Bath & Body Works Discontinues Cucumber Melon

I heard something that made me sad. Last night on Twitter, Irene (pinkiecharm) reported that Bath & Body Works is discontinuing the cucumber melon line. The reason this makes me sad is cucumber melon shower gel is the first thing I ever bought myself from Bath & Body Works back when I was about 14. This scent has so many memories attached to it for me – you know how scents can do that! Irene seems to feel the same way, according to her blog post about it.

There’s a little bitty silver lining to this, and that’s if you want to stock up, cucumber melon (as well as the rest of the signature line) is buy 3 get 3 free. However, this promo ends tonight. So if you want to stock up now would be a great time. Shipping is free over $50. Yes, this is valid in-store as well.

If you can’t make it during this promo, I’m sure there will be more in the future. It would seem that B&BW is going to sell this until it’s sold out, as they have moved it to their Fond Farewell section for discontinued products.

More Newly Discontinued MAC Items

MAC has added some new items to the chopping block! Better check this list to make sure one of your favorites isn’t about to go bye-bye. This may or may not indicate some things we’ll be able to find at CCOs in the near future, too.

EYES

Eyeshadow Pots: Prussian, Crazy Cool
Eyeshadow Pans: Prussian, Tete-a-Tint
Pigment: Later
Paint: Base Light
Shadestick: Sharkskin, Taupographic, Beige-ing, Shimmersand, Gentle Lentil
Greasepaint Stick
Pearlglides: Undercurrent, Lord It Up
Liquidlast: Electrolady, Blue Herizon, Powerplum, Coco Bar, Inky, Inkspill, Aqualine
Impeccable Brow Pencil: Black
Dazzle Lash: Star Brunette
Plush Lash: Brownette
Pro Long Lash
Mascara X: Dark Brown
Studio Fix Lash: Studio Brown
Fibre Rich Lash
False Lashes: 35, 42, 46

LIPS

Lipstick: Mystic, Shitaki, X-S, Eden Rocks, Lamé, Stay in Touch, 3-D, London Life, Honeyflower, Underworld, Deepest Wish
Superglass: Fab Frenzy, Sweet Tart
Dazzleglass Creme: Lightly Prancing, Soft Dazzle, Radiant Jewels, Passing Fancy, Gone Romancin’
Dare to Wear Lipglass: Dare to Dare, Ban This!, Wind Me Up
Pro Longwear Lipcolor: Commitment
Lipgelée: Moistly, Amber Russe
Cremestick Liner: Velvetella
Lip Treatment (the one in the lipstick bullet)
Tinted Lip Conditioner: Plum Perfect

CHEEKS

Blush (Pot): Honor
Blush (Pan): Honor, Flame Red
Blushcreme: Posey, Lillicent, Uncommon, Ladyblush, Brit Wit, Laid Back
Mineralize Blush Duo: Light Over Dark, A Little Bit of Sunshine, New Vibe
Bronzer: Refined Deeper Bronze
Iridescent Powder: Belightful

SKINCARE

Studio Moisture Fix

FACE

Select Sheer / Loose Powder: NW25, NW45, NW35, NW20
Mineralize Satinfinish: NW50
Select Moisturecover: NW50
Select Cover-Up: NW50
Studio Sculpt Concealer: NW50

TOOLS

Brushes: 189, 194
Pencil Sharpener / Duo

NAILS

Nail Lacquer: Ming Blue, Rain of Flowers, Concubine, Jade Dragon, Sly as a Fox, Style Clan

FRAGRANCE (“Creations”)

MV 1, MV 2, MV 3, Turquatic

MISC.

Travel Jar .25 oz set of 4
Burmese Beauty makeup bag
MAC Pencils: Beelicious, Wavyblue

Aromaleigh Shutters its Doors

Longtime mineral makeup etailer Aromaleigh is closing its doors. Kristen Leigh started Aromaleigh over 10 years ago, and this is very sad news to many. The quality of her products in my opinion was very very good. Here is what Kristen had to say…

Aromaleigh News, June 28th, 2010… The End.

Aromaleigh bids you adieu…

We’d like to thank everyone for the last 12 years of support and repeat business… it’s been an amazing ride, but it’s time.

Some of the happiest times of the last decade+ have been receiving emails from ecstatic women whose lives and outlook had changed from something as simple as makeup…

Aromaleigh never started off being about making a quick buck. I started the company with a dream of independence and creating my unique, natural line of Aromatherapy products and fragrances. We grew slowly… one customer at a time, and soon customers were requesting natural cosmetics.

Our first cosmetic product was a tinted lipbalm called “Color Wash”…. our Pure Powder, in 5 shades, followed soon after… and in the months that followed, frost and matte eyeshadows, and more…

I’ve given my heart and soul to this company, and the last 12 years of my life. But I am unable to continue, as I have to be honest… there’s nothing left inside of me to give. And what I do have is reserved for the most important person in my life.

I can’t and won’t provide a detailed explanation for this decision… those who know me well know that this has been a decision that has torn me in two for several months. Nothing I say or don’t say can matter at this point. All I will say is “You’ve won… I’m gone. You can stop now…”

It’s makeup. It’s supposed to be fun, and empowering and beautiful. But it’s all become ugly. More ugly than I ever imagined.

I’ll be offering the following “Goodbye” coupon for the next 2 weeks…

ADIEU35

35% off the entire store, not applicable to previously placed, shipped or received orders… Aromaleigh reserves the right to refuse any suspect or incomplete orders for any reason, Large international orders, as per our international terms, are subject to additional ship fees.

First come, first served for inventory… most inventory is not real-time, and sold out product will be updated daily. Being able to order a product does not guarantee stock. Please allow 7-10 business days (possibly more, depending on volume) for your order to be processed.

With a very heavy heart, I thank you all for this journey… and I also look forward to a future that is serene and blessed… for all of you, as well…

Sincerely and with a bunch of tears as I type this,
Kristen

Shu Uemura Leaving US Market

A bit of sad news for my Shu Uemura fans out there. Shu is leaving us. They will be pulling out of the US market completely over the next few months.

The Shu Uemura Art of Hair will still continue to be available in the US at select salons, but stores and counters will close.

After that time, the only place we will be able to get Shu is from their website, which will remain operational.

This bums me out, as I always loved going to the Shu Uemura store in South Coast Plaza, where the staff is oh-so-helpful. This decision comes down from parent company L’Oreal after sales have been poor for Shu Uemura in the U.S. overall. They will continue the brand outside the U.S., doing about 80% of their business in Asia.

Are you going to miss Shu Uemura?

Prescriptives Custom Blend

As we are mostly aware by now, Prescriptives will no longer be sold in stores as of January 31st. They will continue to sell products on their website, but the brand is going out of business so supplies are only available as they last.

However, one important thing to let you know is that if you are someone who uses their custom blend foundation, they are going to sell that on their website for a while (also “as supplies last”). What you have to do is go to your local custom blend counter and get your foundation recipe. Then register that recipe at Prescriptives’ site: http://www.prescriptives.com/customblend you will then be notified when your foundation is in stock and available to be purchased.

This applies to the liquid foundation and the powder.

I hope that helps someone!

More Discontinued MAC

MAC Pro sent out an announcement…they’re discontinuing more stuff! On the chopping block…

Eyeshadow:
Naval
Atlantic Blue

Glitter:
Crystalled Yellow
Crystalled Pink
Crystalled Lime
Crystalled Purple
Crystalled Orange

LipMix in White Frost

Paint Stick in Nocturnal Plum

Chromacake in Burnt Burgundy

Hyper Real SPF 15 Foundation – all shades

Cream Color Base – Rich Spice

Sculpting Powder – all shades

Shaping Powder – all shades

Full Coverage Foundation in W55

Loose Beauty Powder in Paperwhite

Loose Blot Powder – all shades

Prescriptives, Out

It’s the end of an era, folks. Estee Lauder announced yesterday that it will be closing Prescriptives and will cease distribution globally by January 31st, 2009. This is the first time Estee Lauder has ever closed down one of its brands.

Why are they closing it? It just wasn’t successful anymore. Estee Lauder has been hit hard by the economic crisis, so it seems as though they are trimming the fat. Apparently this has been a long time coming. Frankly, I’m not terribly surprised.
Whenever I wandered around the cosmetics department of a store, the Prescriptives counters seemed to be ghost towns. And sometimes weren’t even manned. Of course you can always get someone from another counter to ring you up if you want something from an unmanned counter, but that person hasn’t necessarily been trained in that brand’s product lines and may not be able to help you if you don’t know exactly what you want.
Prescriptives as a brand lacks personality. I mean look at MAC. They have a personality. They’re out there, they’re creative, they’re edgy, and oh so cool. Estee Lauder is reliable and classic. Clinique is the brand for skincare and median-price good quality cosmetics in a wide variety of neutral palettes. Many of us started on Clinique as young girls. Who is Prescriptives? They seem to have a sort of ‘clinical’ vibe like Clinique, but do we need another Clinique? The test tube-shaped lip glosses makes me think of science classrooms and lab coats, but when I think of lab coats I think of Clinique. Prescriptives never seemed to do a good job of establishing a strong personality concept or message. And just like a boring American Idol performance, it’s “forgettable”.
When Prescriptives was born the idea of “colorprinting” was revolutionary and all the rage. Now it’s not as much, and many other brands are doing it anyway. That you could get custom foundation and other products from them has always been a cool concept, but not all locations offered this service. A custom foundation isn’t cheap either. I believe they run about $60. With so much competition from other brands with very wide shade selections that cost half that, why would I want to drop $60 on a foundation? Apparently a lot of other people felt the same way, because it hasn’t been a money maker for Estee Lauder in a while.
All of this is not to say that they don’t have a lot of good products in the brand, but I have a feeling some similar products will be showing up in other brands in the near future. Seriously, can you just think of the madness if now MAC started doing custom foundations? Estee Lauder owns the technology of Prescriptives’ custom match process, so it could happen. And I guarran-frickin-ty you it would sell like hotcakes just because it has the MAC name on it, especially if it’s within the general pricepoint of other MAC cosmetics. Mark my words.
I believe that the bulk of the reason why Prescriptives did not succeed as a brand is marketing, marketing, marketing. It’s a shame, but I really hope the good things about Prescriptives’ brand will be absorbed into the other brands in the Estee Lauder family.
Are there other brands doomed to the same fate as Prescriptives? Rumors are swirling about another Estee Lauder brand, Origins, also shutting its doors. Other rumors abound about the brand too. One rumor is that they are scrapping their color cosmetics line completely and concentrating the brand solely on skincare. Another rumor is their current color cosmetics will be scrapped in favor of an all organic line. I guess time will tell if any of those are true…

Max Factor, Out

BREAKING NEWS…

According to WWD, cosmetics giant Procter & Gamble will stop selling Max Factor cosmetics in the United States starting early 2010. The brand will continue to be sold globally.

WOW!

Um, time for me to stock up on my favorite Max Factor mascara?? That would be the 2000 Calorie Extreme, by the way.

2000 Calorie mascara has a huge loyal following. I’m so sorry to you guys who are going to be really distraught over this. :(

Say Bye Bye, MAC

MAC has updated their chopping block with the latest items from their vast collection that are getting the axe. Here’s a list of what’s going bye-bye. Plan your hauls accordingly.

* = Limited Edition Items
Well duh, of course these are going away. But this is your final call to haul. Now that these items are officially discontinued, counters & stores are going to have to RTV (return to vendor) their inventory. You can find RTV’ed inventory at Cosmetics Company Stores (for the nearest location check www.outletbound.com), but it’s kind of a crap shoot as to what each outlet will have. At the time of this posting, all of these are still available.

Palettes

Wisteria Eye Trio (* Dame Edna)

Eyeshadows – Pans and Pots

Newly Minted
Graphology
Flourishing
Clarity
Aquavert (* Sugarsweet)
Dear Cupcake (* Sugarsweet)
Sugar Shot (* Sugarsweet)
Mont Black (* Chill)
Deep Shade (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
100 Strokes (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Top Knot (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
French Cuff (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Knight (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Pincurl (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Henna (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Femme Fi (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Flip (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Mink & Sable (* Starflash)
Bold and Brazen (* Starflash)
Go (* Starflash)
Sunset B (* Starflash)

* Sugarsweet Shadesticks – Cakeshop, Red Velvet, Penny, Butternutty, Lemon Chiffon

Paint Pots

Girl Friendly

Eyeliners

Shade Fluidline
Dress Khaki Liquid Last
Greenplay Liquid Last
Classic Cream Liquid Last
Antiquity Technakohl

Mascara – Pro Lash Charcoal Brown

False Lashes – 37, 38, Blinking Cool

Brushes – 272 Small Angled Shader, 311 Lip Liner

Lipsticks

Chintz on Chintz (* I think, don’t recall the collection…)
Delish (* Sugarsweet)
Sweet Thing (* Sugarsweet)
Lollipop Lovin’ (* Sugarsweet)
Bubbles (* Sugarsweet)
All’s Fair (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Chignon (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
What A Do! (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Blow Dry (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Marquise D’ (* Blonde Brunette Redhead)
Flourish (* Monogram)

Lip Gloss
Pro Longwear – Alta Moda, Lustrebloom
Cremesheen Glass (*Cremeteam) – Looks Like Sin, Creme Anglaise, Fashion Scoop
Tri-Color Gloss (* Sugarsweet) – Triple-Yum, Consume Me, Tasty, Simply Delicious, Just Dessert
Lipglass – Nico
Lipglass (* BBR) – Red Devil, Peroxide, Soft Wave, Live and Dye
Plushglass – Cushy White, Plus Luxe

Lip Liners

BBQ Lip Pencil
Quartz Lip Pencil
Cremestick Liners – Gingerroot, Raw Refined, Naked Rose, Cranapple, Creme Sherry, Sweet Brown, Honey B., Plum Royale, Plum Soft, Caramellow

Highlighters

High-Light Powders – Spectacle, What A Dame! (* Dame Edna)
Mineralized Skin Finish – Perfect Topping, Refined (* Sugarsweet)

Blush

Strada

Studio Stick Concealer – NC20, NC30, NC45, NW20, NW25, NW45

Glitter
Reflects Antique Gold
Reflects Purple Duo
Reflects Bronze
Reflects Transparent Teal

Misc.

Shave Cream
Monogram Fragrance Set
Underlaquer

So Long, Farewell

Some of you are going to be really sad to read this post.

It is confirmed, Laura Mercier cake liners have been discontinued. The caviar line will stay.

Cake liner devotees, my condolences for your loss. I know they are a much-beloved product with a cult following.

Edited: Apparently they are not being discontinued after all? Now the word is they are being repackaged for the new palette system. For all of you I hope that is true!