Nowadays, it can feel like there is a new beauty brand coming out on the daily. Whether it be yet another celebrity fragrance or a derm-backed skin-care line, it seems like making a beauty brand is as easy as pie, but there is a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into building a beauty brand from the ground up.
I’ve been lucky enough to try a lot of beauty brands in my time as a beauty editor, from luxury skin-care to celebrity makeup and more. But, indie beauty brands will always have a special place in my heart. This year, we had the pleasure of attending the Indie 360 Pavilion at the 2024 NYC Supplier’s Day event, and got to meet with some of the hottest names in up-and-coming beauty ventures. Ahead, a spotlight on the indie brands we met at the pavilion this year.
16 Indie Beauty Brands You’ll Want to Check Out
If you’re on beauty TikTok in any capacity, you know that hypochlorous acid sprays are all the rage right now, and the great minds at Magic Molecule have taken the bacteria-killing technology one step further, creating a spray that features a patented process that mimics the way white blood cells in our body naturally heal our wounds. By harnessing the power of naturally occuring hypochlorous acid into a safe-for-all-skin-types anti-microbial spray, Magic Molecule’s The Solution ($29) has become a one-stop shop for keeping skin clean and healthy, whether its bug bites, a new tattoo or a fresh wound that needs cleansing.
A Black-owned brand priding itself on being at the forefront of innovation and inclusivity, Ashunta Sheriff Beauty is home to an array of makeup products specifically formulated to cater to all skin tones and types, with products ranging from colored mascaras to their innovative thermal brush and more. As the brand explains, “embracing diversity, wellness, and empowerment, we set new standards in the beauty industry, celebrating the unique beauty of every individual with pride in our heritage.”
A UK-based fragrance company, Aum Perfume is founded on being distinct from the conventional. Each fragrance in the luxurious collection carries its own unique story, enriched with highly concentrated, top-tier fragrance oils, allowing for an experience rich in opulence and quality. From their lush bottles to their carefully curated scent profiles, every part of the Aum Perfume is experience is top tier.
Nowadays, kids have more access than ever to endless amounts of content online, and as a result the interest in makeup is coming to children at younger ages than ever. But, most products on the market aren’t safe for delicate, young skin. Meet Jovy: the first EWG verified safe makeup made specifically for kids. Crafted to encourage imaginative play and exploration, Jovy’s makeup is the safest way to explore their curiosity with makeup through light, shimmery colors and dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-approved hypoallergenic formulas.
Nothing boosts your confidence more than long, luscious lashes, and Lash Spell is one of the latest and greatest in indie lash-enhancing brands. Priding itself on a commitment to enhancing natural eyebrows and lashes, Lash Spell offers effective, gentle products suitable for even the most sensitive users. Leveraging a blend of peptides, proteins, vitamins and conditioning ingredients, Lash Spell’s products are known to deliver visible results in as little as four weeks.
From the expert mind of award-winning NYC dermatologist Dr. Blair Rose, Skincare Junkie offers a range of fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, vegan formulas that pack just the right about of powerful ingredients into each SKU, ensuring that your skin-care experience is fun, easy, safe and effective. The super cute packaging is a plus, too.
Skin-care tools have been gaining popularity in recent years, but using them in a way that is safe and clean can be difficult. To combat this issue, Lunasecent developed what they call the “universal skincare beauty tool,” with a touch-free applicator designed specifically to prevent contamination of your skin-care products while preserving their potency and reducing product waste through absorption on the hands and fingers.
As featured on Shark Tank, Nopalera was one of the brands at this year’s Indie 360 Pavilion that highlighted the show’s feature of Latin American-owned brands. Nopalera was created with the mission to build an aspirational Latina legacy brand and help meet the outsized demand for the underserved Latino community. With a lineup of clean bath and body products powered by Mexico’s nopal cactus, Nopalera honors its Mexican heritage through accessible, high-quality self-care products.
As the brand itself puts it, “In a world of gender-coded body care, Prohibition Wellness is an inclusive line of self-care products designed for every body.” Featuring formulas based around the healing benefits of hemp seed oil, Prohibition Wellness’ products are “high-end but minimalist,” working with natural ingredients to create products that are functional yet luxurious.
Proudly Latina-owned, Seis Cosmetics is the definition of a beauty brand with a purpose. Offering an array of carefully curated, FDA- and European Union-compliant, vegan and cruelty-free formulas, Seis Cosmetics combines nourishing lip care with color cosmetics, allocating a portion of all proceeds to brain tumor research in honor of the founder’s mother.
Inspired by the Italian term “Tela” for canvas, Skintela is an innovative skin-care brand created for all skin types. Created hand-in-hand with industry professionals and experts, Skintela helps you treat your skin like the canvas it is with carefully crafted, efficacious and formulas.
Crafted with cosmeceutical ingredients to help prevent and correct signs of skin aging and promote optimal skin health, Topical Skin clean dermo-cosmetic line of preventative and corrective skin-care products that feature botanicals, antioxidants, and nourishing oleosomes with innovative synthetic actives that have undergone clinical validation.
State of Change is an innovative indie fragrance brand that features a line of vegan, alcohol-free fragrances with microbiome-friendly ingredients. Each fragrance melts luxuriously into the skin thanks to their moisturizing, antioxidant-rich base formula that melds wellness with high-quality sensorial experiences.
Take your brow game to a whole new level with Ziba Beauty. Combining traditional eyebrow artistry with modern empowerment, Ziba Beauty is WOC-owned and its signature brow collection has everything you need to keep your brows in tip-top shape. When they’re not changing the brow game, Ziba Beauty is committing “to education, meaningful partnerships, and giving back, championing inclusivity, self-expression, and community support, aiming to elevate beauty standards and drive positive global change.”
A luxury skin-care brand founded by skin-care professionals to redefine luxury beauty, OUI Beauty’s award-winning packaging is designed with realistic sustainability in mind, with sleek glass bottles and refillable, recyclable satchels, and the product formulas inside feature skin barrier–healing, highly concentrated ingredients free from harmful chemicals.