September 3, 2019

Jamie Kern Lima Is Resigning as CEO of It Cosmetics But That Isn’t a Surprise Is It?

beauty news

Jamie Kern Lima is leaving It Cosmetics! Yup, she is resigning and four days ago on Instagram she shared an emotional goodbye with her fans. This comes as no great surprise to me. It Cosmetics was purchased by L’Oreal for 1.2 Billion in 2016 and Jamie did suffer some backlash from the sale from fans.

I always feel like mega deals like this lead to one thing. A change in formula. We’ve seen it with many different brands in the past such as Urban Decay. Big parent companies like Estee Lauder and L’Oreal are snapping up smaller brands left and right for billions of dollars and it doing so they may be stretching things tight because in the end it’s the brand quality that suffers in my opinion. We’ve also seen many CEOs stepping down lately! Bobbi Brown is another CEO who recently stepped down from her line of cosmetics. You have to question what might be going on behind the scenes. Creative differences or is just a simple manner of hey, it’s time for me to take sometime for myself and my family as Jamie implies as she did recently have a baby and no on can blame her wanting to enjoy time with her family.

Jamie was the first female CEO of a brand parented by L’Oreal. When the L’Oreal purchased the company Jamie and her husband had signed a three year contract and it ends at the end of this month. can’t recall if that was disclosed at the time of the sale but I don’t remember it being mentioned. If it was it would have likely caused some chaos as beloved fans are not going to love the idea of her leaving.

I wonder if Jerrod is next as he inked a deal to sell Too Faced for 1.45 Billion. Will he be sticking around or exiting as well at some point?

We shall see!

How do you feel about Jamie resigning from It Cosmetics?

Do you think the brand will remain the same?

Or change?

52 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • kimkats

    Of course it’ll change, and not for the better. The Industry Giants never improve anything; they just make it cheaper, change the colors/formuations, and frequently jack up the price. Yah, I’m looking at YOU Estee Lauder – you who completely ruined stila by trying to turn a very nice mid-priced brand into your “tween entry in the MU world. You wrecked everything about the brand, and jacked the prices to where no ‘tweener would or, more accurately, Could afford it. This doesn’t bode well for IT. At all.

    • Isabella Muse

      agreed! I do worry about the Ordinary as well since people keep saying the formula has changed!

  • dia

    I had read an article about how a large company bought out Julep and Laura Geller, and drove both brands to ruin. It’s too bad.

    • Isabella Muse

      It’s pretty sad 🙁 I think sometimes when L’Oreal or EL step in it’s always sort of bad news 🙁

    • kimkats

      I think I read where Julep filed for bankruptcy late last year> kind of a shame; I have a few things of theirs, and they’re quite nice!

  • Carol G

    I honestly hesitated to comment on this because I am going to be blunt and honest which may piss some people off. But I feel that this blog is fairly safe to voice my opinion, negativity and all. That being said, I think this is a crock of shit. She built a company now she’s a “billionaire ” and she’s walking away. She got her money. So long, goodbye everyone, nice to know you… Ridiculous and actually a sad representation of the culture in America in general. No one can begin to spend a billion dollars in a lifetime. It’s obscene. When I read about her selling to L’Oreal for that amount of money in the first place I was sickened. All everyone cares about is money. We are a selfish, money-hungry society . You see it every day. YouTube people getting collaborations with makeup companies. It’s sickening. I am so turned off by all the consumerism in this country and what a disposable society we live in. And no one seems to stop and really look around because they’re either too busy taking selfies or counting their money in their over priced mansion. So to Jamie: enjoy your money. I hope it makes you happy. It won’t but that’s what we are all lead to believe.
    (Told you this wouldn’t be pretty).

    • Isabella Muse

      You are always free to share your opinion here! I actually disagree and don’t think it is money. I’m more inclined to believe that they had some creative differences. It Cosmetics seemed like it was Jamie’s baby for a long time, giving up that power must be hard. It’s either that or Jamie just wants to enjoy life and her new child (which I believe she struggled conceiving). I don’t think she’s a greedy person at least she doesn’t seem that way but hey, at the amount L’Oreal paid her she can afford to say, “hey I want some time off to enjoy it” and I don’t really begrudge her that. She created a company from the ground up and nurtured it for a long time maybe it’s her time to take a break now and enjoy her family because lord knows life is too short.

    • Stacy Kraft

      I kind of agree with Carol here . While I don’t necessarily think Jaime is crazy greedy I think that even the purest soul is seduced by THAT amount of money. Personally, I think I would have remained chairman and let one of my inner circle run the show. I certainly hope I wouldn’t let anyone else have it so they could ruin it.

      • Isabella Muse

        I agree that money is very tempting no doubt. You’d be crazy not to accept a billion plus dollars for something! I can’t honestly say that if someone came to me right now and said here’s a billion dollars can we have Musings of a Muse, even if it is my baby, I’d probably consider it. hey, I’m human 🙂 I just don’t think Jamie is super greedy though. I guess maybe she just felt it was time. She seems sincere, humble even, I think maybe she might have sold It and rather than see them make changes she didn’t like she thought that three years would be plenty to help maintain the brand’s reputation by being the face so to speak and after that it was time to shut shop and leave.

        • Stacy Kraft

          And I loved that she used herself in the demos too. As someone with rosacrea I really don’t think I could put myself out there like that so god bless her!! I like when the head and face of a beauty company is a real person and not a bunch of suits or a supermodel.

  • Kimmwc03

    I’m not surprised. I used to enjoy watching her on QVC but I noticed she was no longer on after the sale of the company.

  • L Vallejo

    Jamie will be missed. I miss her appearances on QVC. Her family comes first and I wish success and happinesd for her and family.

    • Isabella Muse

      agreed! I hope that things don’t go bad now that she is gone. I love It Cosmetics I’d hate to see it change!

    • Linda

      If she felt the Integrity of the product was not what she meant the product to be then I can understand this and if she wants to be with her family that’s her choice she’s entitled to do so. I had wondered over the past couple years why we had not seen so much of her now I know why she was so genuine. I hope the quality will not change but we all know how that works Money Talks and they don’t care how they make it! Good luck Jamie Godspeed!

  • Dee

    The only thing that surprises me is her “wording” about stepping down because it sounds like she has recently decided to step down as CEO. Most business owners sign a 2-3 year contract after selling a company and then they leave, and you indicated she and her husband signed a three year deal.

    I DO think IT Cosmetics will change their formulas and quality and I just hate the thought of that. I would think that it would be hard to watch after building a brand like she did.

    • Isabella Muse

      I guess she wants to maintain some sort of “face” for her fans and not make it seem like she knew it was coming. I think it already has. I recently purchased two of the bye bye concealers and the formulas feels different! Not as thick or as emollient. A little harder to blend as well! maybe I’m imagining things!

  • Alix

    I think the brand’s already in trouble. Back in May, I bought the newly launched IT Confidence in a Foundation, but within a couple of weeks figured I’d bought the wrong shade and looked for another. It was GONE. From shelves, from IT’s site, from Sephora’s site (where I’d bought it), from everything — it was like it had never existed, which was hella creepy. So I returned it. So weird.

    • Isabella Muse

      You’re right! IT Confidence in a Foundation came and went really quickly I don’t get what the heck happened with it!

  • Darlene

    It Cosmetics will never be the same now. Jamie worked hard, built a reputable company with good products, was the face of the company, and now L’oreal will start pumping out an endless stream of products, increase the prices, and lower the quality. She may have money now, but it will be hard to watch what her company will now become under new ownership. Look at Bobbi Brown. I can still remember my joy after finally getting to go to my first Bobbi Brown Essentials counter years ago. She had innovative products. One of her lipsticks could change your life! Now she is forced out over “creative differences,” and will be watching the company she founded pump out over-priced, average products. Same with Leslie Blodgett and Bareminerals. Shiesedo bought it, she stepped down, and now the leader of loose mineral makeup is trying to hit all the buttons with pressed powders and liquid foundations. The core backbone of that company is slowly being done away with. Laura Geller and Julep were bought and the giant buyer bankrupted them. Two innovative women silenced over $. Just watch, Two Faced will be heading that way soon. Before long, we will see Tarte at Target. When will companies get back to thinking about who is buying their products, putting out quality releases instead of simply pumping out products for a buck, and focus on innovation and customer service?

    • Isabella Muse

      I couldn’t agree more. Bobbi brown has changed SO much since she left! preach! I agree completely with everything you wrote.

    • kimkats

      Amen to all of this!! Companies no longer exist for the customer; they exist for the investor, and they don’t give a crap about paying attention to the customer anymore. I too was beyond excited years ago when I finally was able to step up to a Bobbi Brown counter! She and I thought alike when it came to makeup; since she left, it’s become indistinguishable from the myriad of other companies. They’ve totally abandoned her original philosophy about makeup (natural, flattering, and generally matte or satin finishes) and now it’s just expensive meh products, churned out one after the other.

      Wouldn’t it be nice if the Industry Giants would read what we think of them, AND change course accordingly? Yeah, that’ll happen……

      • CL

        Companies never existed for the customer. They’re for the owner, or stockholders.

  • Stacy Kraft

    I am reminded of that last scene in the movie “Fargo” where the sheriff is hauling in one of the two murderers and she basically says” All of this for what, a little bit of money” . Clearly my analogy is hyperbolic, but I don’t get why all of these amazing brands sell to the large conglomerates and then the formulas DO suffer. I am not exaggerating when I say Bare Minerals changed my life. My skin was awful and I tried the original powder foundation and my skin glowed, cleared up, and was healthier than it had ever been. Women in my office noticed and immediately went and got it- and loved it. Then it stopped working really. I thought it was me, but NO the company was sold to Shiseido and the formula is simply not the same. I certainly can’t begrudge people wanting to make a significant payday on their creations, but is it worth it when your creation then (often) becomes nothing special? I guess only the creators can answer that. I really liked IT CC- I really hope it doesn’t change, but I can’t imagine that it won’t

    • Isabella Muse

      You are completely right about formulas changing and not for the better when companies are sold. I’ve seen it hundreds and hundreds of times and I’ll likely see it hundreds more. It’s a real shame! They have all this money they can inject into making the brand even better but all they do is cheapen it up! It’s sad!

  • Rstar

    I think the same thing happened to Tarte, Tarte got sold, Maureen left us with amazionian clay but now it’s all festival-unicorn-watermelon silliness. On the other hand, departure of Jaime and Bobbi brown is hard to picture without the founders. They all get some residual income or stocks so it’s not a really a loss if they make money even if they are not running as an active CEO.

  • Jill K

    Sigh, another one bites the dust. These mergers/sales/takeovers never work out well. They change the formula and raise the prices. Sorry to see this happen, I really like Jamie

  • CL

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, many of the upstart cosmetic companies are being founded by people whose fondest hopes are to sell out to L’Oreal or EL. I also believe that virtually EVERYONE would sell out for $1 billion, especially if they were raised as middle class or lower. These people who hang on after the sale (Bobbi Brown and Sonia Kashuk, for example), do not have the power they had before, but they don’t care. They don’t have to worry about the company anymore. They are rich and their children will be rich – no more financial insecurity for them! Yachts, mansions, diamond jewelry, art, designer clothes, airplanes, luxury travel, decent medical care – all theirs!

  • Michelle

    I’m one who’s never liked IT cosmetics due to the irritants in the skincare and foundations, not tolerable for my rosacea skin. That probably won’t improve at L’oreal. I get why people are upset that Jamie, the face of the brand, has left, I was upset when Poppy King left Lipstick Queen after selling it to Space NK. I guess they get the itch to move on after a while.

  • Linda

    If she felt the Integrity of the product was not what she meant the product to be then I can understand this and if she wants to be with her family that’s her choice she’s entitled to do so. I had wondered over the past couple years why we had not seen so much of her now I know why she was so genuine. I hope the quality will not change but we all know how that works Money Talks and they don’t care how they make it! Good luck Jamie Godspeed!

  • Roberta

    I worked for Clinique (owned by Estee Lauder) for almost 20 years. As soon as Estee Lauder passed and her son, Ronald Lauder took over the business, Carol Phillips stepped down from Clinique and suddenly Clinique started coming out with different types of products that we-as loyal employees-were told would NEVER be seen on Clinique shelves! Clinique was always meant to be a very simple and straight forward cosmetics line-with the primary focus on skin care. Not long after that, I left Clinique.
    So yes, things WILL change…whether the changes will be for the better-or the worse-remains to be seen.

    • Isabella Muse

      Don’t you think Clinique changed for the better in some ways? I totally get that it was meant to be a simple brand but some of the newer items that Clinique has come out with in recent years have been really fun.

      • Roberta

        No…I sincerely believe that Clinique was better before. (with the exception of a few of the newer serums in the skin care division) All they have done is make copies of what Estee Lauder has-only they leave out the fragrance and probably test for sensitive skin a bit more than Lauder. (the Clinique men’s basic skin care is exactly the same as the women’s-only in different packaging and a lower price!) (and that includes any Aramis skincare for men-also owned by Lauder)

        What people don’t realize is that there are only a few labs/and manufacturers of cosmetics in this country. Sorry, but I can’t remember whether it happens to be only 4 or 6 manufacturing plants and research labs in the USA.

        What that means is that basically ALL of the cosmetics originate from one of those labs/plants. So, the primary basic products are all the same…and each line may tweak them with a couple of ingredients that they launch with lots of hype as their “miracle product.” When you think of all the different cosmetic lines and price points available when we are all essentially buying he same basic products-it is mind blowing!

        The problem, for me is that I fall for the hype just like everyone else. 🙂
        There is always hope that the next new product coming out will make me look more beautiful, right? 😀

  • Sara

    I just have to comment on this and say the only thing I’m surprised about is she’s leaving so soon. Leslie Blodgett from bareMinerals hung on for at least 5 years after they sold out to Shiseido. That’s why I’m SO SICK of L’Oreal and Estee Lauder and these other giant corporations. The beauty industry is a literal monopoly because most brands are owned by either of them or Shiseido, Kendo, LVMH, etc. so literally the same formulas are being repackaged and renamed into different lines. Look what Lauder did to MAC who use to be THEE authority in color cosmetics. I mean, who actually buys actual Estee Lauder products anymore? No one I know, but the Lauder family funnels the money from other brands into it to keep it ‘relevant’. They have too much money and too much influence on the market unfortunately and it shows here. Origins is hanging on by a thread which is why they invested in Too Faced and Becca in recent years.

    L’Oreal is a multi-billion dollar corporation who owns Lancôme, IT, Maybelline, NYC, Giorgio Armani, etc., etc., and STILL tests on animals. HOW?! I agree with the many comments about how disgusting all this greed is which is why I try to avoid buying from any of their brands.

    These sell-outs happen much too often nowadays and this also happened in 2015 when one of my first and favorite cosmetic companies, Bonne Bell, who were a family owned business for almost 100 years based in Ohio, sold Lip Smacker to Markwins. If you’re American or Canadian and grew up in the decades between 70’s-00’s then you know how much influence Bonne Bell had on teen cosmetics and innovation really. I KNEW the product would go down hill fast and of course now it’s cheap smelling flavors being driven by novelty packaging, all China made now. My favorite Dr Pepper Lip Smacker I wore for over 30+ years is a shadow of what once was the best tinted lip balm/gloss on the market, that smelled uncanny to actual Dr Pepper (which is a real treat when you swear off the real thing and soda in general). Yeah, it may be just lip balm but how do you ruin a staple product and something as simple as a lip balm/gloss that’s been around for over 45 years?! My frustration over the last couple years is starting to show with my wallet and not giving these brands above a dime unless I have a holy grail by them but then I’ll use any rewards points through Ulta or Sephora to purchase. Like everyone else, I’m sick of all of this! I hope others are using your wallet as your voice.

    • Isabella Muse

      I couldn’t agree more about parent companies being monopolies. Estee Lauder and L’Oreal have snapped up and ruined so many brands I love it’s absurd. It’s like there’s no other plays in the game aside from them! Markwins also owns Lorac too now! Brain exploding here! I totally relate and understand how you feel! Many of us do! It’s sad to see how the beauty industry is simply not the quality it once was!

  • Cil

    The beauty industry is too concentrated and that is never good. Of course this brand will change for the worst. Is there any example of a small company putting out good products after being sold to one of these big companies?

  • Buff Sessions

    Well, corporate greed is at it again. Really upset that one of my most ordered products is now being discontinued. Have been a very loyal customer for years. Really sucks that Jamie took a buy out and the product is going to suffer.

  • Toni

    Having used IT cosmetics and really liked it, I don’t think it’s a good sign that Jamie Kern Lima is no longer CEO. Big Cosmetics companies tend to make things cheaply and one of the things that set IT Cosmetics apart was that it’s a quality product. I can see that going by the wayside. Even now watching QVC and watching them demonstrate this product, they are introducing different foundations. So if the product changes and it’s not as good, I’m not likely to stick with it.

  • Sue

    So sad to see products that were perfect for my skin tone and needs actually disappear from the market. Whatever the strategy was, it excluded My skin type and beauty product needs. I’ll be sorry to see the last of my current items gone.

  • Connie

    Well fast forward to today and I certainly see an increase in the IT Cosmetics prices on the Canadian Shopping Channel. What once was a fabulous product and affordable to all, has now become a cash grab for L’Oreal. The formulation seems different, the products don’t have the same efficacy and the prices have skyrocketed to the point IT Cosmetics is no longer affordable.

    And then just this year, L’Oreal discontinued the Clarisonic line. What a huge disappointment and from what I could see, Clarisonic had a huge cult following.

    Shame on L’Oreal! Corporate greed and mismanagement at its finest.

  • Linda Sizemore

    It formulas have changed and no longer covers like it did!! I am so disappointed!

  • Patti lynch

    I just pray they do not change any of the products. I do miss seeing her on qv

  • Cynthia Stein-Turner

    Let’s hope It remains the same. Besides more business for skin care and women with skin problems will sell more. Because they know there are products out there that work with all skin types. I myself have sensitive skin and not just any makeup or skin care will do.

  • L

    2023 L’Oréal has discontinued popular face powders with sunscreen incl.
    These mergers should not be able to keep the company’s name when they purchase the smaller corps because it makes consumers think it’s the same quality. Not changing names intentionally misleading.

  • Janene

    IT cosmetics have changed soooo much. It was a wonderful product for my rosacea. They have taken out all the moisturizer that really got to the heart of rosacea. Now all they have is products to cover up rosacea. Nothing to actually get to the real cause of rosacea. The original products do not exist any more. L’Oréal has really let us down. They are usually out of stock of many products. What a tragedy. I wonder how Jamie feels about her products being destroyed? And how it is effecting women? I thought she cared about us.

  • Mary Milazzo

    Bought IT mascara. It was the worst mascara that I ever used It made my eyes itchy that I had to stop using it. I never bought another IT product again. I never liked Jamie as the product ambassador on QVC & felt that she made unsubstantiated claims for her brand.