LORAC

LORAC is an American color-cosmetics brand founded in 1995 [5] by Carol Shaw, a Hollywood makeup artist who worked with film and television clients. The company is based in Valencia, California, and concentrates on makeup rather than skincare or fragrance. Its name is simply "Carol" spelled backwards.

Since June 2018 LORAC has been owned by Markwins Beauty Brands, the privately held parent that also holds Physicians Formula, Wet n Wild and Black Radiance [7]. The brand remains operationally active, with a live direct-to-consumer storefront, but it no longer trades as an independent company.

LORAC began with a problem Carol Shaw kept encountering on set. According to the brand, she developed the line after watching celebrity clients suffer skin irritation and breakouts from the products used during shoots, and set out to build professional-grade formulas around gentler, soothing ingredients that would not compromise on performance. BeautyMatter describes her as a makeup artist who created the brand "after identifying a need for products that wouldn't irritate her celebrity clients' sensitive skin" [5].

The founding year is recorded as 1995 by BeautyMatter, and a December 2015 press release marking the brand's 20th anniversary is consistent with that date [5][6]. A figure of 1996 has also circulated, but it traces to an arithmetic inference rather than a stated year in the source; 1995 is the year given explicitly across the available records.

For its first two decades LORAC operated as an independent makeup house with ties to Hollywood studios, celebrities and, later, influencers. The brand describes itself as one of the original celebrity cosmetic brands.

In December 2015, around its 20th anniversary, LORAC announced an investment partnership with Encore Consumer Capital, a San Francisco private-equity firm [6]. Tim McMeekan took over as chief executive following the deal, while Shaw stayed involved in operations [6].

The next change of hands came in 2018. On 17 June that year, Markwins Beauty Brands acquired LORAC [5]. CB Insights records the purchase as Markwins' fourth major acquisition in fifteen years, after Wet n Wild and Black Radiance (2003), Physicians Formula (2012), and Bonne Bell and Lip Smacker (2015) [7].

LORAC is owned by Markwins Beauty Brands, which has held the brand since June 2018 [7]. The earlier private-equity backer, Encore Consumer Capital, had taken its stake in late 2015 [6]. Under Markwins, LORAC sits alongside Physicians Formula, Wet n Wild and Black Radiance in a portfolio that spans mass, masstige and prestige price tiers; BeautyMatter framed the LORAC purchase as Markwins' entry point into the prestige channel. The shared corporate ownership is visible even on the storefront, whose footer carries a copyright in the name of Black Radiance, another Markwins brand.

The brand positions itself around professional artistry made accessible to everyday users. In its own words, LORAC aims for "skin-friendly ingredients" and "effortless, red carpet style," with formulas it describes as ultra-pigmented, gentle and velvety-smooth. BeautyMatter characterised it as "the original professional makeup artistry brand" holding "prestige consumer brand" status.

That professional framing extends to the product claims. The company states that its formulas are paraben-free and made without mineral oils, and a 2015 release described signature items as "formulated without oils, fragrances, and harsh irritants."

LORAC works across face and complexion makeup — eyes, lips, cheeks, bronzer, foundation, concealer, powder and primers. Its best-known product is the PRO Palette, an eyeshadow palette, alongside the PRO Contour Palette [6]. Other named collections include TANtalizer bronzers, UNZIPPED eyeshadows, POREfection complexion products and the ALTER EGO lip range. The company says its formulas draw on natural botanicals, antioxidants, vitamins and emollients.

LORAC's PRO Liquid Lipstick in the shade Soft Mauve was recognised at the Teen Vogue Beauty Awards in 2016 [1].

LORAC is active but no longer independent. The brand operates a direct-to-consumer storefront at lorac.com — carrying a current copyright and a live product range — under its parent, Markwins Beauty Brands, which acquired it in 2018 [7]. Founder Carol Shaw moved into a consulting role after the earlier 2015 investment. Distribution centres on the United States, where the company also keeps its manufacturing and business operations in Valencia, California [6].