An indie beauty brand is suing Lisa Frank after a failed makeup collaboration and years-long feud

• Indie beauty brand Glamour Dolls is suing Lisa Frank Inc. after a failed makeup collaboration.
• Glamour Dolls says Lisa Frank Inc. committed fraud, defamation, and breach of contract.
• The brand is now seeking compensation for "direct harm, punitive damages," and more.

An independent beauty brand is suing Lisa Frank Inc. after the two companies failed to collaborate on a makeup line, angering thousands of fans in the process.

Glamour Dolls, a New Jersey-based brand, started a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 to fund a Lisa Frank-themed makeup line that would honor the brand's colorful cartoons that were popular in the '80s and '90s.

Though the campaign raised over $370,000 from more than 5,000 beauty enthusiasts, the collection never came to fruition. Instead, select items were sold through Hot Topic and Ipsy, and a separate Lisa Frank makeup line was released by Morphe in November 2020.

Now, Glamour Dolls is suing Lisa Frank Inc. for fraud, defamation, breach of contract, and more. Representatives for Lisa Frank Inc. did not immediately respond to Insider's recent request for comment.

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Glamour Dolls says in its complaint - which was filed by Glamour Dolls' attorneys on May 27 and viewed by Insider - that Lisa Frank Inc. not only failed to deliver its side of the licensing agreement the two parties agreed upon in 2016, but that the company also shared lies about the situation with the press.

Specifically, the indie brand said in the complaint that it's paid Lisa Frank Inc. approximately $770,000 to date, but that most customers and retailers never received their orders because Lisa Frank Inc. "intentionally and blatantly stymied the process at every possible juncture."

According to the complaint, Lisa Frank Inc. did so by "refusing" to provide artwork and timely approvals and disapproving sample products.

Glamour Dolls also said in its complaint that over the course of its relationship to Lisa Frank Inc., the brand made false statements about Glamour Dolls and "forced early payment" of royalties Lisa Frank Inc. had not yet earned so that it could deceitfully cancel its contract with the indie brand.

"As a result of such unlawful refusal, GDI [Glamour Dolls Inc.] was deprived of the ability to 'use and sell' the vast majority of the Licensed Products for which it had paid royalties," the complaint says. "In effect, defendants reaped the significant monetary benefits of the license agreements while intentionally and systematically preventing GDI from receiving the same."

After doing so, according to the complaint, Lisa Frank Inc. shared "false and disparaging accusations and statements" with the press, and named Insider specifically.

In November 2020, Insider spoke with numerous beauty fans who said they were upset to learn that Lisa Frank had collaborated with Morphe on a makeup line after they previously backed the Glamour Dolls Kickstarter campaign and never received makeup or refunds.

While some fans told Insider they were upset with Glamour Dolls, the majority said they were mostly disappointed in Lisa Frank Inc., and felt as though the brand was ignoring what happened with its original, failed makeup line. One beauty fan told Insider that she felt Lisa Frank Inc. "discarded" the Kickstarter backers "like trash."

Now, Glamour Dolls cofounder Peter Georgotas is hoping that his company's lawsuit can help give backers a sense of what really occurred between the two brands.

"We're beyond grateful, personally and professionally, for everyone who continued to support and believe in us as we worked with our attorneys to get this lawsuit filed," Georgotas said in a statement sent to Insider. "In our continued efforts for transparency, we have a link to the full complaint available here."

"As the case moves forward and information is disclosed, backers and customers will get a more complete picture of the circumstances around the Glamour Dolls collaboration with Lisa Frank," he continued. "Ultimately, we believe justice will be served and are excited to refocus on our mission of creating fun, vegan, cruelty-free products and experiences for customers all over the world."

Previously in November 2020, representatives for Lisa Frank Inc. said in a statement emailed to Insider that Glamour Dolls "completely failed" to live up to its agreement.

"After many months of pushing Glamour Dolls to live up to its contractual obligations and deliver products - to our fans and retailers that ordered products - Lisa Frank Inc. reached the point of exasperation, terminated the agreement with Glamour Dolls, and contacted the Federal Government," the statement said. "To say we are disappointed by the events that transpired as a result of this license is an understatement."

According to the new complaint from Glamour Dolls, the above statement labeled the indie brand as a "corrupt, untrustworthy and incompetent business with substandard products," and caused the company "tremendous injury to its business reputation."

Glamour Dolls is now seeking "compensation for direct harm, punitive damages, and disgorgement of defendants' profits," according to the complaint, though it's unclear how much money exactly the company is seeking.