Rumor or Truth...Tarte Cosmetics sold

Appears to be truth - Tarte acquired by KOSE Corporation, to take place as of April 14, 2014 subject to anti-trust clearance (which shouldn't be a problem).

Anyone who uses Tarte because of their animal-friendly practices should be sure to research KOSE before continuing to use Tarte. I don't know anything about them as I have not researched them myself but they appear to be based in Asia, and as we all know, the animal testing practices are different in some Asian countries.

She sold it for $135 million. I wonder, considering her views on being animal friendly, if she looked into that aspect of it or not....

As far as my brief internet search took me, Kose International still tests on animals, but did announce that they were minimizing that practice.

Great, another good brand bites the dust. This is why I don't believe any of these phony vendors who come on QVC talking about how passionate they are about their brands. It's all the bottom line at the end of the day. I am just frustrated that Tarte is going by the wayside sooner than I expected.

On 3/17/2014 Bikkie said:

Great, another good brand bites the dust. This is why I don't believe any of these phony vendors who come on QVC talking about how passionate they are about their brands. It's all the bottom line at the end of the day. I am just frustrated that Tarte is going by the wayside sooner than I expected.

KOSE is a Japanese cosmetic company. Rimmel and Anna Sui are among their brands.

Most of the people who start up a beauty brand are passionate about what they are doing. The thing is they shouldn't be denied the right to become wealthy and if they tried to keep the brand small that goal could not be attained. Simply the cost of doing business once the brand catches on and grows reaches a point where in order to remain a player in the game they need an influx of cash (MILLIONS -- month after month). The best source is to sell to a corporate partner with the financial resources to cover the cost required for marketing (ads, store space at retail locations, courting beauty editors, etc), and research to keep developing new products so stay current. Small brands like Tarte which don't do this end up looking tired and old in ten years and many of today's current loyal customers will have moved on to that widely advertised brand and the older ones which are doing current things with their products.

Hopefully, Maureen will stay on in the role of CEO of Tarte and continue to lead the brand in partnership with KOSE.

On 3/18/2014 Trix said:

On 3/17/2014 Bikkie said:

Great, another good brand bites the dust. This is why I don't believe any of these phony vendors who come on QVC talking about how passionate they are about their brands. It's all the bottom line at the end of the day. I am just frustrated that Tarte is going by the wayside sooner than I expected.

KOSE is a Japanese cosmetic company. Rimmel and Anna Sui are among their brands.

Most of the people who start up a beauty brand are passionate about what they are doing. The thing is they shouldn't be denied the right to become wealthy and if they tried to keep the brand small that goal could not be attained. Simply the cost of doing business once the brand catches on and grows reaches a point where in order to remain a player in the game they need an influx of cash (MILLIONS -- month after month). The best source is to sell to a corporate partner with the financial resources to cover the cost required for marketing (ads, store space at retail locations, courting beauty editors, etc), and research to keep developing new products so stay current. Small brands like Tarte which don't do this end up looking tired and old in ten years and many of today's current loyal customers will have moved on to that widely advertised brand and the older ones which are doing current things with their products.

Hopefully, Maureen will stay on in the role of CEO of Tarte and continue to lead the brand in partnership with KOSE.

I completely understand but just as with Bare Escentuals that unfortunately did not wind up being the case. I'm just frustrated because I just started using Tarte recently and then this news. I had a long run with BE before it was sold.

Truth, I follow Tarte on Facebook and they just posted it on their page. Happy for Maureen but sad if the product integrity changes, which I suspect it will. Tarte has been my makeup of choice from foundation to eyes for almost 2 years, and I'm happy for Maureen's success personally I am sad to see another great company compromise for the almighty dollar.

Tarte's post on Facebook:

To all of our tartelettes: As you may have heard, tarte has recently been acquired by Japanese company KOSÉ. It’s truly been an amazing ride, from the little venture Maureen Kelly started in her bedroom 15 years ago to the global powerhouse we’re privileged to join. Our vision has always been to create beauty products that are ‘healthy treats for your skin,’ foster the highest level of customer service and give back to the community and the environment. By joining the KOSÉ family and adding to that rich portfolio, we can build on what we’ve already accomplished with powerful products and explore expanding the tarte brand in new and exciting countries. And rest assured, we are committed to remaining a cruelty-free brand and will not test on animals. Maureen will stay on as the CEO and looks forward to continuing a lasting relationship with our tartelettes.

xo, the tarte team!

I saw the same post on Facebook from Tarte. Please all know, Kose does animal test. Therefore, even though Tarte will remain cruetly free (according to their post), a certain amount of profits will go to the owner company, Kose. Thus, supporting animal-testing. Shame for Tarte. If you view the 90+ comments thus far, people will be leaving Tarte because of it. Unfortunately, I am one of them that will no longer be purchasing Tarte. I really like them too.