Max Factor is a cosmetics legend. Or, at least, he was. Credited with coining the term “makeup,” he was preferred by Hollywood starlets such as Marilyn Monroe and invented both lip gloss and waterproof mascara. But according to Proctor and Gamble, which bought the makeup brand in 1991 from Revlon, Max Factor is not selling enough to stay on Amercian shelves. So what happpened to this iconic brand in its native nation?

In contrast to CoverGirl’s availability at 50,000 stores, Max Factor apparently only boasts 8,000 outlets, and figures have remained less than exciting since the turn of the millenium. These days, the main slice of the brand’s $1.2 billion annual sales actually comes from Russia and the UK. In the past few months makeup artist icon Pat McGrath and model Gisele Bòndchen have fronted Max Factor campaigns to help boost US sales, but even these efforts have gone unnoticed by consumers.

Though beauty devotees still remain loyal to the brand’s unique quality, the mainstream market has failed to give it due patronage. Max Factor, the original Hollywood movie studio make-up brand will have to be imported into the city that made it famous by early next year. But, maybe once it becomes a rare commodity in the US, Max Factor will once again be hip in Hollywood.

—Retna Wooller