Kat Von D Is Leaving Her Makeup Company

Today is a good day for all Kat Von D Beauty customer service employees. Because today is the day they won’t have to copy and paste over and over again: “I understand how you feel about the lipstick names. And you don’t have to worry about catching measles from the lipsticks.” Because Kat Von D made the announcement that she’s selling her shares and leaving her namesake makeup company.

Kat Von D created her makeup company Kat Von D Beauty with the beauty brand Kendo, which launched exclusively with Sephora in 2008, and it became a pretty big hit. But 12 years is apparently as long as Kat Von D Beauty was meant to stick around. Kat let everyone know through Instagram that she is just too busy to continue running her makeup company. She’s got a 13-month-old baby, a vegan shoe line, an upcoming album, and an international tour.

Basically, she has no time left to answer questions about whether a pink is too pink. So she has sold her shares of Kat Von D Beauty to Kendo, who in turn will be rebranding the company as KvD Vegan Beauty.

View this post on Instagram

This past year has been one of great change for me. As many of you know, I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, launched my vegan shoe line, and am now busy prepping to release my long awaited album in the Spring, followed by an international tour! As much as I wish I could balance all of this, on top of continuing my makeup line, it has become clear to me that I just can’t do everything at the maximum capacity. It's hard to admit this, since I’ve always said “You can do everything and anything.” But I don’t think admitting one's limits is a bad thing. With that said, I’ve decided to sell my shares of the brand, turning it over to Kendo, my partners for the past 11 years. This was not an easy decision, but after careful consideration, I decided I wanted the makeup line to continue to thrive and grow, and I believe Kendo is primed to do just that. The transition for you, my loyal customers, will be seamless. In order to avoid any confusion with such a big change, Kat Von D Beauty will take a moment to rebrand itself, so you will start noticing the change from KatVonD Beauty to KvD Vegan Beauty. I'd like to thank my beloved fans+followers who supported my vision to create a brand that stood for compassion, true artistry, and challenged modern ideals of beauty — most of which I never could relate to. I was able to create a makeup line that made outsiders like me feel like we have a place in this “beauty” world, and gave myself and others the tools to express ourselves in our own unique way, whether it was embraced by the majority or not. And I just couldn’t have done any of this without you! Lastly, thank you for understanding+respecting my choice, as it was a difficult one to make, but one I am proud of regardless, and am confident that the team will continue the KvD legacy! Here’s to many, many more years of KvD Vegan Beauty!

A post shared by 𝐊𝐀𝐓 𝐕𝐎𝐍 𝐃 (@thekatvond) on Jan 16, 2020 at 8:33am PST

The Kat Von D Beauty Instagram page has been wiped and no longer exists. But all the previous posts can now be found on the re-titled KvD Vegan Beauty page:

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Today, our founder Kat Von D has parted ways with us, as she leaves to pursue other artistic endeavors (vegan shoe line and music). We wish her the best of luck and thank her for 12 years of partnership! We are NOW renamed and re-branded KVD Vegan Beauty – and fully owned and operated by Kendo. The same team that created our iconic and beloved products for the past 12 years (and built the empire with Kat) is ready to make history again. We still value self-expression, compassion and empowerment. To read the full press release, go to our link in bio. Thank you for your support.

A post shared by KVD Vegan Beauty (@kvdveganbeauty) on Jan 16, 2020 at 9:10am PST

I’m sure this news has nothing to do with the mountains of bad press Kat Von D caused over the past two years. Like when Kat Von D started publicly feuding with fellow makeup company owner Jeffree Star. Or when she had to defend herself against accusations that she was anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi. Or when she said she wasn’t going to vaccinate her son, and everyone started boycotting the company. Social media really wasn’t feeling Kat’s decision to brand herself as an anti-vaxxer, and they responded by throwing out products they already had, vowed not to purchase anymore, and roasted her up with memes and jokes.

Kat Von D’s palette out this winter #KatVonD #antivax pic.twitter.com/LWmo8DUGLV

— nikki (@nikkiberm) June 9, 2018

About a year ago, some Sephora shoppers found Kat Von D Beauty had been heavily discounted in store. It might have been an incentive to buy after the boycott, or it might have been because Kendo knew back then that it was time to push Kat out. Allure says that the core makeup range will stay the same, but that it will now feature the new KvD Vegan Beauty name, as well as some newly developed cruelty free and vegan products. Also, Kat is the only one leaving. Kendo released a statement regarding the change, and said that KvD Vegan Beauty is still being led by the same people that built the brand with Kat.

I’m sure business wasn’t exactly booming after Kat’s anti-vaxx comments. How ironic that this is how she leaves. Her company seemed to be dying, and the only way to make it healthy again was to boost its immunity in the marketplace. Hmm….it feels like there’s a very obvious metaphor here. Kat, are you paying attention??

Pic: Wenn.com