Makeup Alley, the online forum for beauty product reviews founded in 1999 and acquired by Japanese commerce giant Istyle Inc. in 2017, announced on Sunday via its social media channels that it would shut down effective Sept. 27.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your trust, passion, and support over the years,” read the message posted to X, Facebook and Instagram. The site will remain active until its closure date, and all registered personal information will be permanently deleted by Oct. 7, according to a notice on Makeup Alley’s website.
Makeup Alley was launched in New York in 1999 by Elky Mart, who coded the original website, and Hara Glick, a beauty editor. The site quickly attracted hundreds, then thousands, of daily active users both for its unvarnished product reviews and a vibrant community who congregated on message boards devoted to discussing daily makeup (“FOTD; Face of the Day”) or general interest topics (“Café”).
The site was purchased in 2000 by e-tailer Beauty.com but divested a year and then operated independently until 2017, when it was purchased by the US subsidiary of Japanese commerce giant Istyle Inc, owners of the review and ranking app @Cosme, for ¥1 billion ($9.2 million). (Istyle Inc. has also acquired the operators of Taiwan’s and Korea’s largest beauty product review apps.) Istyle Inc. shut down its US division in 2021, but has continued to operate Makeup Alley, according to WWD Japan.
Between 1999 and 2015, Makeup Alley members could post reviews to earn “swap” tokens that they could use to exchange unwanted used beauty products with others. Swapping was discontinued in Jan. 2015, shortly after Mart founded the now-defunct app Swapidu.
As of today, the site hosts more than 1 million members and over 3 million reviews, with the latest published yesterday: MAC Cosmetics’ Prep and Prime Face Protect Lotion with SPF 50; one of out of five lipsticks; “Not recommended.”
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