Last Sunday, Makeup Alley dropped the bombshell: after nearly three decades of candid beauty chatter, the forum will shut its doors on September 27. All those late-night hunts for the perfect foundation match, all the swatches and ominous “don’t buy this” warnings—gone. They’ll delete every bit of our personal info by October 7. Bittersweet? That’s putting it mildly.
A Community of Unvarnished Reviews
I still remember stumbling onto Makeup Alley in the early 2000s—my makeup game was shaky, but this place felt like a secret treasure trove. Founded in 1999 by coder Elky Mart and beauty editor Hara Glick, it wasn’t slick marketing copy or glossy ads. It was raw, real feedback from people who’d tried the products in real life, and who weren’t shy about saying “meh.” Who hasn’t scrolled through hundreds of “Face of the Day” posts just for fun? There was something oddly comforting about diving into a thread about the latest mascara flop and finding a tribe of fellow fragrance junkies.
Purchased by Beauty.com in 2000, divested a year later, and then flying solo until 2017—Makeup Alley’s journey reads like a beauty-industry soap opera. When Japanese giant Istyle Inc. paid ¥1 billion (around $9.2 million) for it, I braced for corporate takeover clichés. Turns out, even after Istyle’s US arm folded in 2021, they kept the forum alive. Go figure.
Swaps, Tokens, and Lost Rituals
From 1999 to 2015, members earned “swap” tokens—an ingenious little economy letting you swap unwanted lipsticks and half-used eyeshadow palettes. I miss that scramble for free samples, honestly. Once Mart launched Swapidu, the swapping feature faded away in January 2015, and with it went some of the site’s quirky charm.
The Final Curtain
Makeup Alley now boasts over 1 million members and more than 3 million reviews. These numbers make you pause: where else will we find that level of unfiltered advice? Sure, Instagram influencers and slick apps have moved in, but none ever quite captured the same spirit.
So, what’s next for us beauty obsessives? Will we mourn in silence or rally on some new platform that can match Makeup Alley’s candor? Drop your favorite Makeup Alley memory in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more beauty news and nostalgia trips.
Before you go, check these 15 back-to-school nail ideas that’ll make you the coolest in class.
Sources:
- www.businessoffashion.com/news/beauty/makeup-alley-closure-2025/
- www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/beauty-forum-makeupalley-is-closing-down
