Meitu didn’t explain how exactly the app didn’t work out, but said in the internal letter that Meitu’s will shift its business model back to “the nature of mobile internet”.

We didn’t know what that meant either, so we asked -- but Meitu hasn’t responded to our request to elaborate on that.

Update, November 16, 2018: Meitu says,"'Back to the essence of mobile internet' has two layers of meaning. Firstly, it refers to Meitu’s strategic focus on its platform businesses. It also refers to our focus on scaling our user base and increasing our gross margin."

It’s an abrupt “adjustment”, given that the company told us “an ecosystem around beauty” was an important part of their vision -- and that app was singled out as one of the leading elements.

In May, Meitu CEO boasted to me about the Meitu Beauty’s unique ability to come up with tailor-made product recommendations, which he said is the niche that’ll help the app survive among ecommerce giants. He also dismissed doubts that it’s just a gimmick to sell more products, saying that the skin analysis function is done with the help of a Shanghai hospital.

Six months later, the app is going away.

Selfie app Meitu wants to build an empire around beauty

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