“When a creator’s name is attached to a product, you are not just approving content”: Inside Mikai McDermott’s MAC lip kit deal

Beauty creator Mikai McDermott has collaborated with MAC Cosmetics on a UK-dedicated lip kit, marking her first creator-name product with the brand.

The limited-edition set pairs MAC’s Honeylove lipstick with its Chestnut lip pencil – a combination McDermott, who worked on a MAC counter as a teenager, has worn for years.

Her manager, Tashan Dwyer, founder of Franklyn’s Forum, said the collaboration followed 12 to 24 months of relationship-building with the brand and was structured from the outset with product in mind.

“We treated the early conversations as two parallel tracks: creative development and commercial structuring,” Dwyer told The Daily Influence. “So that if the partnership progressed beyond a campaign moment, the foundations would already be in place.” 

The agreement was finalised in the week of the shoot.

“When a creator’s name is attached to a product, you are not just approving content,” said Dwyer, a corporate lawyer by background. “You are protecting long-term brand equity, reputation, and creative IP.”

Negotiations focused on rights and usage boundaries, IP protections, approval processes and payment timelines.

“A licence can have any terms attached to it that you want,” Dwyer said. “You can make it one month, one country, non-exclusive, with approval rights. Or you can make it much broader.”

The focus on tightly defined usage terms comes as creator image and personality rights face closer scrutiny across the industry.

McDermott, a Jamaican-born beauty creator with more than 460,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, also runs The Linen Service, a creator-owned platform spanning podcast, newsletter and in-person events. In 2025, she partnered with Airbnb on a sold-out Makeup Masterclass Series in London.

“We are building a body of work, not a collection of moments,” Dwyer said.

The launch was announced alongside a separate limited-edition lip kit fronted by UK beauty creator Rachel Leary.

This partnership is featured in Dealbase. Explore more here.

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