The Ordinary discontinues its foundation and concealer

Every time a makeup product is axed from a brand's lineup it's a devastating blow. So you're excused if you need a minute to get over the fact The Ordinary's foundation and concealer are being discontinued. 

Just like The Ordinary's skin care, the 'Colours' line was much-loved for its simplistic, affordable, 'does what it says' formulas. We even got past the need for The Ordinary dupes once all the faves were being stocked in Priceline.

But alas, it wasn't enough, and the brand cited low sales as the reason for the foundation and concealer being discontinued.

And considering we're still not over Becca Cosmetics closing two years later, this one is bound to sting for a long time.

Why are The Ordinary's foundation and concealer being discontinued?

Sharing the decision to Instagram, the brand wrote:

"The production process for Colours is complex, and requires heavy input from many of our team. The accessible pricing that we felt was sensible to charge for the formulas would only cover our production costs if the volume that we sold was high. Despite many people loving the formulas, we didn’t manage to reach enough of you with our Colours range and the products have not been profitable since their launch. Although we really strongly believe in both products, their popularity simply was not strong enough to make their production sustainable."

The affordable pricing was certainly one of the biggest drawcards for The Ordinary's makeup offering. The Serum Foundation is $12.70, the Coverage Foundation is $13.10 and the Concealer is $11.40 — all of which are still currently available on theordinary.com

When will they be discontinued?

The Concealer will be the first to go, with The Ordinary 'saying goodbye' to the 36-shade lineup as of 30th January, 2023. Both the foundations will stick around a little longer until June 2023, although the brand has said they've already stopped production.

Replying to a follower who asked if there will be shade restocks online, they wrote: "We will be removing Colours from our DECIEM stores at the end of November, and will use this remaining stock to fulfil orders placed on www.theordinary.com. This means you may see shades come back into stock online, but we are unable to guarantee how long they will be available for in these cases."

In March 2022, The Ordinary extended its foundation shade range with 15 more options, which in hindsight may have been a move to drum up more sales. Its discontinuation has certainly come as a surprise to us, and given its inclusivity and affordability, we're certain it'll be missed by many.

Main image credit: The Ordinary

If you miss the chance to stock up on The Ordinary foundation, here's a list of our other favourite drugstore foundation buys.