From Morphe Palette to Mott Street: Inside the James Charles Painted Pop-Up

Be so for real: there was a time when “influencer makeup” meant a collab palette, a launch-day site crash, and a sold-out email.

This past weekend, James Charles skipped all of that and opened an actual store.

The James Charles Painted pop-up took his makeup brand off the For You Page and onto a SoHo sidewalk.

Painted, the makeup brand he’s owned since 2023, took over 262 Mott Street in SoHo from October 9–11 for its first-ever pop-up. The line stretched down the block, wristbands went fast, and James’ own caption said it best: “Cannot believe I just opened my first ever @painted.co popup shop in NYC!!”

From Collab Face to Brand Owner

Rewind to 2018, when James’ palette with Morphe was one of the defining creator collabs of the YouTube beauty era. That partnership ended in 2021, when allegations about his conduct cost him Morphe and other brand deals.

So he stopped waiting for brands to call. In April 2023 he announced, “4 years of hard work later... my own makeup brand is finally coming,” and Painted launched that August. The concept: makeup as art supplies. The hero Create Paints ($15) are multi-use cream-to-matte pigments in shades like Left On Red, Caution and Ghosted, packed in artist-tube-style packaging. “The artist in me really wanted to create something unique and special,” he said at launch.

That’s the pivot in one sentence: when the collabs dried up, he became the brand. No licensing deal, no retailer gatekeeping, no one else’s logo on the box.

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Inside the SoHo Pop-Up

A viral video proves people will watch. A storefront proves they’ll show up in person, and they did.

The line: Wristbands went out at 9:30 a.m. each day to the first 1,000 people. First come, first served, no line-skipping.

The freebie: Every wristband came with the NYC-exclusive Big Apple Burgundy Oversized Sponge.

The early drop: A limited run of Painted’s mascara was sold in store before anywhere else.

The rules: Two units per SKU, every purchase in a Painted tote, no daily restocks.

The space: Curved gallery-white shelving, a giant red paint tube as the photo backdrop, paint-splatter Painted cans, egg-shaped checkout pods, and a paper order checklist (sponges, mascaras, freckles, lip balms, Create Paints, palettes, brushes) that made shopping feel like filling out a gallery order form.

The crew: Staff in “Painted Crew” canvas aprons got a pep talk from the founder himself before doors opened.

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Painted, the makeup brand he’s owned since 2023, took over 262 Mott Street in SoHo from October 9–11, and the James Charles Painted pop-up was the brand’s first time selling in real life. The line stretched down the block, wristbands went fast, and James’ own caption said it best: “Cannot believe I just opened my first ever @painted.co popup shop in NYC!!”

Why This Matters

Plenty of creators launch brands. The James Charles Painted pop-up shows what it looks like when one goes further: from one viral drop to a real product line, and then to physical retail. A pop-up is where an audience turns into customers you can count on a sidewalk, and 1,000 wristbands a day is a number that gets attention in a retail meeting.

Painted also has a world of its own: paint tubes, splatter cans, palette shades with names like Red Flag, Cherry and Katniss. That’s the difference between creator merch and a cosmetics company.

And he’s already teasing what’s next: “The only question is… where should we popup next? 👀”

Our Take

Whatever you think of James Charles (and the comments section has thoughts), the business story is clear. He went from being the face on someone else’s palette to owning the palette, the store, and the line outside it. Influencer brands, take notes.

Painted is available at painted.co.