The website Preserve, which sold pricey lifestyle knick knacks like a $1200 diaper bag, launched in 2014 and became the subject of instant ridicule.

"The project was a minor miracle - somehow more ridiculous and tone deaf than Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop," Washington Post scoffs.

Now, the 28-year-old actress, who recently admitted she launched the site prematurely, tells Vogue that she plans to shut down the project on October 9.

"We have an incredible team of people who do beautiful work, but we launched the site before it was ready, and it never caught up to its original mission: It's not making a difference in people's lives, whether superficially or in a meaningful way," she told the magazine.

"And that's the whole reason I started this company, not just to fluff myself, like, 'I'm a celebrity! People will care what I have to say!' It was so never meant to be that, and that kind of became the crutch because it was already up and already running, and it's hard to build a brand when you're running full steam ahead—how do you catch up?"

The mother of eight-month-old daughter James, says she plans to rebuild and re-brand the site so it is in line with her original vision.

"It's very exciting and it's also incredibly scary," the Gossip Girl actress says of shutting down the site. "I never thought I would have the bravery to actually do that, to take the site dark and to say, 'You know what? I haven't created something that is as true and impactful as I know it can and will be.

"And I'm not going to continue to chase my tail and continue to put a product out there that we, as a team, are not proud of."

She says she anticipates backlash for looking like a "failure" but will jump back on the horse regardless.

"You know what, I'm going to give myself one more shot at this, and I really have to do it as well as I can do it this time. And that is the only thing that will impact people. And that's what I'm doing. And I'm totally terrified out of my mind!" she says. "I've asked my husband to just play 'Shake It Off' on a loop - it feels really good to listen to it on a loop!"

While Vogue is convinced she will succeed second time around, others are not.

"There are overpriced artisanal items for sale on Preserve that would make even the most mason jar-loving of hipsters blush," Refinery 29 notes, adding that her fan base "certainly aren't looking to spend money they don't have on expensive stuff they don't need".

Fairfax Media