- LYS Beauty
- Milk Makeup
- Westman Atelier
- Minori Beauty
- True + Luscious
- Athr Beauty
- Wander Beauty
- Freck Beauty
- lilah b.
- Kosas
- Bite Beauty
- Tower 28 Beauty
- Vapour Beauty
- Beautycounter
- Lawless Beauty
- Juice Beauty
- Rituel De Fille
- & Other Stories
- RMS Beauty
- Alima Pure
- Beauty Bakerie
- Ilia
- W3LL People
- Kjaer Weis
- The Lip Bar
- P/Y/T Beauty
- Saie
It's no secret that natural or "clean" beauty has blown up in recent years. Consumers care about non-toxic ingredients and are making a conscious effort to pay close attention to harmful chemicals commonly found in makeup products, like parabens, that could be wreaking havoc on their bodies. But let's get real: What does "natural beauty" even mean anymore? Increased demand for clean, cruelty-free, and vegan makeup and beauty products has, sadly, caused brands to use suspicious marketing tactics, slapping "natural" and "organic" labels on their products without legitimate certifications.
Plus, it's difficult to decipher if "natural" makeup brands are being completely transparent when it comes to refraining from harsh chemicals and animal testing. This is why organizations like PETA and Leaping Bunny are so important—both websites offer tools to search which brands are truly using organic, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced ingredients.
I have one more thing to address before we move on: There's a huge misconception that natural makeup products are incapable of delivering glamorous results. That might have been true, like, a decade ago, but today there are plenty of brands creating buildable, high-impact products that over-deliver in the shade department. Natural makeup brands are on the rise, and here are my all-time favorites.
LYS Beauty
After more than a decade spent in the clean beauty industry, Tisha Thomspon decided she'd had enough of the lack of diversity in natural makeup. LYS Beauty launched in 2019 on Sephora as the first Black-owned clean beauty brand to receive Sephora's stamp of approval, instantly becoming a sold-out favorite for its formula and powerful pigment targeted towards skin of color. Each product is made to be skin-focused first, ingredient wise, with focus on skin affected by hyperpigmentation and dark marks.
Milk Makeup
An offset of Milk Studios, Milk Makeup has been in the clean beauty space since the beginning, focusing their branding and message on galactic-feeing products that are made for effortless beauty vibes. Their dedication to improving their formulas and packaging, not to mention their refillable and natural ingredient-focused products, helps explain why most TikTokers have at least one item from the brand.
Westman Atelier
Gucci Westman, renowned makeup artist and the brand's namesake/founder, created Westman Atelier to bring a luxurious aesthetic to clean beauty. With sustainability in the foreground, natural ingredients are a major pillar in the identity of this cosmetic brand. The refillable durable packaging and creamy products with plant-powered ingredients make them a favorite for IG-worthy shelf shots and product that works well, trusted by clean beauty store Credo.
Minori Beauty
"Minimalist" and "clean" are two words that perfectly describe this essentials-only beauty brand. Anastasia Bezrukova founded Minori Beauty for those who want to declutter their beauty drawer and focus on the few key products for simple, natural wear. Creamy blushes and highlighters offer multi-use effects for flushed looks and cottagecore darling dreams, while the straightforward formulation makes it simple to figure out what exactly is in the product.
True + Luscious
Good.Clean.Glam is the tagline of this indie beauty brand, founded by long-time beauty entrepreneur, Mehir Sethi. As a 100 percent vegan brand, the focus is on the product formulation with simple packaging and dedicated items that make for an easy switch for any non-clean beauty product.
Athr Beauty
A reminder that clean beauty can be bright and shimmery (without the chunky plastic glitter), Athr Beauty is bringing fun to natural beauty with their gemstone-inspired palettes and Taylor Swift-worthy red lippies. Sustainable practices are found from beginning to end with durable zero-waste packaging, fair-trade ingredients, and of course, vegan and cruelty-free formulas.
Wander Beauty
Multi-use products are one thing, but cosmetic items designed for multitasking take innovative packaging and dual-use makeup to a new level. Duo eyeshadows and double-sided highlighters feature cruelty-free, paraben-free, and synthetic fragrance-free ingredients that don’t cake on the skin, instead leaving a soft-touched glam. Their sustainable choices don’t stop at formulation; they’re also actively working to have more environmentally-safe initiatives in production.
Shop My Favorite Wander Beauty Products
Freck Beauty
What started with a desire to create a freckle cosmetic product turned into a skincare and makeup brand that is favored amongst Gen Z, influencers, and beauty lovers alike. Founded by Remi Brixton in 2017, all products are vegan and cruelty-free, with natural ingredients like cactus, shea butter, and flower water highlighted. The brand’s website proudly states: “We are the bold, clean beauty brand for anyone that cares about ingredients, respects the process, and doesn’t care about the rules.”
lilah b.
This clean beauty brand has strict guidelines for the ingredients they allow in their gorgeous, Instagram-worthy products. Everything in the line is vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, and formulated without gluten, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. Many of the products are multi-use, and each compact feels heavy and luxurious in your palm—and is gorgeous to boot.
Kosas
Kosas is the makeup brand for skincare lovers who want their cosmetics to complement their skincare regime. Whether you're looking to be extra hydrated, soothe irritated skin, or brighten dull skin, each makeup product contains ingredients that works with that goal, while also delivering enviable color payoff. Kosas has banned the use of over 2,700 different ingredients that they swear to never put into their formulas. The Leaping Bunny certified brand claims their line is "loose, quick, active clean beauty that works the way you want it to."
Bite Beauty
Bite Beauty's motto is that clean doesn't have to mean boring. Their lip products bring the boldness and intense color, without harmful or sensitizing ingredients. Superfoods replace harmful chemicals in their formulas, so you don't have to sacrifice anything for your beauty look. Licensed toxicologists review all the products that Bite puts out and test them for safety, allergens, and efficiency. When your makeup artist has a lab coat on, you know the dedication is real.
Tower 28 Beauty
Tower 28 doesn't want to limit who can use their products, which is why every single item is formulated with sensitive skin in mind. This dermatologist-tested brand is hypo-allergenic, non-comedogenic, and gluten-free. From their truly poppin' lip glosses to their glowing highlights, this brand uses ingredients that are safer for even the most sensitive consumer. Tower 28 Beauty follows the National Eczema Association's ingredient guideline, which is a rarity in the beauty world. So if your sensitive skin has been holding you back from getting into the beauty world, this brand is perfect for you.
Shop My Favorite Tower 28 Products
Vapour Beauty
Vapour Beauty isn't just dedicated to providing stunning makeup products that are stunning—they care for the planet, too. They regularly work with incredible organizations, like Lipstick Angels, that provide beauty services to cancer patients. They also have a recycling program that encourages consumers to send back their empty products so the brand can safely recycle them. Not to mention, all the ingredients that the brand uses are organic and natural.
Beautycounter
Not only does Beautycounter up the game when it comes to clean beauty, but they're transparent about their progress, even going so far as to put out an annual Social Mission report listing their accomplishments. While the brand is dedicated to teaching their consumers about the benefits of clean beauty, they are also working to change laws and national guidelines for beauty ingredients. Beautycounter regularly supports nonprofits and is dedicated to constantly improving their formulas and environmental impact.
Lawless Beauty
Annie Lawless, the brains behind Lawless Beauty, knows the benefit of clean beauty. As a child suffering from debilitating eczema and gluten allergies, she sought to create a clean makeup brand that wasn't exclusively for beauty minimalists. "I started Lawless Beauty with the mission to create highly pigmented, full coverage, and long-wearing clean makeup with a no tolerance policy for sheer, wimpy, no-makeup makeup formulas and any kind of potentially toxic ingredients," Lawless says on the brand's website. If minimal isn't your style, then Lawless has you covered—in an ethnical, clean way.
Juice Beauty
During her first pregnancy, Juice Beauty founder Karen Behnke saw how necessary effective, clean beauty brands are. Every ingredient in her skincare and makeup line is certified organic and ethical, with farm-to-beauty sourcing. From their cult favorite CC cream to their lash-boosting mascara, Juice Beauty has you covered. The brand even owns a farm in Northern California where they harvest natural products to use in their beauty line. It doesn't get more natural than that!
Rituel De Fille
Los Angeles-based clean makeup brand Rituel De Fille knows what it takes to create a captivating glow. Seriously—their cult-favorite highlighters leave a supernatural-looking finish on the skin that'll make an onlooker do a double-take. Dreamed up by three sisters, this brand uses the magic of natural ingredients to make pigment-rich products that you can apply almost anywhere. "We approach our formulation like potion-making," the sisters write on their website. In other words, you can trust that each product is crafted with care, are completely natural, and made with minimal ingredients.
