Does Jeffree Star Own Morphe?

Jeffree Star is an internationally known YouTube beauty guru, with millions of views and an eponymously named maked brand that sells out within minutes when it launches new products. However, Jeffree Star is also known for his collaborations with Morphe Cosmetics, and given both Star and Morphe’s meteoric rise in success, many might be wondering if Jeffree Star owns Morphe.

Jeffree Star does not own Morphe Cosmetics. Though Star owns multiple businesses, including Jeffree Star Cosmetics, Morphe Cosmetics is now owned by majority shareholder, General Atlantic. Though Star is not an owner, he is a large part of Morphe’s history as a cosmetics company and one of their biggest spokespeople.

Read more below about Jeffree Star, Morphe Cosmetics and how the duo has collaborated multiple times.

Makeup Mogul

Jeffree Star’s career began as a Myspace music artist. Having moved to Los Angeles after high school, the now-makeup mogul, worked part-time as a makeup artist, while focusing on his music career. 

During his time in the music scene, Jeffree Star recorded one studio album, Beauty Killer, but ultimately left the music industry when a record deal with Akon fell apart. Instead, Star moved his social media base to YouTube and began recording makeup tutorials and product reviews, often causing controversy with his candid commentary and famous feuds with other YouTube stars.

In 2014, Jeffree Star launched Jeffree Star Cosmetics, which has gone on to be one of the most successful makeup brands of the past decade. Star has also gone on to be one of the top YouTubers with over 18 million subscribers to his channel. 

Today, Jeffree Star’s net worth is estimated to be around $200 million and Jeffree Star Cosmetics is valued at $1.5 billion. Star built his fortune between his YouTube channel, his makeup line, collaborations with other companies, investment properties and several other businesses, with Star saying, “I own an entire shipment and fulfillment center, I own a merchandise company, I print and manufacture everything myself. So I have about ten businesses that I’m currently running besides my brand which is my cosmetics company.”

From Trade Show Circuit to Retail Riches

Shortly before Jeffree Star made a name for himself in the beauty industry, Morphe Cosmetics was founded. According to the company’s website, “Morphe was born in 2008 among the artists and influencers in Los Angeles. Finally. A beauty brand created for the creators.”

In actuality, it was sibling duo, Linda and Chris Tawil, who founded the company. Initially Morphe was a line of makeup brushes sold at trade shows. As the popularity of their brushes grew, and their social media presence took off, the Tawils launched their first brick and mortar store in 2013, along with a website.

Morphe brushes are known for their professional-grade quality while still being affordable to the average drugstore consumer. As the company has grown, Morphe has expanded its product range to a full line of cosmetics, most notably its eye shadow palettes.

In addition to adding new products to their roster, Morphe’s co-founders recognized the opportunity to grow their fan base by collaborating with social media influencers and YouTube stars, including Jaclyn Hill, James Charles, Manny MUA, and of course, Jeffree Star.

You can see Jeffree Star discuss one of his Morphe collaborations in the YouTube video below.

Morphe X Jeffree Star

Not only has Jeffree Star collaborated with Morphe on multiple makeup collections (that are sold at a more affordable price point than Jeffree Star Cosmetics items), but Jeffree Star Cosmetics is sold on Morphe’s website and in their brick and mortar stores, thus creating confusion as to whether or not Jeffree was in fact a Morphe owner.

Though he is not an owner, Star obviously makes money off of Morphe from his collaborations and his products being sold through the company. In an interview with Paper magazine, Star spoke highly of the collaboration, saying, “I really wanted to make a drugstore collection that was a different price point for all the fans that haven’t been able to try my brand — or maybe they have, but they don’t have a lot of it.”

Though Morphe was purchased by global equity firm, General Atlantic, in the summer of 2019, it seems likely that there will be more collaborations with Star and Morphe in the future. In the same Paper magazine interview, Star said, “I picked Morphe because not only are they like family to me, and they have a partnership with my brand in their retail stores, I love their formulas. I actually like the product. If we’re going to collab, everyone has to get the Jeffree Star experience.

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