If you love cosmetics, you’ve probably seen some headlines or whispers on social media: Is Cover FX going out of business? The short answer is no, it’s actually making a comeback. Here’s a closer look at what’s really happening behind the scenes, why people thought the brand might be in trouble, and what Cover FX is doing right now.
Cover FX: A Brand With Its Ups and Downs
Cover FX isn’t a brand that came out of nowhere. It’s been on the market for over 20 years, built on the idea of clean, customizable makeup for everyone. Their vegan, cruelty-free formulas found loyal fans, especially with products like the Total Cover Cream Foundation and their Custom Cover Drops.
The brand was riding high for a while, growing pretty fast and getting space on shelves in major retailers. But by 2018, things started to slow down. They weren’t launching many new products, and sales started falling. By the time 2022 rolled around, their sales were just under one-third of what they’d been at their peak. People began to wonder if Cover FX would last much longer.
AS Beauty Steps In: Acquisition Changes Everything
Then, in February 2022, AS Beauty bought Cover FX. This wasn’t AS Beauty’s first move in beauty. In fact, it was their fourth acquisition since 2019. With each purchase, AS Beauty was building a portfolio of brands—sort of like collecting pieces for a bigger puzzle.
When they bought Cover FX, the brand was worth about $20 million in annual sales. That’s a big drop from the $65 million it had made a few years back. Still, AS Beauty saw potential. They thought Cover FX—with some work—could help them boost overall company revenue by 40% within a year.
Right out of the gate, people were curious if this was a rescue or a slow walk to the exit for Cover FX. AS Beauty’s plan was more ambitious than just keeping the lights on.
Brand Refresh: 18 Months of Change
Once the purchase was finalized, the new owners started a pretty intense refresh. For about a year and a half, Cover FX stopped putting out new things and went into what you could call a “makeover mode.” This included reformulating old standbys, updating packaging to give everything a cleaner and more modern look, and thinking seriously about what products customers actually wanted.
They didn’t just slap a new label on the same stuff. The team reformulated products based on the latest ingredient standards, kept up their vegan and cruelty-free promises, and worked to make the makeup more appealing for younger shoppers. A big part of the overhaul was moving sales online and making their website way easier to use. They got onto Shopify, which basically let them run sales, customer accounts, and marketing in a smoother way.
When the refresh was finally ready, they relaunched Cover FX with a handful of new and updated products in February 2024. The move got attention—especially from industry folks and people who had fond memories of Cover FX from earlier years.
Big Jump in Sales and Online Buzz
Here’s where things get interesting. After the relaunch, Cover FX’s sales didn’t just improve—they exploded. In early 2024, the brand reported an 828% sales jump compared to the previous slow period. That’s not just a blip; it’s a real turnaround by beauty industry standards.
A lot of this came from new customers finding the brand online. The number of first-time Cover FX shoppers was up 21 times after the relaunch. The team also invested in influencer partnerships and TikTok campaigns. Model and actress Paris Jackson featured in some of the brand’s content, and one quirky campaign called “Hickey Magic” took off, bringing more than 1,200% growth in TikTok followers.
They leaned hard into the vegan and cruelty-free story, never testing on animals and keeping formulas up-to-date. Online beauty fans are particular about ingredient lists now, and Cover FX used that to set themselves apart.
How Cover FX Sells Now: Direct, Fast, Focused
Today, Cover FX isn’t showing up in every retail store, but they aren’t hard to find if you know where to look. They’re selling direct-to-consumer through their own website, streamlining orders, and promising delivery within three to five business days in most cases.
The marketing teams keep popping up with new spins on evergreen favorites, such as the Total Cover Cream Foundation, now pushed as sweat-proof. They’ve introduced new launches like the Radiant Start Tinted Moisturizer, and skate close to viral trends by seeding samples to influencers.
Revenue is on the upswing again, with recent numbers around $16.9 million and a headcount of about 39 employees. That may not sound huge, but for a brand just climbing out of a major slump, it’s a solid base.
Rumors vs. Reality: What’s Really Happening?
Just because a brand has faced hard times doesn’t mean it’s down for good. If you see comments online about Cover FX “closing down” or “selling off the last of its inventory,” you’re probably looking at old complaints.
Sure, at one point, Cover FX was dealing with inventory issues and slow sales. Plenty of people started speculating that the end was near—especially with so many indie makeup brands coming and going. The difference now is the data: those scary rumors popped up before this year’s relaunch and growth spurt.
As of mid-2024, there’s no real sign that Cover FX is winding things down. In fact, the exact opposite seems to be playing out. The brand is running active ad campaigns, promoting the online store, and rolling out refreshed items. It’s not the “glory years” era at Sephora—at least, not yet—but it’s far from going under.
Could You See Cover FX in Sephora and Ulta Again?
This is the big question for longtime fans: Is Cover FX going to get shelf space in brick-and-mortar stores again? The answer isn’t totally clear yet, but it’s something AS Beauty is looking at as part of its next growth phase.
After testing the waters with a direct-to-consumer model and seeing good results, the plan is to explore bringing Cover FX back to retail partners like Sephora and Ulta. These store partnerships are a big deal for brand visibility. If you want to see Cover FX products at your local beauty counter, there’s a decent chance it could happen in the near future.
First, though, the company wants to make sure their product lineup and supply chain can handle that kind of volume. The days of launching dozens of new formulas just to fill shelf space are probably over. Instead, it seems like AS Beauty wants Cover FX to be a fresh, focused collection—one that can hold its own against heavy-hitters in makeup without spreading itself too thin.
Plans also include more influencer partnerships, targeted launches, and events. AS Beauty is clearly aiming for slow but steady growth, rather than blowing the budget on risky, short-term pushes.
If you’re curious about how companies bounce back from tough times, there’s a detailed breakdown of business turnarounds and growth strategies on Eve of Business—it’s worth a read if you like real-world examples.
The Bottom Line: Cover FX Isn’t Going Out of Business
There’s a lot of noise in the beauty industry right now—brands coming and going, changing hands, and chasing TikTok trends. But the facts are pretty straightforward: Cover FX is not out of business. It’s running, selling, and gaining traction again since it was picked up by AS Beauty.
Sales are up, social followers are way up, and there’s a track record of delivering on direct sales without slipping on ingredient quality or product integrity. If you loved Cover FX before, it’s still there. If you’re just finding it and you value vegan, cruelty-free makeup with straightforward claims, it’s worth a look.
If you stumble across worries or speculation about Cover FX disappearing soon, check the data and the active site instead. Behind the scenes, the brand is laying the groundwork to stick around—and maybe grab a bigger piece of the beauty aisle next time around.
Right now, Cover FX is all about consistent growth, listening to customers, and moving forward. It’s not the flashiest story, but it’s a pretty solid example of how, with the right reset and patient owners, a brand can recover from a rough patch. If you’re waiting for a going-out-of-business sale, you’ll have to wait a lot longer.
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