We love an amazing, life-changing makeup product — even more so when it comes from a totally amazing small beauty brand. There's just something so awesome about finding your new favorite lipstick AND supporting badass beauty entrepreneurs at the same time!
So, to that end, these are 25 indie beauty brands that you need to know about. Seriously, they're so awesome, you'll be saying, "Bye, Sephora," FOR GOOD.
Espionage Cosmetics
Some people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that women can love beauty AND nerd culture at the same time. That's where Espionage Cosmetics comes in. You probably know them as the brand who launched two mega-successful Kickstarter campaigns, then took over the world with nerdy, sparkly awesomeness.
They make next level nail wraps, customizable lip colors (called Kiss of Death, which I love), and "Everything" shadows — which can be used for literally everything. I was lucky enough to meet Espionage's CEO and Glitter Jedi, Jaimie Cordero, at a comic convention years ago; she is a wonderful person with a wonderful team, who make incredible beauty products.
Lunar Tides
If you've ever had unicorn hair and wanted it to be a very specific shade, you know how cumbersome it can be to mix and match shades for that perfect peach or pastel turquoise. That's not even an issue with Lunar Tides because its shade range is just THAT wide. Unicorn hair, here you come.
Bitch Slap! Cosmetics
Remember those amazing vagina and penis-themed highlighters that went viral a few months ago? That was all the genius work of Bitch Slap! Cosmetics. With an edgy approach to color cosmetics, its super smooth, incredibly shiny highlighters are second to none. Seriously, don't you owe it to yourself to get a David Bowie highlighter? I've already pre-ordered.
Chaos Makeup
Based out of Texas, Chaos Makeup has the art of illusion down. Its highlighters, which come with adorable seashell cases, are its mainstay products — watch as they vanish in the shade and prepare to buy every single one.
Smolder Cosmetics
Three words: Glitter, glitter, and glitter. Oh, and one more: Glitter.
Melt Cosmetics
Melt Cosmetics is an Instagram favorite, and it's easy to see why: Its super pigmented lipsticks in fun shades were just made for selfies. It's since branched out into amazingly rich and blendable eye shadows, and I've been hearing rumors about a highlighter. If you're looking for your next favorite lipstick and you're a total #bossbabe, Melt is the indie label for you.
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
If you think mass-market perfumes are boring as hell and have a vested interest in making America Goth again, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is for you. Shop its amazing variety of fragrances by pop culture inspiration — there's an entire new line inspired by "Crimson Peak" — and you'll be taking your own personal scent to delicious new heights in no time.
Saucebox Cosmetics
If you bought one of those viral chubby mermaid brushes last year and ended up loving it, you have LA-based Saucebox to thank for that. It's the brand that started the whole trend with its original design.
Aside from those brushes, though, it's got a ton to offer such as shell-shaped glitter palettes and blinding loose powder highlights.
Sugarpill Cosmetics
Back in my Livejournal days, I was crazy obsessed with Amy Doan, aka. Shrinkle, who sold the craziest color cosmetics and the most amazing handmade clothes on Etsy. Fast forward to today, and Amy has founded Sugarpill Cosmetics, a super bright, super sparkly line for anyone who believes in the fun magic of makeup. The brand has collaborated with badass artist and kawaii icon Bei Badgirl on a lip color, named an eye shadow after RuPaul's Drag Race superstar Kim Chi, and has just released its first pro palette. And it's just getting started.
Portland Black Lipstick Company
Do you want the creamiest, dreamiest, most gothily fabulous lipstick ever? Get Portland Black Lipstick Company into your life, stat. The brand's stated goal is "Providing the community with excellent quality black lipstick at affordable prices," at which it definitely excels. Its current lipstick line (made of all-natural ingredients) includes the deepest black, navy blue, and a dark gray the color of duct tape.
Unicorns Poop Glitter
Unicons Poop Glitter make some of the world's craziest, most intricate fake nails, which are coincidentally worn by the world's most outlandish and famous drag queens.
Makeup Geek Cosmetics
If you have eyes and an Instagram, you know Makeup Geek. This brand made a name for itself with super magical (and super affordable) eye shadows in social media-friendly magnetic pans, which totally changed the game. Now with rainbow liners and a collaboration with Kathleen Lights, Makeup Geek is going to revolutionize everything about your cosmetics-loving life. Get into it.
Sugar Milk Co.
Simply stated, Sugar Milk Co. is the candy store of beauty brands. Its bath products are all themed after baked goods and other things you begged your parents to let you eat or drink as a kid — and they look and smell just like the real thing. Cookie dough, anyone?
Black Moon Cosmetics
You might remember this brand as the one that sued Jeffree Star and Manny MUA for copying its logo, but it's far more than that. With a goth queen aesthetic and powerful pigments, Black Moon's won the hearts of Instagram witches everywhere — oh, and the Kat Von D Beauty team. That's a pretty significant stamp of approval.
F.U.N. Lacquer
F.U.N. Lacquer is already a favorite in the nail blogging community — holosexuals, you've probably seen most of its polishes on SimplyNailogical's YouTube channel — but it hasn't earned much popularity outside of it, heavens knows why. It's constantly breaking the barrier of what nail polish can do by creating stuff like duo-chrome magnetic polishes and opaque holographic glitters.
Mermaid Salon
Glitter. Mermaids. Rainbows. Need I even say more?
Uniglitter
This brand's name is a combination of the words "unicorn" and "glitter," and that says pretty much everything you need to know about it. It's known for its chunky glitter pastes that you can put pretty much anywhere on your body — or even in your hair if you like.
The Gypsy Shrine
The Gypsy Shrine, which also specializes in multi-use glitter pastes and body jewels, is the one responsible for that wild "disco tits" trend you saw at every single music festival last year ( and that you'll surely see again this year and the next year and the next year… ).
Harper Homemade Cosmetics
Are you a.) a witch and b.) a bath person? Great! Let me introduce you to a brand that'll make you forget Lush Cosmetics forever. Harper Homemade has a huge selection of affordable bath bombs, whipped soaps, and other bath products shaped like coffins, skulls and roses… so they're automatically better.
Lunatick Cosmetics Labs
If your macabre side is your only side, you're going to fall head over heels for Lunatick's coffin-shaped palettes, bullet-shaped lipsticks, and bug-motif compact mirrors.
Touch In Sol
Given that this brand is a tried and trie favorite of YouTubers such as Jeffree Star, Manny MUA, and James Charles, it's a shocker and a bummer more people haven't heard of it. Give that primer a whirl and call me when you get YouTube famous.
Rouge & Rouge
Someone woke up one day and said, "you know what, I'm going to make a falsie range specifically for people who only wear black," and that's how Rouge & Rogue probably came to be. These lashes are not for the faint of heart; if you want those suckers to graze the ceiling, though, you've met your match.
Mod Bath and Body
If Lush Cosmetics and Herbivore Botanicals had an even more Instagram-able child, it would be Mod, which is all about hand-whipped soaps and creams you can't resist photographing.
Waft Aromatics
Though its range of aromatherapy sprays is a small one, there are few things Waft Aromatics can't do. Its $24 spray bottles of essential oils can squelch cramps, put you to sleep, calm your anxiety, or even ~set the mood.~ They're not formulated to be worn on like perfume, but you'll wear them anyway and have zero regrets.
SUVA Beauty
There's nothing in this world quite like SUVA Beauty's water-activated eyeliners. When dry in their pans, they're rock-solid and don't transfer any color, but after a quick splash they become ultra-pigmented liquid liners just begging to be swatched. Once they're applied and dried back down though, they don't budge. SUVA is pure, evil genius at its best.
