Beautycounter Is Back.... But as What?
After layoffs, silence, and threats of bankruptcy, the clean beauty brand is relaunching with fewer products, a new name, and maybe a new business model. But is it really out of the MLM game?
We’ve been keeping an eye on the slow, awkward return of Beautycounter, the once-hyped clean beauty brand that got close to bankruptcy, blindsided its affiliates by abandoning its MLM model, and fired a bunch of corporate staff without warning.
And now… it's back. Kind of.
The company is officially relaunching on June 25, but it’s dropping the “Beauty” and coming back simply as Counter.
It’s been just over a year since founder Gregg Renfrew stepped in to save the brand from bankruptcy. While it’s been clear she was working behind the scenes, the future of the company, and whether it would even return, remained a mystery.
But now we have some answers.
Smaller, Simpler, and Older?
Counter is slimming way down. The brand is going from 245 SKUs to just 50, focusing on skincare and makeup only. Fragrance is out (for now).
Their marketing is going hard on women 35 and older, which tracks, considering that’s the group that carried Beautycounter for years.
But don’t expect a big splash. Gregg told Beauty Independent this will be a soft launch, with a bigger announcement planned for fall. There’s no flashy Ulta comeback either. Instead, they’ve opened a physical store in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and plan to expand from there.
Are They Still Doing “Clean Beauty”?
Yes, very much so. Clean beauty is still the cornerstone of the brand’s identity. But Renfrew insists that not all clean beauty brands are created equal, and she says she wants Counter to set the standard for the category and “educate people” about it.
So basically: same vibe, different name.
But Is It Still an MLM?
That’s the big question. And the answer is: we don’t really know yet.
Gregg told Beauty Independent the company will now be driven by what she calls “community-based commerce.” She confirmed there will be consultants, but didn’t clarify how they’ll earn money.
She also dropped a classic MLM-adjacent line:
“We’ve already signed up a whole bunch of people. We do have limited spots.”
(For the record: MLMs are never actually limited. That kind of scarcity is usually just a tactic to make people feel lucky for “getting in.”)
Whatever the new model looks like, new consultants won’t have access to any old Beautycounter customer data, so they’ll be starting from scratch.
Also worth noting: 75–80% of Counter’s team is made up of former Beautycounter employees. Whether the folks I interviewed during the company’s downfall are part of the remaining 20–25% is unclear, but I have my guesses.
What’s Next?
The Beautycounter Instagram is still blank, but the bio now reads: “Never say never… 6/25”
Meanwhile, the landing page for the new Counter site starts with this line: “Trust what people do, not what they say.”
Honestly? Considering how many women feel burned by the brand’s sudden collapse, and Gregg’s role in that, that quote might hit harder than they intended.
Source:
Beauty Independent - Beautycounter Is Returning As Counter After Falling Into Bankruptcy
This story was originally featured in my What’s Up in Makeup episode from June 1, 2025 check it out here for all the industry news and hot takes.