How Far Would You Go to Track Down a Discontinued Beauty Product?
Collage: Bella Geraci; Source images: Getty
Content creator Hannah Chody has been in love with Tom Ford’s cream and powder eye color in Golden Peach since 2017, when a friend who shares her green eyes and fair complexion gave it to her as a birthday present. “It was unlike any other cream shadow I had ever used,” Chody says of the duo, which included a metallic cream base and sparkly peachy-brown shadow. “It was easy to apply, it stayed all day, and I loved the color.”
It quickly became her everyday go-to, and she emptied and repurchased it at least seven times. In spring 2023, Chody, who has over 133k followers, made a TikTok raving about how Golden Peach was her “holy grail.”
“But when I tried to link it, it wasn’t on Sephora’s website anymore. I thought, ‘That’s weird,’” she recalls. “Then a follower commented, ‘Just so you know, it’s being discontinued.’”
Record scratch.
Chody hadn’t known. She proceeded to scoop up every remaining set she could find at online department stores. When a follower living overseas offered to send a few units unearthed at a discount sale in the UK, Chody took her up on it, wiring the stranger money for the product and the shipping. “I had grown so attached to it,” Chody says wistfully. ”It was a really simple step in my routine that made such a difference.”
I can relate. For four years, I went through a jar of Pantene’s Miracle Moisture Boost Petal Soft Hair Treatment with Rose Water every three weeks. According to the instructions, it was intended as a mask, but I used it as my daily conditioner. It was by far the best budget-friendly product I’d ever found to smooth and soften my wavy, color-treated hair. About two years ago, I noticed it was getting increasingly harder to find. I began searching the CVS website to locate any remaining jars near my apartment in Manhattan. When that became impossible, I started taking the subway to different parts of town—including two other boroughs—to chase remaining stock. When every jar in New York City was gone, I started buying them off eBay, Poshmark, and third party sellers on Walmart, some charging as much as $30. (The original retail price? $7.99.) I found a dozen for sale through a Canadian pharmacy, only to have the order canceled and refunded because they were out of stock. Pantene does still offer a similarly-named and packaged Miracle Moisture Boost Conditioner with Rose Water in a tube. I tried it. It’s just not the same.
Prior to getting on the phone with me, cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos looked at both labels and may have zeroed in on the reason: The mask contains Quaternium-26, a water-soluble silicone that softens and detangles hair, while the conditioner does not. “I can’t find evidence that the ingredient was discontinued,” says Dobos, “but I can’t find anyone currently distributing it.”
Scarcity or difficulty obtaining a key ingredient often play a role in a brand’s decision to discontinue a product. “Suppliers might cease manufacturing raw materials for a variety of reasons,” explains Dobos. “They may not be making enough money from it or it doesn’t fit with their core business model.” As a result, a brand might opt to stick with materials more readily available or that allow them to build up steady inventories. “During the pandemic, there were certain raw materials that brands weren’t able to get as easily and it really shook people into thinking more about their supply chain availability,” says Dobos.
Trends can also influence raw material production. The surging demand for sulfate-free shampoo in recent years, for example, has meant a pivot away from brands using formulas with the ingredient sodium lauryl sulfate. There’s no shortage of it at the moment but, says Dobos, “as an ingredient becomes less desirable and less profitable, a manufacturer may decide it’s not something they want to make anymore.”
The decision to pull a product can also be a matter of regulatory issues. Liah Yoo, CEO and founder of KraveBeauty, pulled its best-selling Beet The Sun sunscreen off the market in 2021 when testing revealed the SPF protection in the product, manufactured in Korea, fell short of claims made on label, putting the product at risk for non-compliance. Reports have long suggested that the FDA’s approval process is antiquated when it comes to sunscreen, leaving the United States far behind countries like South Korea when it comes to the latest advances. “Nevertheless, if it’s being sold in the U.S., it has to meet U.S. regulations,” says Dobos.
Another example: Huda Beauty’s Neon Obsessions palettes sparked a class-action lawsuit claiming the brand “represented [the colors] as eyeshadows despite containing color additives that aren’t approved for use near the eye.” In 2022, the lawsuit was settled for nearly two million dollars. The palettes are no longer available for purchase.
As for Beet The Sun, a new, FDA-compliant version returned to the market in 2023. During the two-year interim, KraveBeauty devotee and New York-based hair and skin-care influencer Tatiana Lewis didn’t hesitate to keep using the original. “To me, it seemed like it wasn't approved because of a bunch of random reasons,” she says. “Asian [manufactured] sun protection is amazing. I was more concerned about how I was going to get it. It had been snatched off the shelves in Little Korea [in New York City], where I’d buy it. I panicked.”
A beauty pal in Malaysia who found a few remaining units came to the rescue. On top of reimbursement for the product and the shipping, Lewis paid over $100 extra to get the package through customs.
Canadian actor and creator Casie Stewart didn’t cross time zones or pay import tariffs when Benefit’s Hello Flawless powder foundation, her MVP since 2012, was discontinued in 2019, but she did dramatically brave the elements.
Like Chody, Stewart’s first clue that her beloved might not be long for this world was its sudden disappearance from Sephora. “One day it was just gone,” Stewart recalls. “I asked and they were like, ‘Oh, we don’t sell that anymore, it’s been replaced with another palette.’ Excuse me? It was shocking.” Stewart gamely tried the suggested substitute, Hello Happy Velvet Powder Foundation, but returned it the next day. “Hello Flawless was like photoshop for your face,” says Stewart. “The other one was just… not as good. I couldn’t use it.”
After searching every other beauty supplier in the Toronto area and conducting an exhaustive online hunt that came up dry, Stewart unexpectedly struck gold at a liquidation pop-up in Muskoka—a rural lakeside town over two and a half hours away—that she and her boyfriend had decided to check out. “They were liquidating mostly housewares and small appliances. Hello Flawless was the last thing I expected to see.”
“But lo and behold, I saw it on the very back of the wall. I’d know that black and white packaging anywhere. I ran over and grabbed as many as I could, I think it was six or seven. My boyfriend was like, ‘What are you doing? You only have one face!’”
In hopes of a restock, Stewart and her boyfriend returned to the warehouse a week later, digging through bin after bin to find one single, newly-added box. By her third attempt, her boyfriend had tapped out. In the middle of a snow and ice-packed Canadian winter, Stewart drove alone, navigating Muskoka’s slippery, winding dirt roads in -5C (23F) weather only to discover the pop-up was gone. “I’ve been out of Hello Flawless for two years now,” sighs Stewart. “RIP.”
Even industry pros aren’t immune to the heartbreak of discontinuation, including makeup artist Erin Parsons. “There was a Milani black pencil,” says Parsons. “It was the best damn eyeliner I have ever found. I’ve been doing makeup for 25 years and to this day, nothing surpasses it. I don't understand why they discontinued it. When they stopped making it, I found 50 on eBay. I bought every one. I think I spent $500.” A few years later, she has only “a couple” left.
Parsons also tracked down a bottle of Revlon Outrageous Shampoo, wildly popular in the 90s, because it held childhood sentimentality. “I just wanted to smell it again.”
She’s not the only one. A Change.org petition was started in 2022 to revive Revlon’s original Outrageous formula; it currently has 131 signatures.
That’s probably not enough. At the end of the day, it’s about the bottom line, says Cathy O’Brien, a longtime cosmetics industry consultant. “Unfortunately, a cult or niche following does not necessarily translate into sales,” O’Brien explains. “Every business does a monthly or quarterly SKU [or stock keeping unit] review that looks at its top and bottom performers, what is or isn’t selling. Brands have to manage their costs. There have been a number of times they’ve had to discontinue things that people are devastated over, but just weren’t selling.” On the flip side, brands often test the earning potential of a new product by presenting it as a limited edition: “If it sells quickly and people love it, they may decide to add it to the permanent collection.”
If you’re passionate about a discontinued item, it’s worth letting the company know. “Brands want to hear from the customers, always,” says O’Brien, who is now CEO of skin-care brand Naturopathica. “Contact customer service or DM them. Social media is a great way to communicate your feedback. You never know how many others might be telling them the same thing.”
When I mentioned the number of people, myself included, purchasing their discontinued products from online sellers, Dobos was wary. “As these ingredients age, their preservatives break down. If they’re too old, they can produce irritants and breed microorganisms,” confirms Dobos. I meekly inquire…. even conditioner? “Anything that goes on your scalp presumably touches your skin as well,” she says. “Just because you don't see [the irritants] doesn't mean they’re not there. I know people love their products, but the risk is pretty significant if it's past its expiration date or hasn’t been sold for years. You have no idea what the quality is.” Advises O’Brien: “Ask the seller what the expiration date is before you buy it, because people just unloading old stuff on the Internet is a big problem.”
The last thing you want is expired product anywhere near your face, adds makeup artist Chad Hayduk. “Think about it. Do you really want expired lipstick on your mouth, where you’re basically ingesting it?” Another risk with unauthorized sellers, he points out, is authenticity. “There are lots of counterfeits and fakes out there.”
Hope is not lost. For those in search of an unspoiled version of their favorite discontinued color, Three Custom Color Specialists, which Hayduk co-founded in 1993 and currently serves as creative director, is one of a handful of custom blending companies that recreate discontinued makeup formulas. (Giella, with two physical locations in New York, is another.) Clients can search Three Custom Color Specialists' archive of over 12,000 shades dating back to the 1930s or send a sample of the discontinued product they want made fresh to order. Prices start at $70 for a set of two and the lead time is around two weeks. “We do all categories of lip color, eye shadow, cream to powder blush, lip and cheek stains, concealers that double as foundation, pressed and loose powders, bronzers, and brow powder,” says Hayduk. “We do everything by hand. We don’t do pencils, polishes, or liquid foundations because they require machinery.” Among their most in-demand requests: Guerlain’s Divinora 480, a nude lipstick discontinued in the 90s which Three Custom has been making for superfan Angelina Jolie for years. “Her makeup artist gave us the sample to match for her,” says Hayduk, “and now we send it to him.”
Chody’s Golden Peach eyeshadow loss has a silver lining: it has snowballed into a compelling, relatable content journey. Followers have flooded her with alternate suggestions, which she regularly tests on camera before delivering a verdict. “This definitely seems to be a shared experience. I’ve gotten a lot of comments about how this reminds people of their favorite product being discontinued,” she says. A few nominees have come close to her beloved Tom Ford duo, says Chody, but no cigar yet. “RMS Beauty has a cream eyeshadow called Eyelights in two shades that I’ve been mixing, Sunbeam and Halo. And they had a limited edition holiday color holiday called Luster that was very close. I worked with Surratt Beauty on a video and I do really like their gel-cream Souffle Eyeshadow. I mixed the colors Rose Reve and Ciel Dore.”
Still, her search remains ongoing.
Given her following, does she think the Tom Ford team might reach out? “I hope so,” she laughs. “I haven’t heard from them. I’ve tried to get in touch to no avail, but I’m here! I’m patiently waiting.”
As for me, a writer without a sizable social media following who’s down to her last 17 jars of hair treatment squirreled under the bathroom sink, I suppose it’s time to start my own quest for a replacement. But hey, Pantene, if you’re reading this, let’s talk?
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Originally Appeared on Allure
