A cult beauty brand known for its natural, gentle products is closing eight of its 24 Canadian locations as the company shifts to focus on its online store, two of which are in the GTA.

According to Retail Insider, Kiehl's will be permanently closing the street front store at 2518 Yonge St., just north of Eglinton Avenue, by the end of this year.

The Kiehl's location at the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket will also be closing for good in 2021, along with stores in Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, London, and Halifax. 

In addition to putting more focus into its online store, Retail Insider reports that Kiehl's will also be focusing more on its retail partnerships with Sephora, Hudson's Bay, Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, and Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Canada.

Fortunately, 16 Canadian Kiehl's stores will remain open, including but not limited to the location at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, 407 Queen St. West, Yorkdale, CF Sherway Gardens, Square One, and Mapleview Centre. 

The beloved skincare brand has quite literally been around for generations, with its first apothecary opening at the corner of 13th Street and Third Avenue in New York City in 1851. 

Also known for its personalized customer service, generous sampling, life-sized teaching skeleton Mr. Bones, and for being one of the first companies to list the ingredients of each product on labels before it was legally required, Kiehl's has been a beauty and skincare favourite in North America for more than a century. 

The Kiehl's closures follow a long list of popular retailers that have either closed down entirely or drastically reduced their number of stores in Canada as a result of financial impacts from the pandemic.