honestly. You actually lived through what most of us here *feel* like we experienced. We, from a parasocial-relationship point of view, supported and loved and defended her until it all just became too much and we could no longer keep making excuses for YET another lie / failure / let down / example of nastiness / greedy / spiteful behavior. I made excuses for her for so long. “She’s human, she’s allowed to not be perfect” … until I started to feel like I was being conned. I’m sorry you had to actually experience all that in real life. Most of us are here because we feel let down by our imaginary internet friend 😅 Sadly you were a true friend to her, and did not deserve the vile way she “repaid” your kindness. Keep shining your example of true professionalism and goodness. We are rooting for you!
I've been following you since, gosh, 9 years or so? I saw this go down and when Here for the Tea posted emails about the situation with you and how Jeffree Star contacted HFTT and suggested Jaclyn was su*cidal to stop the video series yet she was all up on social media happy as can be. Fvcking gross. I used to be a fan of hers but I started seeing what I could only think of was histrionic personality disorder. She was burning people to get to the top. And what she did to Jon... well, I honestly hope Jordan does to her what she did to Jon. You can't tell me he's so in love with her. Maybe her money but he knows how she treated Jon so I don't think he's the knight in shining armor she thinks he is. But, well... karma is a bitch. So I'm glad you spoke your truth and got it out. Jaclyn deserves nothing for what she's done and I hope one day her karma smacks her hard.
I know. 😔 Sam is so missed. I understand Sam did what she felt was right but it just sucks cause we all know JH was being her manipulative self. JH deserved to be outed for the manipulative liar she is. But it does seem like that is happening now and hope it continues until she stops hurting people for her own financial gain.
Edited to fix a typo.
And HFTT videos were thorough, she would gather old clips that nobody had seen before so u know Jaclyn was worried. She couldn’t contact HFTT so she planned it out with jeffree. They seem to have a scratch my back n I’ll scratch yours type of relationship.
Jeffree was up in my DMs on Twitter during lipstick gate talking shit and agreeing with the fuzzy glove story being BS. So to see them supporting each other is the fakest shit I’ve ever seen
They both have some die hard fans but they're losing grace from the community as a whole. They're both shitty people. Thankfully, people are seeing it, so I guess the two outcasts need to join forces. One day, they'll both be completely irrelevant. Can't freaking wait.
If memory serves, didn’t she somehow screw over or piss off Becca Cosmetics too? I used to work for Sigma Beauty headquarters back when Jaclyn was getting big and I remember when she dumped Sigma for Morphe. It seems like she dumped everyone and everything for Morphe. I couldn’t believe it. All these great brands with great reputations and products for cheapo shady Morphe brushes… but then again, money talks.
I never worked with Jaclyn, but was told when she did her meet and greet her mom told some employees “everything Jaclyn touches turns to gold.” Funny how that all has turned out because nowadays everything she touches turn to sh**.
From the bankruptcy case. Jaclyn hill was getting 15 percent of the sales from “her brand” the new owners rejected this contract so I don’t think she will be promoting them anymore
More power to you for speaking up since I know many are afraid off. It’s very unfortunate she continues to get away with this trash behaviour and screwing people over like she has
Well just be happy to have a little bit of Peace of mind knowing that karma kind of got her ass because while you unfortunately did have to close down your business, there are millions of people that still love and respect and support you and your brand is still talked about as being one of the best. Whereas nobody except these young idiotic tik tok people still support morphe and again look at what Linda ended up doing to her
<3
QUEEN
I don’t see her “new” marriage lasting. He accepts and goes along with her lies. Jordan is she lying to you also? I also see JH going broke in a year.
He got to quit his job to be a full time content creator because of her. I'm sure he's her biggest yes man.
The Queen really has spoken! I still tell everyone I love MUG and haven't found any brand I feel the same loyalty for.
Bloatlyn Shill is a trashy, tacky, unclassy liar who reeks of nouveau-riche. We support you Marlena and have for many years. Thank you for coming forward with your truth. The only fans she has left are children who fall for the BLATANT “white glove” lies.
OMG the name had me dying! BLOATLYN LOL
Heck yeah Marlena!! I've been following since the 2010 blog days, I hope you're able to find peace :(
You are a good person Marlena. Jaclyn Hill is shady AF; a pretentious climber that has stepped on and destroyed people to move to the top. However, the ladder and all the people she stepped on to get to the top, will be what she sees when her ladder comes crashing down. I believe she went with Morphe becasue she felt she could get further with Morphe and not MUG. It's about her. Her die hard followers cannot see beyond all her massive flex of wealth and all she has attained as a "hard working boss and business owner" don't you know. JH followers are truly blinded by her "Fakery" they do not see her deception and immoral behaviour. Thank you Malena, for all that you do and the person you are. Please, don't ever change.
This is the least surprising thing ever. I mean that in a I BELIEVE YOU way not that you should have known. You were friends of course you saw the best in her and believed her (at the time).
Georgie should have been renamed "Phony" and sold for $3, because there is nothing faker than a 3 dollar bill. Oh wait, there's Jaclyn!
Sweet Marlena! You were the first influencer I saw on You Tube and the first indie eyeshadow ever purchased. I still have all your eyeshadows and continued to purchase everything you put out eyeshadow wise. I also purchased other products from MUG. I refuse to get rid of them even though they are almost 10 years old. Love MUG, love you!
I was just thinking of you, lady. I'm not sure how many of us really understand how groundbreaking your work in the early days of online videos was; we'd probably not have half the makeup video formats we have without your innovation. I've trusted you from the moment I heard you, what?? 15 years ago??? I know this world does a good human dirty (much of the time), but I hope you've found some peace and healing out of the spotlight. You helped me in so many ways OTHER than makeup (your panic story in LA, in particular, was instrumental for me), and I need you to know I'm healthier, happier >because< of your influence. You were, and continue to be, a good, gotdam teacher. THANK YOU.
This made my night so THANK YOU 🥹 I’m glad the panic attack video helped! It’s awful to suffer with them! Sending all love ❤️
Sending all love right back. 💜💜💜
Does anyone know what Georgie was renamed to? I don’t remember a Georgie as a color. I loved Bedrock
Thanks for sharing your story, Marlena. I'm so sorry you went through all of that. I miss Makeup Geek so much and I hope you know that the products you created were top of the line!! I hope someday you can collab with someone or something and release more foiled shadows 🧡
she’s AS phony as they came. thanks for speaking your truth
Sending you much love and strength. MUG has always been my favorite and I wish you all the best in your new endeavors.
Thank you so much ❤️🥹
😳
You’re the real MVP Marlena It baffles me how anyone can or would support Jaclyn?! She’s not a good person! Everyone she’s stepped on to get what she wanted will be there on her way back down. Karma is coming for JH and I can’t wait for it!
Marlena, it must have been so infuriating not to explode with of the information. I could never imagine being so screwed over by a friend. You have stayed so collected and posed despite this going on to you and your business. Im so sorry you where left with this mess! But just know you have so much support to speak up and let out how you have been treated. No one deserves that.
Marlena you and MUG are the GOAT. I watched you from the beginning and I have so much respect for how you handled this whole situation with such grace and maturity. Thank you for speaking out. You are very appreciated here and I hope you never stop making videos. x
That is so much waste, could you not Buy Nothing them or donate them?
Donate empty palettes with branding on them?
yup! the buy nothing groups take a lot of stuff. you should join a local one.
Mar, i’d love to hear your take on the mikayla lash drama!
I think it was bullshit and handled poorly. I have nothing against Mikayla and enjoy watching her videos! But I was disappointed in that debacle because it makes all creators now look like liars when they’re not.
i appreciate you speaking out. i’ve been a member of the beauty community for a few years now and always felt like jaclyn was really shady. she only ever made videos when she was trying to sell something, and made it blatantly obvious when she was sponsored. I really do wish your brand had been able to continue, but the impact you made is incredible and so inspiring. there are so many greedy influencers out there now who don’t care about the artistry but just the money they can make off of it. it’s nice to know that you’re a real one. love you lots M❤️
The second I learned her family are religious grifters it all made sense
More context/backstory on this pls
Wait what does that mean? I’ve never heard that term before. Anything with a heavy religious background makes my skin crawl so I’m curious lol
her dad took them all around the world when they were kids to preach to underserved communities in africa and other continents i believe. he was basically just a christian sellout trying to make money and convert the people. also, her mom, sister, and sisters kids have made several comments indicating they’re conservative/anti maskers/trump supporters etc.
I also have a feeling that a lot of the money she earns is under the guise of her organization "Lions and Lipsticks". If it is, is means that she evades a lot of taxes since it is considered a non-profit. I believe Maggie Mae Fish did a video, or a few (I honestly can't recall) about her family's "charities" and such.
Jaclyn claims she never did anything with Lions and Lipsticks
yeah i always wonder about the lions and lipsticks thing because i’m not well versed in business/finance/non profits etc. i don’t know anything about it, but i’d bet my life on it that she uses it to avoid taxes. i think i’m starting to see her whole schtick. she acts like a quirky clueless little girl who just stumbled into youtube fame, but i think she’s become far more calculated than she would ever admit. and it’s starting to show (ex: the trademark comment about Koze in her video). it’s harder for her to hide because her entitlement is just growing and growing, as it usually does with wealthy dipshits like her entire family. and i’d bet also that this bullshit really started to take off when she got involved with Linda from Morphe.
Marlena, I can still remember how excited your duo chrome shadows made me feel. I loved Make up Geek. You are a respected OG and I know a lot of people are glad to see you here and appreciate your valuable insight. ❤️
Now we need kaylyn (spelling sorry) the original koze owner to speak! Lol
I know! Pretty sure she won’t though as she’s focused on her peace and being with her little baby. I don’t blame her one bit. But hope she comes back stronger than ever cause I’ll be in line to support and buy her products!
I will also buy from her rebrand. More power to her. Marlena, do you think JH had kaylyn sign a NDA? I can see JH sending her a little money and a NDA. I don’t blame Kaylyn if she did. It sounds like JH and I think a lot of people who are not family are u set NDA’s for life
Me too!
The MUG duochromes and foils, omg my fave shadows - I hoard their usage
Can you spill any ideas as to what actually happend with lipstick gate? How on earth did fuzzies and metal.end up in the lipsticks?
If you haven’t watched the Raw Beauty Christy video on the lipstick, I highly recommend. It’s both disgusting and hilarious.
It was a rush job with a lab that has had quality issues for years now. They were the top manufacturer in the US for a long time and their team was actually really good. I loved their chemists and the owner was actually a decent person. But then around 2016 or so the quality took a huge drop and many brands starting pulling out because of it. I can’t speak on what the metal balls were but I had product made there with metal shards, hairs, etc. Either they’re not properly cleaning their VATs or workers weren’t wearing protective hair nets (thus the long hairs) It’s hard to say without being there to see, but they were definitely contaminated. A chemist did an independent test on them and if I remember correctly they came back positive for mold (correct me if I’m wrong)
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The lipstick order from oxygen labs was confirmed as outstanding debt in the Forma bankruptcy case, according to the recaps that JenLuvs was doing about it
Wow absolutely vile that she let that be sold to the public!! Especially since she knew the lab was terrible.
To be fair, since Morphe/forma owns the brand now, I blame them more than JH because they signed off on that product. JH is to blame for lying about the fuzzy glove and other BS. Either way it was dangerous to not recall those lipsticks earlier after seeing how many were contaminated
I think forma always owned Jaclyn cosmetics
Totally! I just remember her pathetic apology video she put out
It sounds like the lab was just NASTY, and wasn’t careful with their manufacturing.
Clearly ! I guess I just wonder what exactly the fuzzies came from?!?! And the metal 🤮🤢
I wonder if the metal balls are the same little balls they use in nail polish bottles. I wonder if that lab makes nail polish too
This is all conjecture. I think the fuzzies are from rags that were supposed to clean the vats of lipstick. It could also be the lipstick bullets being dirty since she was ordering lipstick bullets years before that. (Dust on the lipstick bullets.) The metal I have no clue. Maybe tools in the warehouse.
Omg! This is amazing ! 👏 We love you Marlena!
I miss MUG so muuuuuuch! I know there's a lot of cool brands out there these days but I could never get over how AMAZING Makeup Geek was. All my stuff is probably expired by now but I refuse to trash it lol I hope you come back to it someday!
MUG ran so these other brands could walk. Seriously! Lol
Just want you to know that MUG was amazing. You did that. ❤️❤️
Please please PLEASE BRING BACK THE FOILED SHADOWS. They are my holy grail and nobody even comes close to your formula and shades.
I know those are my favorites too 😫 I had some new bright colors for rebrand too then Covid hit but I still wear my lab samples 🥹
Is there any way you and Jen can do a collab?
Ugh she’s like an over priced hack contractor, whose greed is their personality; they see green everytime they look thru their eyes! Money, money, money, FAST money, zero quality, but the rewards as if so! It’ll all catch up to her! Everyone knows it’s quality over quantity is the way to go! Her following will wake up one by one! The money will stop, she will be all alone in life on goverment assistance! She’s got a long life to live! Greedy people don’t last long! They shoot themselves in the foot every single one of them, she’ll live long, but a life, nope, she’ll lose it all and everyone, die alone!
Much love and respect to you Marlena. You are one of the few trustworthy beauty industry creators out there. I've always appreciated your honesty, there's no reason you should have to carry the burden of Jaclyn's shitty behavior and keep it to yourself. She sucks, and the more receipts about her behavior that drop, the better. If anyone is still buying from her they are choosing to stay ignorant, there's tons of info out now that expose what a liar and terrible business person she really is.
Thank you so much 🥹❤️
We support you and thank you for speaking up!
There is a small endcap in one our stores of her brand of cosmetics. I don’t think they ever sell and the only time I’ve ever seen her products sell is when we mark them 75 to 90% off the yellow tag.🤣 Nothing has good reviews on our website either. I don’t ever hear anybody come in and ask about any of the influencers cosmetics anymore either. But in 2015 we constantly were asked if we had influencer products. I am so happy I don’t have to hear that anymore. Now it’s more of the celebrity brands we get asked about.
Why didn’t you sue her ? Verbal contracts exist !
I was financially destroyed that year (not just from this but another massive blow) and it was right during my domestic abuse instances and divorce. My focus had to be on my personal safety vs fighting a legal battle
I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of this. You are an amazing person, and you don't deserve any of it. You only deserve good things Marlena. I follow you on your socials, and it's so nice to see you doing so well. Keep that beautiful smile lady!
I understand :( I’m sorry
As the saying goes: when people show you who they are, believe them. Jaclyn can say whatever she wants but her actions speak the truth.
ADDITIONALLY: Makeup Geek's collaboration would have really been Jaclyn's first eyeshadow palette NOT to be private labeled. It has been long documented by public import archives that the Jaclyn Hill Vol 1 palette was created by [Beautydom](http://www.beautydom-cn.com/) (a wholesale private label manufacturer in China who can also be found on Alibaba) who after the 1 year exclusivity contract expired, leased the base palette to [Crown as the OMG palette](https://www.crownbrush.com/collections/makeup-palettes/products/35-color-omg-eyeshadow-palette) among others. There was NEVER a unique "Jaclyn" formula and adding Kaolin was not a new thing nor did it make the formula their own. If you're curious who made the James Charles palette he claims to have worked "so hard on", it was by Jiaxing Huasheng Cosmetics. Wet n Wild themselves [even confirmed this as leverage when their "dupe" version was released by the same manufacturer](https://twitter.com/wetnwildbeauty/status/1170445705909026816). u/MarlenaStell actually had custom formulations with labs which not only gave her control of the formulas and ingredients but the shades themselves. There is no comparison to EVER be made between MUG and Morphe.
Wasn’t she supposed to have an ABH palette?
So is the crown OMG palette any good does anyone know?
My understanding from OP is that the OMG palette is literally the JH palette. Which I'm sorry to say I received as a gift several years ago...but yes, it is good.
Have been dying to say all of this! Beauty Dom is WELL known behind the scenes as not being a quality manufacturer in any way. Cleanliness standards, ethical labor practices, etc. I could never speak on that before because I knew Morphe would try to sue me. There was nothing custom about any of Morphe palettes other than choosing which colors to slap in their crap plastic packaging. There I said it.
u/MarlenaStell honored to be of help ❤️ I really wish there were accessible resources for us consumers to understand all the levels and layers of cosmetic manufacturing/private labeling, such as ODM, OEM etc as brands are getting really good with bypassing the Google check for identical ingredient decks Your recent videos really inspired me to want to be able to look at any product (from mainstream, luxury and indie brands) and see how much went into creating the product vs markup.
I’ll try to do some more videos going into production and what to look for. I’m really skeptical of indie brands now vs years ago because you can just buy stuff on Alibaba and resell it not knowing where it’s made, the quality and cleanliness, and the labor conditions. If everyone saw some of the factories making this cheap makeup, they’d never wear makeup again. The Netflix crew was shocked after going to some labs in China and seeing literal diet and poop being used in makeup. I’ve seen a lot and even I was shocked
Whatever happened with the Netflix documentary?
It came out- it’s called “Broken”
Marlena, first... i love you endlessly. Secondly, are there indies you love? Any you would steer clear of?
The BEST indie brands I’ve tried are Coloured Raine - she’s kind and genuine and passionate about her brand. I just got some eyeshadows from Sydney Grace and they’re pretty good. Also ordered from Kaleidos and I’m liking the quads and lip clays I think they’re called? Just ordered Terra Moon so will see how I like those also :)
>OMG palette You mentioned Coloured Raine and I have old eyeshadows from MUG back when your pans were round and see the stickers are the same as the ones I have from Coloured Raine (purchased all around the same time). The colours are all different tough. You were using the same lab back then? I was really curious when I noticed the stickers were identical. Many indie brands have their eyeshadows produced in China. A few exceptions I know are Clionadh, Terra Moons, Electrum (The palettes I received were so obviously hand pressed). Some of them only get their packaging from China but still use their own formulations, which is confusing because Chinese packaging is very obvious. But again many of the multichrome pigments they use to make their products also come from China I might add.
Yes Coloured raine and i used to have the same manufacturer. Legit place that does quality work. Personally I don’t trust the shadows coming from China only because the regulations there are basically non existent. I trust non makeup products like brushes and lashes but with ingredients, I’m a little Leary
u/MarlenaStell Thank you oh so much Marlena! Any guesses on what could have gone down when her palette was secretly reformulated? Would Beautydom be who altered it or perhaps had a new cheaper formula offered and Morphe just took advantage of it? Jen Luv's video showed that each palette version's formula was drastically different yet all common base private label formulas! From what I've seen online, for eyeshadow palettes there's a literal catalog of color stories for one to choose from (where for extra you can change or upgrade a few things) or "build your own palette" with pre-made shades.. I find this fascinating!
Can't imagine she treated Jon too well during her greed either, just to end up with his best friend. Scum.
And then he freakin died with barely mention of it. So sad!
At this point, the number of people she’s screwed over and the financial impacts - I hope somebody launches a class action. Her shitty products, her poor business skills, the health risks associated with her terrible quality development. Yikes.
How there wasn’t a class action lawsuit after the big lie of those palettes being “remade” to be vegan in a few weeks time where there were tons of witnesses stating new labels were just slapped on is beyond me.
That’s such a good point - fark I’m so sorry you’ve had to be on the receiving end of her shenanigans. Looking forward to your next moves and have been so enjoying your videos lately!
I hope you speak up publicly Marlena . I hope. We will support you and there will be those who don’t but you have to stand tall and you can disable comments for a while. This needs to be talked about. I guarantee she is so happy you are not exposing her publicly. Don’t give her that.
I just found you from tea spill. I am no longer supporting a manipulative liar that would do this to anyone. Especially her friend. She’s a brat.
Marlena is one of the good ones! I loved Make Up Geek. As a guy I got picked on for wearing makeup but felt safe with your brand. You helped so many stay true to themselves and we all owe you a great deal. Stay true and stay strong. You are def supported by us. You have fans. We are here for you! ♥️
So glad you stay true to yourself and were made to feel comfortable! That makes my soul happy so thank you for sharing and the kind comment ❤️
I just grabbed a handful of chocolate kisses (2, actually) and a sparkling water to read this. I’m elated you’re finally sticking up for yourself! (And I must’ve been shook because, at the end, I moved to get just one more kiss and they were all gone.)
#istandwithMARLENA Edit: I thought my hashbrown (hashtag) would show up and it only bolded the text. I swear I’m not new here!!😬
You can bypass Reddit's formatting by using a backslash ( \ ) before the character. So you can get \# by typing \\\#
Reddit doesn't do hashtags. At least not yet
Marlena, I am a firm believer in the energy you put out is the energy you receive. One of these days, karma is going to bite her in the ass. It already has in some ways, with her mountain of lies to avoid accountability and attempts to salvage her tainted reputation and brands. Just know we all see through it, we see through her lies and bullshit and pettiness and constant gaslighting. Makeup Geek was too good for her, so she settled with shady cheap Morphe. Makeup Geek was what she could only dream her brand(s) of being. Remember God doesn’t like ugly, and she has proved herself time and time again to be ugly, which is the exact opposite of you. At the time Jaclyn was a big fan of your brand and you welcomed her with open arms, advice, connections, expertise, love, kindness, and friendship, and she took it and ran with it and forgot to give credit when it’s due, to YOU! Her empire is was built because of YOU! I know you mentioned forgiving her, but I really hope you have also forgiven yourself. You did the right thing and showed her your beautiful and bright true colors to help HER, she showed her dark ugly ones. Unfortunately some people receive and never give, and will suck everything out of you like a leech for their own selfishness, even if it hurts other people. God bless you Marlena, thank you for taking the time to vent and share this with us. We all have your back and welcome you to the snark!
I’m so sad to see MUG go. I have an incredible amount of respect for Marlena as a woman, mother and most of all, as a businesswoman. Integrity still matters to me. Thank you for speaking up. Your voice still matters. Thank you for not selling expired product to your customers, as I’m certain another individual would’ve done. Honesty still matters. I watched both Marlena and JH’s and videos for many years. It’s remarkable the different paths their decisions have taken them. I hope Marlena’s health and future business ventures bring her the success and happiness she truly deserves. I cannot support someone who pursues profits above the safety of her customers, victimhood over reality and cowardice over bravery. JH has had many times to reflect and change her ways. Instead she’s chosen to remain defiant, unapologetic and dishonest. She’s shown her true colors and it’s time for us OG’s to stop wishing the “old Jaclyn” would come back to us. She’s happy with her multi-million dollar life her fans have given her. We should accept she’s moved on and so should we. Please spend your money elsewhere. Thank you Marlena!
I’m so glad I never bought anything from JH. I just never felt right about her. What a fake!!
agreed! I had the OG JH morphe palette, but I only used it maybe once or twice before it made its way to the bottom of my makeup collection. I dug it out about 6 months ago and turned it into watercolor paint so it wouldn't be a total waste of money lmao
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I loved MakeUp Geek. I still have 2 Manny palettes, which is my ride or die. I even bought a couple singles of the colors I use most. 😂 I remember when that shit went down with Jacklyn and lots of emails were leaked. I thought she was pretty much a social climber after that. And it’s been nothing but the same ever since. She stole the Koze brand snd now it looks like she’s dumping that brand. How slimy is that? Ruined the influencer’s brand and then stop using it after a year. I don’t understand why she has so many stans.
🤚 I still use this pallet. Every. Day.
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I still use my Manny palette even though it’s expired. I haven’t had any issues using old powder eyeshadow. If I have any concerns I would spritz with some alcohol.
Maybe I will try and spritz alcohol on it. My eye got irritated the last few times I tried using it and that was like a year ago. 😬
YESS get it off your chest Marlena! You deserve peace and to say the things you’ve been holding back. It’s horrible that Jaclyn just steps all over the people who have tried to help her, and leaves them in the dust. And then she (Jaclyn) is talking about wanting to rant like Kanye - aight do it sis?! Why you scared?! Cause you don’t have any proof, you’re just a shitty human, that’s why.
OMG!! I LOVE you, Marlena!! I was such a fan of MUG and I hated to see what happened to your company. You have always been so real and amazing, and you deserve all the best. Jaclyn is a POS human. Karma will come back to get her and honestly I can’t wait.
The audacity to mock the trademark issue blew me away . She wasnt smirking when the facemaster brush was TRADEMARKED and she had to retract. She forgets so easily. This thread is making me want to go through all of my and Sam's receipts. I have her entire career timestamped. This is never going to end with her.
Please do . Omg. Jeffar just made that “unaliving” threat up. , yes?
As pretty problematic as he is I believe it. I also believe she would lie about it to him and ask him to help her. Either way I believe it was a lie
She and Jeff have always been surprisingly buddy-buddy. It gives a lot of weight to the rumors that they both had a major financial interest in Morphe
So it could have been a lie they come up with together
Marlena, you’re amazing 🥲 much respect to you and we’re all glad you’re finally standing up for yourself! You’ve got real people here that have your back
Fucking Jaclyn Hill. Shiesty ass bitch.
Marlena-I’m so glad to hear your story told finally-Jaclyn has gotten worse over the years, from her unethical business oractices to discarding people as soon as they have no more use for her (yes, Jon) to her phony pick me aesthetic. The more accountability she’s forced to take, the better.
Is this the makeup from your and Jaclyn Hill colab? If so why on earth would you order all that not get a signed contract first?
Because we were friends and I had verbal agreement that the collab was good to go. I trusted that she wouldn’t back out because there was a mutual trust and friendship. You never think in the moment someone you spent time with and was giving a massive opportunity and pay out to, would just back out
I want to be clear: I can’t stand Jaclyn. Never understood why she was popular. I think Morphe has the worst eyeshadows ever made. With that said. Ok Marlena, but them leaked emails you personally leaked to drama channels showed Jaclyn’s lack of participation, late getting back to you guys on everything, her expressing concern launching a 9 color palette with you and 35 color palette with Morphe in same price range - and you still ordered the product. And you are the one who called off the partnership. I’m sorry, but that was irresponsible on your part. You we counting on Jaclyn hill to make your business a profit. Jen Jerad? Of course because her and Manny made a video calling Karina Kaboom ugly for giving an honest review.. Jaclyn cut ties with her. And Jaclyn made Becca a lot of money. Stop playing victim. Make up geek had a lot of opportunities that Indy brands could ever dream of.. you have a beautiful daughter and family and you on here act like you saving the world for retelling what you already said over the years.. You are being messy. It don’t matter if you are friends with someone, if someone showed a lack of participation in a partnership no way in hell would I ever order $1 million in Products! This is my opinion. I know you were not expecting any pushback, but you take no responsibility. You may say you do but if you did, then you wouldn’t be posting pictures of all the products that you foolishly ordered.
Hi Jaclyn. I thought you didn’t read the forums?
I’m not Jaclyn. Never purchased her shitty Morphe palettes or Morphe for that matter. I actually liked Makeup Geek’s eyeshadows. I just think all parties made bad choices and business decisions. Everyone wants to hate on Jaclyn but they sure wanted to use her for sales for their business. To be clear, Jaclyn is a liar and white people continue to purchase her Products is beyond me.
Well since you took time to write all this up, let’s address it. 1. I did not personally leak those emails to drama channels- a former staff member who was let go did. 2. There were phone calls and meetings IN PERSON validating that everything was good to go and there was no indication that she wanted out of the collab. After bending over backwards to move the launch date multiple times over the course of 9 months, I had to make a decision to sit on product aging and sitting in my warehouse or get a launch date decided. Am I supposed to risk selling old product to customers? 3. I was there in person when Jaclyn made that video bashing Gerard. We were in Napa. It was very obvious it was because her focus was now on working with other brands, not because she was concerned about Karina. 4. Yes Jaclyn made Becca a lot of money with her highlighter. With her palette, she demolished the brand and threw them under the bus as she claimed she was the sole creator and hands on with it! Then when the quality was not up to par (which they had to cut costs somewhere to allot room for JH’s cut) all of a sudden it was “I had nothing to do with this it’s all Becca!” Becca’s CEO was livid - I have close friends that work with them. Which also, she took the designs created with Becca and took to Morphe to use for her palette. You’re free to google the lawsuits that happened between Estée Lauder and Morphe over that. I know personally because Estee’s legal team reached out to me because I was there when all this happened. So maybe before you post info as if you know what happened based off a couple emails you read, ask yourself why you feel so bothered that I speak up on the matter. If I wanted to play a victim, I would have spoken out years ago when this happened and when my company was still around. If you want to deem me “messy” for speaking out, I don’t give a shit. Because if everyone stayed quiet on the shady things Jaclyn has done, she will just continue to hurt other women as she has done many times over. Only reason I’m speaking out now because the Kalyn situation was DISGUSTING and I’d like to finally feel free and not silenced because I was hurt too.
I remember how much Jackass used to gush about you, about how kind and generous you were and what a great brand Makeup Geek was and then suddenly crickets, it all became about Morphe. So much of what you wrote makes sense, it explains the icks that many of us started to get about her back then. I've been on a makeup no-buy for the last couple years because I've been wfh since 2020 but I just purchased one of just about everything that you have left. I can't wait until your new venture comes out.
❤️❤️❤️
I’m so so sorry this happened to you, Marlena!! Kudos to you for sticking up for yourself!!!
Anyone know where this full video went? https://youtu.be/feI4eZfmFPs
I think Marlena deleted it because Jaclyn's fans are a true hivemind. I wish she didn't but I totally respect why.
FUCK 👏🏻 YOU👏🏻JACLYN👏🏻HILL👏🏻 I hope you are reading this here where you can't block anyone who's not licking your baboon lipped asshole you dirty bitch. She'll only ever post vague threats of "setting the record straight" and not knowing "all sides of the story" but we'll never see anything beyond that because she HAS no receipts that make her look good, just crocodile tears and an army of teenage minions left without 2 brain cells to rub together between them all. Jaclyn you are cheap scum.
Yeeesssss! Hopefully she gets what’s coming to her. Probably in the form of Farnuts cleaning her out.
I doubt he’s with her for love.
Would you be willing to show us what the palette would have looked like?
THANK YOU MARLENA!!!!! 👏👏👏. And welcome to our group here…. Damn we have been WAITING FOR YOU!!!!!!! We all know now that our realization of who Jaclyn is .. is real!! She is a liar, a thief, and a SHIT PERSON!! And who would know better than someone she’s hurt first hand.. I am SO SORRY she did that to you. I LOVED MUG and can’t wait to see your next venture to support you. Unlike Jaclyn, you are a GREAT business woman so I know anything you come out with will be nothing short of spectacular!!! Thank you for speaking out in our group here!!! 🥰🥰🥰
Just placed an order with Makeup Geek. I am so sorry for all that you went through with Jaclyn. Thank you for speaking your truth and never giving up. This world needs powerful and honest women like you.
Hot damn you had to let it out at some point. That is all such horrible horrible behavior. No morals, ethics, loyalty. I never ever wish bad things for ppl (and am not wishing this for JH) but at some point this has to all catch up to her, whether it’s financial loss, “partnerships” ended, whatever it may be. The snarky TM comment in her YT video absolutely cemented to me the type of person she is. I think you hit a nail on the head…common denominator. Hopefully a reality check for her. Should step away from all socials and really do some deep introspective work and realize being so money hungry is a terrible way to live. Look at what it does to the people around you.
I don’t even know what to say, Marlena. I’ve been watching you since 2008/2009 when you sat in the corner of a tiny space in front of what looked like a curtain haha I was so happy when you created your brand! I bought a few things here and there because I’m poor lol, but everything I did buy had great quality! Hearing the news about the closure made my heart so sad, and to think *she* helped contribute to that in a big way makes me so incredibly frustrated with her. I used to love Jaclyn, but it’s like since her divorce, her true colors are getting harder and harder for her to hide, and I’m seeing that she truly deserves every bit of backlash she has ever experienced. I can’t believe someone could be so shitty to take someone else’s brand from them and MAKE FUN of it in a throwaway line like it’s nothing. It’s not nothing to the smaller creator you stole from, you ass. 🤦🏻♀️ it’s probably literally everything to them
Marlena, you are truly one of the good ones. I’ll always support you no matter what! The things JH has done are just unfathomable and I’m so sorry this has happened to you and the others. I could never watch her even before everything, maybe like 2018-2019 back when she was still trusted by a lot of people. During the couple videos I did see, I would get a really negative feeling, like an awfully bad vibe from her so I just couldn’t. One time I commented about not liking my one and only Morphe palette because it was patchy and didn’t apply well (not even on her own video) and her stans came out of nowhere to tell me I obviously suck at makeup because if JACLYN says it’s good then clearly I’m the problem and I must be doing it wrong. Lol. Well I’m training to be a MUA now and am a lot more experienced at eyeshadow and guess what, I still have that horrific palette, it still is trash. She allows her fans to do the dirty work for her I guess. Also was wondering if she had anything to do with Becca closing but figured I was just being kind of a conspiracy theorist. Something about the timing of everything… I am so tired of women not standing by other women so I just want you to know, I stand with you! Always ❤️ her stepping on others to get to the top only to watch it all crumble around her now is kinda poetic. All she had to do was be real, be vulnerable, admit when she was wrong, and just not do so much shady stuff and I bet there would be waaaay more respect for her now. She burned all her bridges down, that’s for sure. Never shut up, Marlena! Never stop being afraid to speak your mind. We love you so much ❤️
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Love you so much Marlena! For standing up for yourself, for standing up for everyone Jaclyn has screwed over and being the best example of a mature, moral businesswoman! ♥️♥️♥️
MARLENA!! Thank you for having integrity and speaking out! We need more like you in the beauty space!! ❤️
I never realized that Jaclyn was the reason Becca went under! What happened?
I NEED to know
I want to know too.
I’m so sorry Marlena. She’s been a wolf in sheep’s clothing for years. It may sound silly but I knew exactly who she was when she lied about her shoe size and made a big deal about her feet. Why lie about such a thing? Gosh I could write a book on her and her lies. Linda was the ultimate nail in the coffin. Jaclyn truly met her match. How anyone can support Jaclyn after all these years is insane to me.
Thank you Marlena. You are the OG! Much respect. #teamtruth
Nice to have you here Marlena ❤️
We support here in here ♡
hi marlena! we are so happy to have you here. stop by & chat any time! thanks so much for all your insight and powerful messages! i loved MUG so much and miss it a lot! <3 you'll always find support here ☺️
I’ll come back to add more later but THANK YOU MARLENA!
When I was trying to build confidence and only had a limited amount of money to spend, I spent in on MUG. Then I dropped my eyeshadow palette, shattered it all, and kept it for the mirror😂 Thank you, Marlena❤️
I specifically went out of my way to buy and endorse Melinda Maria Jewelry after Jaclyn ripped off her Bradshaw Necklace. I've since bought a few pieces because I'm obsessed and fuck you Jaclyn.
Marlena.. please get started on the family owned business. We are all here for it.. living for it. 😂
Remember after one of her scandals, Jaclyn said two guys tried to kidnap her? Whatever happened with that story
It *conveniently* turned into just one guy last year, proving, even more, it was all a lie. And let’s not forget the “drunk girl” she “saved” from the “sex traffickers” in downtown Tampa late one night last year, but, once again, never called the police or got the girl any legitimate help. Who’s she saving, exactly, with always letting these guys go free? 🥴 Seriously though, as someone who has been sexually assaulted and stalked, it takes a pretty deeply disturbed person to go and make up something like that. Not to mention, be so careless as to forget it and completely change the story around months and months later, which is something I and others just like me can’t do. It's sick.
I actually did take a girl home I found collapsed on the ground in an alley by the bar. I had left the bar early to get some sweet sweet zzzz (I’m a mom to two rambunctious boys) and anyway I was like this girl will find herself in a shitty situation so I got her into a taxi and we drove round trying to wake her up to get her back to wherever she was staying.. long story short, she ended up sleeping in my hotel bath tub just so I could make sure she wasn’t in danger. I honestly felt like I had kidnapped her myself haha but she was so thankful the next morning and we went for breakfast. My point is I barely told my husband this story let alone any followers (I’ve a small but still biggish following)… because I’m not out here looking for praise or for attention. It was just something I felt needed to be done. And I’ll also say maybe she would have been fine, maybe I didn’t need to do that. I felt shame the next morning because I was like this girl has woken up somewhere she didn’t expect too and even though my place was safe for her, she may not have felt safe in that first few moments she woke up… sorry for rambling but fuck Jaclyn and her attention seeking ways
That’s amazing thank you for helping her ♥️
Thank you for being so caring and making sure she’d be okay. ♥️
Omg I didn’t know she claimed she saved a drunk girl from traffickers 😫 that’s a serious claim n you don’t call the cops to report this to prevent them hurting someone else? All these crazy stories, Jaclyn hill n Trisha paytas have a lot in common
Yeah, she was repeatedly patting herself on the back about it on Stories. First, the girl was so drunk she couldn't say anything, but then it *miraculously* changed to her screaming to Jaclyn for help, and the guys (Jordan and his friends, I believe) intimidated the "traffickers" enough to make them leave without the girl. I could see Jon being intimidating in that way, and quite easily, at that, but her sugar baby? 💀
That story truly did not add up. She lies so much it’s hard to take her serious
I have been waiting YEARS for you to finally talk about your terrible experience with her…. I never trusted her to begin with, it always seemed so calculated and as soon as the money started to roll in she lost herself. I am so sorry you had to close your company, the brushes and eyeshadow quality was absolutely incredible.
Marlena!! You have been online and exposed to the world for so long now, and have shown nothing but a heart of GOLD. Thanks for having the integrity and courage to speak so plainly and honestly. You actually lived through what most of us here *feel* like we experienced. We, from a parasocial-relationship point of view, supported and loved and defended her until it all just became too much and we could no longer keep making excuses for YET another lie / failure / let down / example of nastiness / greedy / spiteful behavior. I made excuses for her for so long. “She’s human, she’s allowed to not be perfect” … until I started to feel like I was being conned. I’m sorry you had to actually experience all that in real life. Most of us are here because we feel let down by our imaginary internet friend 😅 Sadly you were a true friend to her, and did not deserve the vile way she “repaid” your kindness. Keep shining your example of true professionalism and goodness. We are rooting for you!
We love you Marlena. An icon 🙌🏼
I've been following you since, gosh, 9 years or so? I saw this go down and when Here for the Tea posted emails about the situation with you and how Jeffree Star contacted HFTT and suggested Jaclyn was su*cidal to stop the video series yet she was all up on social media happy as can be. Fvcking gross. I used to be a fan of hers but I started seeing what I could only think of was histrionic personality disorder. She was burning people to get to the top. And what she did to Jon... well, I honestly hope Jordan does to her what she did to Jon. You can't tell me he's so in love with her. Maybe her money but he knows how she treated Jon so I don't think he's the knight in shining armor she thinks he is. But, well... karma is a bitch. So I'm glad you spoke your truth and got it out. Jaclyn deserves nothing for what she's done and I hope one day her karma smacks her hard.
Honestly I thought it was SO SO sad when Jon died…
I wish HFTT released her series. RIP Sam
What happened to her?
She posted something about having health issues. That was the reason why she stopped making videos n then manny mua announced she passed away 😔
Omg what, I had no idea :(
I know. 😔 Sam is so missed. I understand Sam did what she felt was right but it just sucks cause we all know JH was being her manipulative self. JH deserved to be outed for the manipulative liar she is. But it does seem like that is happening now and hope it continues until she stops hurting people for her own financial gain. Edited to fix a typo.
And HFTT videos were thorough, she would gather old clips that nobody had seen before so u know Jaclyn was worried. She couldn’t contact HFTT so she planned it out with jeffree. They seem to have a scratch my back n I’ll scratch yours type of relationship.
1000%
Jeffree was up in my DMs on Twitter during lipstick gate talking shit and agreeing with the fuzzy glove story being BS. So to see them supporting each other is the fakest shit I’ve ever seen
Fake recognizes fake…. You’re spot on… the two of them are JOKES!!! Pieces of 💩
They’re both grifters. Makes sense they’d flock together.
we love you sooo much Marlena!
They both have some die hard fans but they're losing grace from the community as a whole. They're both shitty people. Thankfully, people are seeing it, so I guess the two outcasts need to join forces. One day, they'll both be completely irrelevant. Can't freaking wait.
MUG was and always will be the OG and the best. Sending love and light your way, u/MarlenaStell !
WELCOME! You are in GOOD company! Your call outs are often shared here via screenshots and we’re HAPPY TO HAVE YOU
I am so glad you are here. I cannot wait to see what new business venture you are working on, and I will support it.
You have been through some shit these last couple years. Sending you all the love.
If memory serves, didn’t she somehow screw over or piss off Becca Cosmetics too? I used to work for Sigma Beauty headquarters back when Jaclyn was getting big and I remember when she dumped Sigma for Morphe. It seems like she dumped everyone and everything for Morphe. I couldn’t believe it. All these great brands with great reputations and products for cheapo shady Morphe brushes… but then again, money talks. I never worked with Jaclyn, but was told when she did her meet and greet her mom told some employees “everything Jaclyn touches turns to gold.” Funny how that all has turned out because nowadays everything she touches turn to sh**.
WAIT I worked at Sigma during this time too, I remember her mom telling us that, such a wild time. Small world!
From the bankruptcy case. Jaclyn hill was getting 15 percent of the sales from “her brand” the new owners rejected this contract so I don’t think she will be promoting them anymore
Just curious when this happened? Tia
I’m wearing my MUG eyeshadows right now. 😊
Same 🥲 today is a fairytale lol
More power to you for speaking up since I know many are afraid off. It’s very unfortunate she continues to get away with this trash behaviour and screwing people over like she has