The 15 Best Products From Women-Founded Beauty Brands
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Considering how many products women use, it's astounding how few beauty brands are actually female-run. In a multibillion-dollar industry that's geared toward women, the biggest companies are still run by men. Thankfully, that's starting to change with a generation of ambitious female founders who have created some of today's most coveted brands.
We've rounded up some incredible brands by female founders who created products they wanted to see in the market. Many of them created their own products because they wanted to use makeup with healthier ingredients, revolutionize an industry, or just feed their passions for beauty.
Keep reading to discover which of your favorite brands has a female founder and which products you should try next from the woman-led companies.
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Juvia's Place
Brand: Juvia's Place
Founder: Chichi Eburu
Story: This brand is all about rich, pigmented color. It's cruelty-free, and the brand represents African culture and art on its packaging.
Product to try first: The Saharan 2 Eyeshadow Palette ($22) contains nine shadows ranging in finish from matte to metallic. They can be worn wet or dry and blend seamlessly together on your lids.
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RMS Beauty
Brand: RMS Beauty
Founder: Rose-Marie Swift
Story: After experiencing some health problems related to her career in the beauty industry, Rose-Marie decided to create a healthy line of cosmetics free of harmful toxins and chemicals.
Product to try first: The RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek ($36) is a celebrity-favorite product. It goes on sheer, creating a natural-looking wash of color on your lips and cheeks.
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Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment
Brand: Sunday Riley
Founder: Sunday Riley
Story: The cosmetic chemist and product formulator wanted to create effective skincare products with quality ingredients that would be lust-worthy for their results — not for the brand name.
Product to try first: The Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment ($105) is a top seller because of its ability to fight wrinkles, age spots, and uneven texture.
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Ilia
Brand: Ilia
Founder: Sasha Plavsic
Story: Sasha set out to create an organic and safe brand that was just as beautiful on the outside as the clean ingredients on the inside.
Product to try first: Made from 100 percent natural dye, the Ilia Lipstick ($26) is moisturizing and provides a sheer wash of color to your pout.
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Besame Cosmetics
Brand: Besame Cosmetics
Founder: Gabriela Hernandez
Story: Incorporating her love of makeup, experience as a cosmetic historian, and creativity, Gabriela created a line of vintage-inspired products with modern formulas.
Product to try first: The Besame Cosmetics Rip-Roaring Radiance Lipstick in Noir Red ($25) is inspired by a hue from 1930 and is a berry-red shade that looks gorgeous on deep skin tones.
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Huda Beauty
Brand: Huda Beauty
Founder: Huda Kattan
Story: The Dubai-based beauty blogger, makeup artist, and former financial industry worker launched her brand in 2013 in Sephora stores, and it quickly became a cult favorite.
Product to try first: If you're looking for an incredible full-coverage foundation, the
Huda Beauty Fauxfilter Foundation ($40) will cover even the most problem-ridden skin.
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Ouai
Brand: Ouai
Founder: Jen Atkin
Story: The celebrity hairstylist aimed to create a line of luxury hair products that were quick and easy for the everyday woman to use to achieve effortless style.
Product to try first: The Ouai Medium Hair Spray ($26) is suitable for all hair types, never feels sticky, and is just the right amount of hold without crunch.
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Drunk Elephant
Brand: Drunk Elephant
Founder: Tiffany Masterson
Story: After battling a variety of skin issues, Tiffany created an ingredient-focused brand with powerful actives and ideal pH levels that would produce complexion-perfecting results.
Product to try first: The Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial ($80) is an AHA and BHA facial that chemically exfoliates your skin to reveal a smoother, younger-looking complexion.
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Pacifica Beauty
Brand: Pacifica Beauty
Founder: Brook Harvey-Taylor
Story: When Brook met her husband, Billy Taylor, she had already been studying aromatherapy in college. Together, the couple founded a company based on fragrance and experience while creating safe, sustainable products.
Product to try first: Heal your stressed-out skin overnight with the Pacifica Wake Up Beautiful Mask ($15). It's perfect for bringing back moisture to dry and combination skin types.
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Deborah Lippmann
Brand: Deborah Lippmann
Founder: Deborah Lippmann
Story: While pursuing her dream of becoming a professional jazz singer, Deborah enrolled in cosmetology school and soon discovered her love of nails. Her brand is now known for its fashion-forward shades and creamy formula. One of the cutest parts of her line is that the colors are named after songs, a nod to her musical side.
Product to try first: The Deborah Lippmann Grey Day – x Jason Wu ($20) is a unique, cool gray shade made in collaboration with Jason's Wu's ready-to-wear collection.
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Winky Lux
Brand: Winky Lux
Founder: Natalie Mackey
Story: A veteran of the fashion industry, Natalie wanted to bring luxury beauty to millennial consumers at a fraction of the price. All of the brand's products come in adorable packaging and fabulous, on-trend colors and formulas.
Product to try first: The tiny lipsticks in the Winky Lux Mini Lip Pill Set ($16) will allow you to test out many of the brand's shades in sizes you will actually use up.
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Drybar
Brand: Drybar
Founder: Alli Webb
Story: As a professional hairstylist in 2008, Alli started to offer in-home blowouts to her clients in LA. It quickly became so popular that Alli founded Drybar so women could get affordable blowouts to look and feel their best.
Product to try first: To extend your time between blowouts, make sure to spray plenty of Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo ($13) through strands to absorb oil.
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Briogeo
Brand: Briogeo
Founder: Nancy Twine
Story: As a child, Nancy would spend time with her grandmother creating at-home haircare products. After realizing that her family's recipes rivaled the products she found in stores, Nancy founded Briogeo Hair Care without including any harmful ingredients in her products.
Product to try first: The Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask ($36) is designed to nourish even the most damaged strands.
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Beauty Bakerie
Brand: Beauty Bakerie
Founder: Cashmere Nicole
Story: While battling breast cancer, Cashmere worked on her dream of creating a beauty brand. Her breast cancer treatment made her ingredient-conscious, and her products are vegan, nontoxic, and cruelty-free.
Product to try first: The brand's Bakerie Metallic Lip Whip ($14, originally $20) will not budge. It lasts all day without fading or smudging.
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Anastasia Beverly Hills
Brand: Anastasia Beverly Hills
Founder: Anastasia Soare
Story: Anastasia started her namesake brand with a salon in 1997 dedicated to brows. She soon revolutionized how women perceived their eyebrows and expanded to color makeup in 2014.
Product to try first: Nothing works as well as the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade Waterproof Brow Color ($18). It lasts all day even on the most oily skin.
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