Iconic Teen Makeup Brand Bonne Bell Is No More The maker of the world's first flavored lip balm is closing its doors for good, but sweet, sweet Lip Smackers will live on.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Lip Smacker via Facebook
Lip Smacker lip gloss

If not for Bonne Bell, we might still be stuck coating our lips in dull, flavorless wax, not sensually slathering them in delicious, oh so lick-able Lip Smacker flavors like Bubble Gum, Blueberry Pancake and Cotton Candy.

In case you haven't heard, the iconic makeup brand behind Lip Smackers, the sticky-sweet taste of teen crushes the world over, is closing its doors for good. The pioneering cosmetics company, founded in 1927 by traveling makeup salesman J.G. Belle, recently announced that it will shutter all manufacturing and distribution operations at its hometown facility in Westlake, Ohio.

Related: Blast From the Past: Nostalgia Becomes a Marketing Strategy

We know. Our 13-year-old hearts are breaking, too.

The closure is a result of "the sale of a significant portion of the business," Bonne Bell's CEO Robert Evans said in a letter to Cleveland mayor Dennis Clough, reports Cleveland.com. Evans also said he anticipates that 91 employees will be permanently laid off, likely beginning on March 29.

Lip Smacker lip gloss

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But, have no fear, Lip Smacker, the game-changing, kiss-enhancing flavored lip gloss Bonne Bell introduced in 1973, will live on -- sadly only far outside of the United States. Thanks to an acquisition in the works with California-based Markwins International Corp., the brand behind Physicians Formula and Wet n Wild, Lip Smackers will continue to sweeten lips in Europe, Asia and Australia under the name Bell Family Brands.

Hold tight to that Dr. Pepper-flavored lip schmear, kids. It might be the last tube you ever taste.

Related: Passion, Persistence and Red Lipstick

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

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