Small Makeup Brands To Check Out For Top Quality Products
When it comes to the beauty industry, there’s nearly thousands of brands to discover when shopping for new makeup. This is why I made a list of Small Makeup Brands To Check Out For Top Quality Products if you’re looking to support small businesses!
While living through a pandemic, we all learned a lot about all sorts of things, but one concept I found most important was supporting small or local businesses when it comes to shopping for makeup, clothes, home goods, food, etc. The larger, well known makeup brands we tend to gravitate towards due to the familiarity have made it through Covid-19, but we’ve seen the smaller brands tend to struggle during these times. This is why supporting small businesses is so important, as you’re doing so much more than just profiting a large company. When you shop local or from smaller stores, you can discover the same quality products, if not better, when it comes to makeup or skincare. Here are some smaller makeup brands to shop from if your makeup collection is starting to lack those essential products you need.
1. Kailav Beauty
Our first pick out of small makeup brands to check out is the brand Kailav Beauty. The company was founded by two sisters named Tara and Kaya who both share a passion for the beauty industry and art. The Austin, TX based pair had a lot to say about why they enjoy makeup so much, one being as a form of self expression and the other a former competitive dancer who isn’t shy to the use of bold, stage makeup. The brand combines separate concepts of art and makeup, bringing them together for customers to use makeup creatively.
Kailav Beauty sells makeup products ranging from colorful eyeshadow palettes, to blush, highlighters, and lip products with new releases always happening. The website even has a palette quiz to help shoppers figure out which eyeshadow palette is best for them. They are a cruelty free brand that is curated for everyday creativity, with several of their eye palettes taking inspo from different popular art pieces. One eyeshadow palette is even named Van Gogh, inspired by his iconic Starry Night painting.
2. Lemonhead LA
Have you seen Euphoria and been amazed by the intricate makeup full of glitter and glam? Well the products used on the show come straight from the makeup brand Lemonhead LA! The creator behind this brand is makeup artist Megan Dugan, who wanted to create high-impact, avant-garde makeup products that would inspire creativity, not complacency. As a glitter lover, she wanted to make reflective glitter blended makeup, but with ingredients that won’t harm your skin like other products out there. The brand is known for their iconic glitter pastes that are gentle, mess free, long lasting, and super easy to use. Many A-listers such as Beyoncé, Margot Robbie, Lady Gaga and Emma Stone are some popular fans of the brand, as well as the Euphoria makeup artists who used the products to create some of my all time favorite looks from the show.
One thing I love about Lemonhead LA is their inclusion for everyone to rock their products, with not one type of person in mind as their targeted customer. Lemonhead is all about supporting artistry and creativity and is also a 100% women owned and operated brand which we love. The brand is huge on advocating for LGBTQ+ and Equality and is always celebrating the community. Their constant support has helped to raise thousands of dollars for various organizations that provide a spectrum of care, such as housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth and suicide prevention. If you haven’t tried their products, you are really missing out on an incredible brand. They support a huge list of different organizations you can find on their website, as well as advocating for the rise small businesses.
3. Axiology
Another one of the small makeup brands I recently discovered is Axiology. This is the world’s fire zero waste makeup brand, promoting the importance of sustainability and vegan makeup. The brand was founded by a woman named Ericka who was horrified to see the long list of popular makeup brands that tested on animals, leading her to buy only vegan makeup. She found that a lot of vegan lipsticks were super drying, so this is what lead her to start making her own from home and creating the brand as it stands today!
The brand constantly reminds their customers on the importance of sustainability, such as with their recycling empty makeup page. They partnered with PACT so if you’re in the US or Canada, you can mail any beauty empties you want to recycle. Not to mention they also use only clean, vegan, and cruelty-free ingredients, making them one of the top smaller makeup brands to check out.
4. Range Beauty
Range Beauty is a small makeup brand that stands for well, a range of shades for makeup, as their name hints. The brand’s goal was to create more diverse shades when it comes to base makeup and use less toxic chemicals in their ingredients, which is something the beauty industry often fails to take note of. The brand is dedicated to making makeup used to uplift, include, and empower all customers to be more confident in their skin. Their customers range from all different skin types, skin shades, and genders who have felt left from the industry, really standing out from smaller makeup brands and larger brands out their!
5. Rituel De Fille
If you haven’t heard of Ritual de Fille, they are a smaller brand that has a new vision for beauty inspired by the magical side of natural ingredients and incredible pigmented products for the eyes, lips and face are all carefully handcrafted for uniquely bold, lasting color. The brand was founded by the three Ramos sisters who approach their products like potion making, using nothing extraneous and avoiding fillers. They are another one of the smaller makeup brands that is 100% cruelty-free, something you really don’t see a lot of big name brands doing these days, reinforcing the importance of shopping small.
