Scouring store shelves for your favorite lipstick, only to find out that it’s been discontinued, can feel like the end of your beauty existence. That perfect product that has given you so many “I feel pretty” days throughout the years is suddenly just, gone. So, what’s a girl to do? Read on to discover how you can reconnect with all of your cult favorites.
Surf The Web
Turns out there is a website dedicated to helping women find their long lost beauty treasures: discontinuedbeauty.com. Site owner Daneen Woolstrum, who has more than 20 years in the beauty biz, told us she launched the site after realizing the popularity of hard-to-find and no-longer-available beauty items. Plus, she wanted to help women stay connected to their favorites, everything from fine fragrances and soaps to salon-only brands and styling tools. “We cater to many ‘die hard’ clients that feel that the cosmetics they are buying are the only items that ever really work for them,” says Woolstrum. “We also have many celebrity customers who regularly shop on the site, as well as stylists and artists from top TV shows.”
So how does Woolstrum get the products? “I work closely with various distributors that represent the manufacturers. We also do a ton of research and work with salons that may be closing or looking to liquidate various lines of items that are being phased out.” Products are priced based on the current online market and of course, supply and demand. “Right now, our most popular items are perfumes and colognes by Graham Webb—Bodacious and Montage specifically. People also go mad over Redken Amino Pon products, including the shampoo and Pon Body Bar, which currently sells for $49.95 per bar!”
Be Social
Beauty brands big and small often turn to social media to see what their customers are saying about their products, including what they like and don’t like. Try reaching out to your favorites—you might be surprised at the responses you receive. And sometimes, if the brand gets enough requests for a particular product, they might bring it back as a limited-edition or seasonal item (your chance to stock up!).
Go Custom
So what if you can’t find what you’re looking for online, and your social media feeds are silent as a mouse? You might need to step it up a notch. That’s where Three Custom Color Specialists comes in. The company’s long-time beauty experts have the ability to produce discontinued shades for your lips, cheeks, eyes and face, or help you create your own personal colors from scratch.
The site also gives you access to a “Discontinued Shade Search” tool, which allows you to type in a brand and a shade name in a variety of categories from lip color to concealer and browse the company’s archives. You can also send them a dime-size sample of your favorite product (scrape the bottom of that lipstick out!) and it can be recreated for you that way.
So, what extremes do you go to for your favorite beauty products? We want to know!
