Renowned Taos-based cosmetics company closing | Business

Taos cosmetics giant Vapour Beauty announced on Dec. 2 in a social media post they would be permanently closing. A final post on their Facebook page vaguely stated their closure but provided no further information. Taos AER, an offshoot of Vapour, will also be closing for business.

Known for its use of organic ingredients, Vapour Beauty became a nationally renowned brand since it launched in 2009. By 2015, Vapour had begun distribution in the UK and Australia.

Founder Krysia Boinis, who left Vapour Beauty in early April, said the closure was not a surprise. Not only were supply chain issues increasing in recent years for Vapour Beauty, but the use of masks during the pandemic heavily impacted the company’s sales.

“With mask-wearing in 2020,” Boinis said, “that was such a mismatch for a growing color brand. People are not going to wear makeup on their faces and then cover it with a mask. That put a huge dent in what we were doing.”

Paralleling the company’s decline was the dwindling of its employee base. A minimally-staffed company already, Vapour only had a handful of staff members left working at their original factory location in Taos.

There were many reasons Vapour stood out among its contemporaries. Not only did the company operate entirely under one roof, but they also made products for all skin tones, something that few small beauty companies are able to do. However, according to Beauty Independent, many independent and private clean beauty brands have been shutting down amidst high competition.

Boinis began Vapour with co-founder Kristine Keheley with two goals in mind. First, she wanted to create a brand that provided a range of products that encouraged and inspired a healthy lifestyle. According to Boinis, Vapour Beauty took toxins and chemicals out of the makeup formula and substituted all-natural ingredients and oils. Her other goal, she added, was to provide quality employment options for Taoseños.

According to Lori Perella Krebs, principal of Ancora Holdings, an investment firm that began funding Vapour in 2018, the recent closure is in part of the rising challenges in the competitive business of clean beauty.

Although she was unavailable by press time Wednesday (Dec. 14), Krebs did send a statement via email.

“Vapour Beauty was a labor of love by the founders and every employee that worked in the factory,” Krebs said. “Please know that working with the team in Taos changed my life, and although we did not meet with financial success, I am richer for having known them.”

A 50-percent-off goodbye sale is currently ongoing on Vapour Beauty and Taos AER’s websites.

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