Sometimes you wonder if there are other makeup options aside from high end, drugstore, and luxury. As saturated as it is, there really are a lot of indie makeup brands worth checking out.
The beauty industry has grown exponentially in the last decade, different indie makeup brands from small beginnings have started out in different basements all across the world to satiate the growing demand of makeup that is different, performs well, and speaks to one’s personality.
These Indie Makeup Brands Deserve Your Attention
Truly, social media and diversity have taken the makeup industry to new heights. It’s no longer required for a small company to spend thousands of dollars on advertising alone because of their following on Facebook and Instagram is more than enough to spread the word out. It is through social media that we learn of these awesome indie makeup brands that made this list and we want to share it with you!
Consumer brands can be a bit boring, so check out these indie makeup brands worth your money and your time. I can’t wait for you to try them out so read on!
Dose of Colors
This brand came out of California created by Anna Petrosian, a makeup artist from Burbank. Its flagship product is the liquid matte lip, highly pigmented with beautiful rich colors of pinks and purples. It is also well received for its cruelty-free formula and long lasting wear.
Makeup Monsters
This indie makeup brand was founded just recently, January of 2015 to be exact, by Samantha Muth. What started out as a small company operating from home has quickly grown to include lipsticks and highlighters. Its aesthetic focus is funky and colorful. Getting really good reviews out of its products, this brand seems like it’s well on its way to becoming big. I’m in love with their liquid lipsticks, I honestly think it’s one of the best in liquid lipstick world! LOL Honestly, I think it’s better than Jeffree Star Cosmetics.
Melt Cosmetics
Melt Cosmetics was founded by two women passionate about makeup, they have come up with ingenious design concepts even in the way they package their eyeshadows. This company has been steadily growing with their liquid lipsticks and their eyeshadows are slowly being recognized by more people in the makeup industry.
Check out how it started in the video by the co-founder, Lora Arellano, below:
Illamasqua
Illamasqua has been around for a while, in fact, this indie makeup brand has award winning products professional makeup artists use. In this list, this is the only high-end makeup brand to be featured and I think it is worth the mention, especially with their Avante Garde aesthetics and the overall Haute feel of the brand.
Lonely Planet Cosmetics
The Lonely Planet Cosmetics brand is an indie makeup brand which runs its store on Etsy. It has received really good reviews especially on their liquid lipstick formula that feels really light on the lips and are not drying at all. It doesn’t hurt that they are a vegan line too and completely cruelty-free, as far as I can gather.
Fyrinnae Cosmetics
Fyrinnae cosmetics creates complicated eyeshadow pigments, out of all the indie makeup brands on the list, this is probably the only brand I can’t get much material on. Aside from the fact that there have been reviews about their products even up to 4 years ago on Youtube, so it’s safe to say they’ve been creating beautiful colored pigments for a while now.
RCMA (Research Council of Makeup Artists)
This indie makeup brand is a family-owned business which started a long time ago. Their products are simple but they are complex in nature. They are most raved about by professional makeup artists because of their powder and foundation products, hand-made and done by batches to ensure the highest quality possible out of their products. I have this in my kit and personally, I reach for this often. I recommend this for pro use. If you’re not a professional makeup artist it could be a challenge to use and to get to know the product. Like most makeup products, it has a learning curve and it takes the experience to really get the most out of this bad boy.
Sugarpill
Sugarpill Cosmetics specializes in rich, vibrant, highly pigmented colors. It was founded in 2003 and has been serving the makeup community with different fun and funky product selection, like lipsticks, eyeshadows, nail polish, false eyelashes, and even brushes.
Makeup Geek
Makeup Geek is one of the more successful indie makeup brands out in the market today. It started out as a passion hobby of a makeup artist and Youtube vlogger and has been creating beautiful, buttery eyeshadows which are loved by professional makeup artists and consumers alike. This brand has actually been on everyone’s radar and has appeared on my pages a few already, like this listicle I did on the best cult beauty brands.
Juvia’s Place
I had just recently heard about Juvia’s Place and how awesome and pigmented this indie makeup brand’s eyeshadows are. I heard somewhere that the inspiration for the brand is women of color, the brand website doesn’t however specifically say, but I can see how their pressed shadows and their swatches would match a woman of color beautifully and I can’t wait to try these shadows for myself.
Want to see more indie makeup brands? Check out this video by VintageorTacky:
Well, what do you think of these awesome, delicious looking indie makeup brands? Don’t they look cool? Let me know which ones you’ve tried already in the comments section below and if your makeup fix isn’t complete yet, take a look at this other indie makeup brand with a black highlighter as one of their products.
If you already have some of these products, I want to see how they look on you, go ahead and share your makeup creations on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages!
