Cosmetics: Lipstick with A Conscience

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A seven-year-old Canadian cosmetics company is giving some older firms a tough battle in one of the toughest of markets, Manhattan. Celebrities and just plain folks are streaming to the two outlets opened this year by M.A.C., which stands for Make-Up Art Cosmetics. Founded by Frank Yoskan, whose profession lends the company its name, M.A.C. expects its sales to increase 75% this year to more than $22 million. By the end of next year, the company's North American outlets will nearly double, to 70, including stores in Los Angeles and Miami. M.A.C.'s appeal is professional-quality cosmetics served up by hip- yet-unsnobbish sales help. The company has a social conscience as well, shunning animal testing, raising funds for AIDS research, and recycling. Under a "Back to M.A.C." program, customers get a free lipstick for every six containers they return.