June 3, 2021

Coastal Scents Closing After 16 Years Of Being In Business

Coastal Scents is closing after 16 years in business and I’m all choked up about it. Coastal Scents was like the Morphe of the early 2000s. They offered inexpensive makeup brushes, massive eyeshadow palettes, and tons of other makeup related items at very affordable prices.

They were also legendary for creating interesting duplications of products that were popular at the time! Remember that time they did that massive Blush and Bronzer Palette that channeled the Too Faced Big Book of Bronzers and Tarte�s Big Blush Book!

How about all those Revealed Eyeshadow Palettes that were obviously inspired by Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palettes?

I really loved their brushes the most though. They had a pretty good brush selection and heck, I even had many of their brushes still! They wash up great and have served me well over the years!

Fact of the matter is a lot of brands have just fallen over the edge after COVID. I’m sure Coastal Scents was likely not doing well before COVID but after the pandemic hit that’s likely what pushed them over the edge. Coastal Scents just became lost in a sea of indie brands would be my guess. Where as Coastal Scents started with bloggers like Pursebuzz and EnKoreMakeup far bigger influencers started promoting Morphe and I imagine they just got lost somewhere along the way…

It’s pretty sad but not surprising. I feel like nothing really surprises me lately when it comes to the beauty world. Things shift so quickly lately if you blink you miss it.

I wish you well Coastal Scents. I worked with you several times in the past and you were always very gracious.

Maybe we’ll meet in the next makeup life.

Are you said to hear about Coastal Scents closing down?

Did you love them?

Do share!

26 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

  • Susan

    I really liked their eyeshadow singles, they were my go-to when I wanted to re-create the look of a more expensive palette. $12 versus $50+ ? Um, yeah. Sad to see them go.

    So many new expensive brands and lines are coming out lately; I can’t see them all surviving the long-term. What do you think?

    • Isabella Muse

      Luxury is actually doing well which blows my mind. Neiman Marcus reported an increase which again blew my freaking mind. I can see sales being higher across all sorts of categories in 2020 just because people were shopping from home so much! It was like one endless Black Friday sale across the board. Everyone really did well with the pandemic even though you’d think we’d all be pinching pennies but obviously that isn’t the case. even EL’s last quarter was incredible! So, yeah, they probably will do really well long term….! In the cast of Coastal Scents it’s more a shift in the industry that might have forced them out of business. Other indie brands that are like them gained way more exposure and sales dipped due to that. It’s a lot like Makeup Geek which I don’t think people really buy much anymore…! It’s a brand that sort of didn’t quite evolve with the new formats of social media!

      • kjh

        Yes. Not only did MUG f/u SM, CP annihilated them six years after founding. MUG had some critical misses with lipstick and eyeliner. And the loose stuff without the sifters. Raked over the coals. And no one can compete with CP SM overload. Or influencer tie- in. She missed that train. A bit of an Icarus story there. Good thing Target took them on, but b&m presence post-Covid? Kind of passé. Lipstick Queen has suffered similarly. Sorry, ’cause I love Poppy to death.

        • Jennifer F

          All this is so sad because these ladies put their heart and soul (and blood sweat and tears) into their businesses. I was fortunate to meet them at Cosmoprof and MULA shows pre-Covid. Passionate and hardworking beings

  • Kelly

    My go-to for eyeshadow singles. I have the largest case filled. Their eyeshadows are perfect quality. How sad! I hope they’re all doing well.

  • Tara

    I remember when I first got into makeup. I was doing all sorts of crazy colors because of xsparkage on YouTube and I ended up getting such a swollen eye from that large palette I ordered from costal scents!

    • Isabella Muse

      OH NO! I’m sure you look back on it fondly though right?! LOL!

      • Mei

        I found out about Coastal Scents from xsparkage, too! If I knew back then that pressed powder makeup doesn’t expire I would have never tossed out the 88 color and glitter palettes. I’m so sad the shop has closed! I wanted to buy more of their makeup brushes

  • Ari

    Well heck.

    I was just going through my makeup collection destashing a bunch of palettes and came across my old palettes that I made with their single shadows around a decade ago. Those shadows were SO GOOD for the price (and honestly still hold up – the metallics in particular were soooooo creamy) and they let me be a creative little bee back in college. I know I should destash them because they’re so old, but now I don’t want to. RIP Coastal Scents </3

    • Isabella Muse

      I still have some of the revealed palettes! You aren’t alone 🙂 and many, many of the brushes!!!!!!!!!! They were fun and so affordable!

  • pearly

    Who designed this goodbye letter?! Euuuuchh! What a way to announce closure after 16 long years of business.

  • Lisa Marie

    NOOOOOO!!!! I have several eye brushes from them that I’ve had for years that I love and use all the time. It makes me really sad to hear that they won’t be around anymore- guess I’d better head over there and get some backups while I can 🙁

  • OliveUnicorn

    A friend gifted me the shimmer 88 palette , and I used it quite a bit to experiment with color combinations and placement. It really helped me learn what colors I liked and how to wear them . I definitely found better formulas but I do have fond memories of this Coastal Scents .

  • Dorliza Monique’ Jones

    Coastal Scents should get back in that hot pot factory and work on high shine shimmers, foils, and duo/triochromes. Keep the prices affordable and blow the cosmetics industry off their brushes.

  • Leann

    Oh, no! Over the years I would window shop, add to my cart, feel guilty for choosing so many products and think, “this is what I want but I don’t need it” and now I regret not buying anything recently! I am glad to have discovered them (I don’t remember how I did) and really enjoyed their products and was excited to purchase again. It’s the same sadness I got when the late 1990s to early 2000s my favorite makeup brands from the drug store suddenly disappeared (if anyone knows what I’m talking about, please let me know! I remember swirly lip gloss that smelled and even tasted nice, push-pop-like lipsticks…).

  • Jonaye

    Are you kidding me??!!!…..I still have their brushes! Its unfortunate. However I wish them all the best. Good but Coastal Scents 🙁

  • Ejp

    Omg! How in the world did I miss this news? I just saw on YouTube Makeup Geek is gone and now Coastal Scents?? The beauty industry has taken a massive hit

      • Briana

        Is there any brands that you use that offer the same quality with around the same price now?

        • Isabella Muse

          not as cheap but sydney grace, morphe, signma, colourpop are a few! 🙂

  • Kelsey

    Having been a loyal customer for well over a decade, this was really heart breaking. For a young broke makeup lover they provided me with an affordable way to broaden my supplies as I learned the craft.

    • Isabella Muse

      There are still lots of indie brands to enjoy that are very affordable 🙂

      • laurie

        suggestions for some indie brands? That was and is always part of the charm of companies like Coastal Scents…….TIA

        • Isabella Muse

          Hi! I know it’s sad 🙁 Melt Cosmetics, Aromaleigh, and Silk Naturals are all lovely!