The Indie Beauty Brands You Need to Know About

In beauty circles, bigger isn’t always better. Case in point: Buyers from mega-retailers like Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Costco and Amazon now scour gatherings like the Indie Beauty Expo (IBE) for the next buzzy brand. “Indie brands hold about 5 per cent of the market, but they’re growing at 20 per cent and capturing the growth dollars,” said Nader Naeymi-Rad, co-founder of IBE, in WWD. And Jane Nugent, vice-president of merchandising at Sephora Canada, says that it’s “indies” her customers are most excited about. “Niche brands are having a major moment,” she says. “Our clients like the exclusivity of having something that not everyone knows about.” Pillars of the beauty world like Estée Lauder and L’Oréal have taken note, scooping up burgeoning brands: Too Faced and IT Cosmetics, respectively, were acquired for more than $1 billion each last year.

And now more than ever, independent beauty brands rely on social media—the ultimate platform to display their voice and vision. Not to mention that if a product’s design makes it Instagram bait, the buying public really pays attention. So what brands are among beauty’s current creative class? From a hair-care line with celeb and social cred to a skincare brand that’s built a cultish following on the virtues of one product, here is our list of power players.

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Photography by Carlo Mendoza

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The best indie beauty brands

Milk Makeup Holographic Stick
($34, sephora.com)

Makeup An authentic voice, images that promote a diverse and real brand of beauty and a selection of cleverly designed products with a “you didn’t know you needed but now can’t imagine living without” appeal are at the heart of Milk Makeup’s swift success. Of its four founders—Milk Studio co-founder Mazdack Rassi, creative director Georgie Greville, fashion editor Zanna Roberts Rassi and product developer Dianna Ruth—the former two had zero beauty experience, meaning they came at the biz with a different (read: fresh) perspective. Hero product: The glow-bestowing Holographic Stick.

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