Flower Beauty, an affordable, well-crafted cosmetic brand co-founded by Drew Barrymore with beauty incubator Maesa, has officially closed its doors after being on store shelves for over a decade. The brand was under-performing in the incredibly oversaturated category of mass-market (drugstore) beauty.
A Different Kind of Celebrity Beauty Brand
When Flower Beauty launched in 2012, it was genuinely ahead of its time. This was before every celebrity and influencer had their own cosmetic line, and Barrymore took a route that most celebrities wouldn’t dare: she went mass-market instead of prestige or luxury.
What set Flower Beauty apart, at least initially, was Barrymore’s hands-on involvement. At the WWD Beauty CEO Summit in 2016, she made a point of distancing herself from the celebrity “cash-grab” scenario, emphasizing her active role in brand and product development. The brand offered a comprehensive selection of around 200 affordably priced color cosmetics, including products for complexion, eyes, lips, and nails.
Flower Beauty made its debut exclusively at 1,500 Walmart stores with a clear mission - deliver prestige-level formulas at drugstore prices. Most products clocked in under $15, housed in sleek, minimalist white packaging with gold accents. By 2016, the brand was performing so well that Walmart rolled it out to an additional 2,500 locations. Flower Beauty was now in 4,000 Walmart locations.
In 2018, Flower Beauty launched in approximately 500 Ulta Beauty stores with special exclusive products. By that point, industry insiders estimated the brand was generating $50 million in annual retail sales. It also rolled out to 3,000 CVS doors by 2020, making it widely accessible across multiple mass-market retailers.
Lost In The Crowd
However, staying relevant in beauty is challenging, especially in the mass market. While Flower Beauty had an impressive run for a celebrity brand, it ultimately couldn’t maintain momentum in an oversaturated retail environment.
The numbers tell the story. Year-to-date sales on Ulta’s website showed significant drops. Search visibility for the brand decreased by 44%, and the brand hadn’t activated any sponsored placements in two years. The Instagram account went dark in 2024, and the website has been wiped clean.
The broader market wasn’t helping either. Mass makeup sales declined in both units and dollars during the first half of 2025, while prestige cosmetics experienced modest growth of only 1%. Meanwhile, the fragrance market experienced 17% growth in the mass market, a trend that Maesa has clearly noticed.
Maesa’s Strategic Exit
For Maesa, the decision to shutter Flower Beauty is part of a bigger strategic shift. The incubator is exiting the color cosmetics category entirely to focus on categories with stronger growth potential: skincare, body care, fragrance, and hair care. They’ve been building a fragrance empire with Target-exclusive brands like Fine’ry and Mix:Bar, plus they recently launched an intimate care brand called Niches & Nooks at Target.
In a statement, Maesa acknowledged that “Flower Beauty will always hold a special place in Maesa’s story” as the first brand they ever incubated. The decision to close reflects broader market realities: color cosmetics in the mass market are facing significant headwinds, and even established brands are struggling to maintain growth in the current environment.
#MyTwoCents
Flower Beauty’s closure reflects the challenges of building lasting beauty brands in an evolving market. Even with a household name like Drew Barrymore behind it and genuinely quality formulas, sustained success requires navigating ever-shifting consumer preferences, intense competition, and the complex economics of retail in a mass-market environment.
Flower Beauty accomplished something meaningful during its 13 years: it demonstrated that a celebrity brand could attract a cosmetic consumer to accessibly priced, prestige-quality formulations in a mass-market retail environment. And while the brand’s loyal customers will miss well-loved products, Flower Beauty leaves behind a legacy of making quality makeup accessible to a broader audience.
Barrymore continues with other Flower-branded collections at Walmart, including Flower Hair Tools, Flower Eyewear, and Flower Home, as well as her ‘Beautiful by Drew’ cookware line.
Great read.
Such interesting information and a telling sign about where we are possibly heading in color cosmetics?