Color Up Brand Story — Who We Are & How We Got Here
Color Up Professional Skincare — Since 2015
We Are Color Up.
We Have Always Been Color Up.
Same EIN. Same licensed lab. Same formulas. Same mission. If you found us as VXN and are wondering what happened — this page is for you. Pull up a chair. This is our story.
The Origin (2015–2022)
On February 12, 2015, Color Up Therapeutics was founded in Denver, Colorado — a licensed hemp lab and professional wellness center built from the ground up. From 2015 to 2017 we operated as Color Up Therapeutics, then simplified to Color Up (2017–2019) for regulatory compliance, then expanded to Color Up CBD (2019–2023) as the industry matured. Long before CBD became a marketing buzzword, we were quietly formulating, educating, and building a community of licensed estheticians, massage therapists, and wellness professionals who trusted our work.
We ran a full wellness center with rental rooms, professional education, live events, and in-house manufacturing. We earned industry awards including Favorite CBD Line — American Spa Professional's Choice. We were featured in national media. We built something real.
Then 2020 hit. The pandemic. The post-pandemic contraction. The 2022 rollback of women's rights. Many women-owned businesses closed. We stayed open. We reorganized, kept the lab operational, and kept showing up for our community — because that's what we do.
The Storm (2023)
This is the part people ask about most. Here it is — plainly and completely.
On June 15, 2023, two original co-founders triggered the 2/3 majority clause in our operating agreement and enforced a buyout. What followed was a series of contractual requirements that nearly dismantled everything we had built:
| What Was Imposed | The Goal & The Impact |
|---|---|
|
Forced Warehouse Blowout Sale 50–80% off everything |
Goal: Maximize cash for exiting partners on day of buyout. Impact: Wiped us out of all inventory, packaging, and ingredients — zero stock to relaunch the next day. |
|
Mandatory Name Change To VXN Wellness |
Goal: Induce "fear buying" — make customers think Color Up was closing forever. Impact: We lost our SEO rankings, media assets, digital authority, and our Google Business Profile with 96 reviews and 8 years of brand equity. |
|
The Gag Clause No future announcements until sale was final |
Goal: Prevent us from reassuring our community. Impact: Customer alienation, loss of trust, and confusion that lasted years. |
We came out the other side on June 16th with a smaller team, no packaging, no labels, and only 1/3 of the assets plus personal savings to keep payroll going. But we had our mission. And we had you.
The Survival (2023–2025)
We chose the Vixen — the female fox — as our symbol. Fierce. Adaptive. Undefeated. We launched as VXN Wellness to honor the contract while keeping the legal Color Up entity and licensed lab alive. What we learned the hard way is how unforgiving modern e-commerce is to a name change. We lost our digital footing, but we kept the lights on.
Chapter 1
VXN Wellness
June 2023 – Mid-2024. Rebuilt inventory in small batches, moved to in-house label printing, absorbed the loss of major spa accounts.
Chapter 2
VXN LAB
Mid-2024 – Early 2025. Closed the wellness center to focus funds on production. Navigated unclear federal CBD guidance. Tested Miron violet glass — rising shipping costs and breakage priced us out.
Chapter 3
House of VXN
Mid-2025. Consolidated under one roof as a family-run business. Began shifting digital assets back to Color Up to resolve a Google suspension — and the community responded immediately.
On formulas during VXN: Amber — who has handcrafted Color Up products in our lab since 2018 — meticulously documented every VXN batch. VXN products used the same core formulations with increased cannabinoid content per contractual requirements. Her records confirm the higher cannabinoid content did not impact efficacy, but did introduce some consistency variability. We acknowledge this directly. Color Up is returning to original cannabinoid levels and formulations.
On beeswax vs. sunflower wax: During VXN, we transitioned to sunflower wax to pursue PETA vegan certification. Real-world production showed this affected product stability. Color Up salves are reverting to the original beeswax formulations — the same recipes trusted for years.
The Return (2025–Present)
As we began shifting digital assets back to Color Up to resolve our Google suspension, something unexpected happened: partners we hadn't heard from in two years started flooding our DMs. The community spoke clearly — Color Up is home.
Then came the final straw. A former co-founder publicly posted that "The company you are running now is not Color Up." This claim — made by someone who used Color Up relationships and former team members to build their own competing brand — stems from the same mindset that almost shut us down in 2023. We refuse to let that mindset win. We answer it with clarity, not silence.
Our decision to reclaim the Color Up name is a strategic act of restoration. We are here to restore eleven years of brand equity, visibility, and community. We aren't going anywhere. In fact, we are just getting started.
The Proof of Continuity
For our partners, customers, and search engines — here is the factual record.
2015
Founded — continuously operating ever since
Same EIN
Same legal entity, same licensing, never dissolved
Same Lab
CDPHE-licensed manufacturing, same team, same hands
Same Formulas
Original Color Up formulations restored as of 2025
| Period | Name | What Was Happening |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2017 | Color Up Therapeutics | Founded in Denver. Licensed hemp lab and professional wellness center. Built the original cannabinoid skincare line. |
| 2017–2019 | Color Up | Simplified name for regulatory compliance. Expanded professional education and wellness center operations. |
| 2019–2023 | Color Up CBD | Won Favorite CBD Line — American Spa Professional's Choice. National media features. Industry-leading professional education program. |
| 2023–2024 | VXN Wellness | Contractually required trade name post-buyout. Same licensed entity, same lab, same formulas — rebuilding under constraint. |
| 2024–2025 | VXN LAB | Focused on production after closing wellness center. Navigated federal CBD guidance. Tested new packaging formats. |
| 2025 → 2026 | Color Up Professional | Full return. All operations under our licensed manufacturing lab. The name that holds our legacy — restored. |
A copy of our Buyout Contract is available on our website for full transparency. View our Lab Tests & Certifications →
What's Coming Next
We are consolidating lab operations in partnership with Elan Naturals — giving us access to equipment, testing capabilities, and certifications that are typically out of reach for small cannabinoid companies. For the first time since 2015, we will have:
- In-house cannabinoid extraction
- Batch-specific Certificates of Analysis (COAs)
- COAs for every individual ingredient
- Expanded purity and safety testing
- Eligibility for USDA Organic certification
Wholesale partners will receive batch-specific COAs with every Color Up production run to support insurance, booking platforms, and compliance requirements.
Thank You for Sticking With Us Through the Storm
The products you trust are still here. The integrity inside the bottle has never changed. Now let's get back to what we do best.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.