19 Indie Cosmetics Brands You Should Try in 2019 | Volume 1 (Brands I Love) February 5, 2019
At this point, it should go without saying that I’m a beauty fanatic. The only thing I love more than trying a new beauty product is discovering a new beauty brand. With the proliferation of social media and influencer marketing, there are so many cool, indie brands bursting onto the scene.
What are Indie Beauty Brands?
All brands in the beauty industry are either owned by a massive beauty conglomerate (ex. L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, Shiseido, etc.) or are operated independently. Popular brands that are owned by L’Oreal include NYX Cosmetics and Urban Decay. Some indie brands are partially owned by a beauty conglomerate, but still technically remain independent. For example, Estee Lauder invested stakes in the Korean skincare brand, Dr. Jart+ but hasn’t directly acquired the brand. Although many corporate beauty brands are mainstream, not every brand in their portfolio commands the same brand recognition.
By comparison, an indie brand is a brand that operates independently from a large beauty conglomerate. However, these indie brands can still command powerhouse brand recognition and sales. The best example of this type of indie brand is Anastasia Beverly Hills. However, more often than not, indie beauty brands are typically small brands with limited brand recognition and small sales volumes.
Lately, I’ve been super inspired and excited by the innovative releases from the smaller, less-known beauty brands. Here are the brands I’m most excited to try more of in 2019.
Indie Brands I Want to Explore More
I’ve tried products from all of these indie brands, but I’m still curious to try more – whether that means buying a new release of a popular product or a new category for the brand. If you’ve been following my blog this past year, then you’ll see there is an indie brand on this list that I didn’t love in 2018. Why? Everyone deserves a second chance.
ColourPop | 2014
About the brand: ColourPop was founded in Los Angeles in 2014 by siblings, Laura, and John Nelson. The brand is well known for their on-trend releases, Influencer collaborations, and for featuring looks created by their fans on their social channels and website. ColourPop is Cruelty-Free.
Why this brand excites me? As a whole, ColourPop sells some of the most affordable and high-quality beauty products on the market that are appealing to s wide variety of people. They do a great job of pairing neutrals with bright colors. ColourPop constantly releases new palettes and new products.
I’m an avid fan of the brand’s Super Shock Shadows and Pressed Powder Shadows, but I’ve yet to try any of the brand’s face products or traditional lip products. (I know that I dislike the brand’s liquid lip formula). However, I am most excited to try the brand’s new mascara launch. Within a week of launching, the ColourPop mascara kit sold out!
Product review(s) on the way: I will be posting a “Bad or Rad” style review on some of the brand’s Pressed Single Shadows, Super Shock Shadows, and other goodies this year. For a super thorough palette review, check out my thoughts on the ColourPop x ILuvSarahii Eyeshadow Palette collaboration. Click here for my thoughts on the Double Rainbow Super Shock Shadow Collection, Sweet Talk Eyeshadow Palette, and Disney Villains Collection.
Where to buy: Sephora, Ulta, ColourPop’s website
Juvia’s Place | 2013
About the brand: Founded in 2013 by Chichi Eburu, Juvia’s Place is a fast-growing indie beauty brand best known for their affordable, high quality, vibrant eyeshadows and stunning packaging. I love how each palette is inspired by African culture and art and is specially designed to pop on dark skin tones.
Why this brand excites me? Juvia’s Place eyeshadows are the definition of pigmentation. Also, I love that Juvia’s Place isn’t afraid to play with colors, because I find that their color schemes challenge my creativity.
Product review(s) on the way: Although I’ve owned this palette for a few years, I’ve yet to do a review on the original Nubian Palette. This palette is perfect for a sun-kissed, bronze look, so expect to see a review as the warmer weather approaches.
Where to buy: Ulta, Beauty Bay, Juvia Place’s website
Melt Cosmetics | 2012
About the brand: Founded in 2012 by Lora Arellano and Dana Bomar, Melt Cosmetics is helping to usher in a new wave of colorful beauty brands with their bold offering of colorful shadows and lipsticks.
Why this brand excites me? Melt Cosmetics is an innovative brand. Every other newbie beauty brand tends to rush to release eyeshadow palettes, but Melt broke the mold by releasing eyeshadow stacks that can be custom made or pre-built. Moreover, Melt does a fantastic job at making bright, bold colors wearable – both on the eyes and on the lips. My first experience with the brand was in 2017 when I purchased the highly sought after Gun Metal Stack.
Product review(s) on the way: I was HYPED when the promo photos for the Blueprint Stack were released, so I snagged that the day after it launched online. Additionally, after having such good experiences with the shadows, I knew I wanted to try some of the brand’s colorful eyeliners and liquid lipsticks. Click here for my full review on the Blueprint Eyeshadow Stack, Liquid Lipstick, and two liners.
Where to buy: Beautylish, Beauty Bay, Melt Cosmetics’ website
Natasha Denona | 2016
About the brand: Launched in 2016 by world-renowned makeup artist, Natasha Denona, the eponymous brand, became an instant favorite for luxury beauty lovers across the globe. The brand is most known for their expensive, but high quality, colorful palettes. Many Natasha Denona shadows are talc free, but not all.
Why this brand excites me? LOL – if you’ve been reading my blog then you know I tried one of the Mini five-pan palettes from Natasha Denona and hated it. That being said, everyone rants and raves about the Natasha Denona formula and the brand’s larger palettes tend to have vibrant and interesting color stories.
Product Review(s) on the Way: Ideally, I’d like to try the Purple-Blue Palette (pictured above) so I may pick this up this year to test and review. Although the Lila Palette and Safari Eyeshadow Palettes are still on my wish list, I ended up grabbing the Sunrise Palette was it was much less of an investment.
Where to buy: Sephora, Beautylish, Cult Beauty, Natasha Denona’s website
Nudestix | 2012
About the brand: Founded in 2012 by Jennie Frankel, Nudestix is all about streamlining your beauty routine and enhancing your natural beauty through the use of multi-use products that can be applied to the lips, cheeks, eyes, and face. The brand’s products are free of preservatives, parabens, and gluten and the brand does not test on animals.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWpxy8g9Qw/
Why this brand excites me? I like Nudestix for the same reasons that I love Glossier and Bite Beauty – the brand highlights the wearer’s natural beauty. Although I love playing with color and going for a full glam look, I love that Nudestix aesthetic is all about easy-to-wear, easy-to-apply beauty. Brands like this are really great for the on-the-go beauty consumer.
Product Review(s) on the Way: I included Nudestix within my 2018 Newbie Awards, but will be reviewing more of the brand’s multi-pencils in 2019.
Where to buy: Sephora, Beautylish, Cult Beauty, Nudestix’s website
…
I always want to arm my readers with the most knowledge and I would never want to encourage someone to purchase from a brand, new or known, without giving a fairly comprehensive picture. As a result, I’ve split this into a three-part series, so please come back to my blog for more indie beauty inspiration.
Let’s connect on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
*Note: ColourPop technically can be considered a brand owned by a parent company, since Seed Beauty owns ColourPop, as well as Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty. However, I’ve included ColourPop on this list because the brand’s co-founders also founded Seed Beauty.
**All Instagram photos belong to each respective brand.
Have you tried any of the brands on this list? Are there any new discoveries that you want to try? Please let me know in the comments below.
bblogger beauty beauty blogger beauty haul colorful makeup cosmetics discover new beauty independent beauty indie beauty new beauty
Georgina | My Life Journey says
February 5, 2019 at 8:42 amHi! I just nominated you for the Mystery Blogger Award 💜 make sure you check out my latest post for the rules xx
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:19 pmThank you for this nomination, Georgina! <3 I'm going to go read your post.
molly rose says
February 5, 2019 at 5:53 pmSuch a great, informative post as always!! I love Indie brands and the thought of supporting them, although unfortunately its very hard for someone like me who lives so far away! I remember the only time I purchased something from colour pop (some shadows I think?) , I had to find a group of friends who also wanted to get stuff from colour pop so that we could all split the shipping cost as it was like $60 or something ridiculous 😂 I looooove the look of Juvia’s place eyeshadow palettes, the pigmentation always looks so good!! Excited for your upcoming reviews xx
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:24 pmAw thanks girl! <3 I love supporting indie brands – I bet there are some cool, unique ones in Australia. And OMG I cannot imagine paying $60 for CP shipping – you could buy like 4 eyeshadow palettes for that amount!!! And Juvia's Place is such a cool brand – hopefully you'll get to check out some cool brands when you're visiting here in the US. 🙂
Avant-garde says
February 5, 2019 at 6:03 pmI absolutely love these brands… specially colourpop 🙂
https://outfitsandmakeupblog.com/2019/02/05/5-mascaras-tried-and-tested/
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:19 pmMe too – there are so many incredible brands out there! 😀
jennifertarheelreader says
February 5, 2019 at 6:21 pmLove all this info, LP! I didn’t know about indie make-up in this way. I definitely want to try Colour POP among many others now! ♥️
Alex | california pollution says
February 5, 2019 at 9:21 pmLove this post! I have Melt’s Bane lipstick, which somehow mushed into the cap at some point in time… I’ve heard a lot about the brands you’ve mentioned, and I’m all about supporting independent brands – especially diverse ones.
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:31 pmOMG Bane looks like a killer shade! I’ve never owned a true black lipstick – the closest I’ve gotten is gray, but now I’m feeling inspired to try a black color! I’m going to have two more posts in this series so hopefully they’ll be a few brands that will be totally new! I was actually so stoked when I was writing these posts to see how many of these brands were women founded/owned and how quite a lot of them are founded by WOC!
BeckieWrites says
February 5, 2019 at 11:36 pmWow! What a great article. I love indiebooks but I never even considered trying indie makeup until just now! Thanks for introducing me to some great products 🙂
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:32 pmThanks Beckie! <3 I've actually never thought to try indie books until reading so many of your reviews on your blog. I'm glad that some of these brands seem interesting to you! 🙂
Theresa allen says
February 6, 2019 at 2:13 amI am eager to try cosmetics brands!!
Awesome Pics and Thanks for sharing such a beautiful article 🙂
The Newbury Girl says
February 7, 2019 at 3:33 pmThank you so much for your comment! I hope you get to try these brands!! 🙂
kattieh says
February 9, 2019 at 1:51 pmThese brands all look so nice!! I really like the look of Melt Cosmetics and Juvia’s place. I’m going to see if they are in New Zealand. If not m, I sense some online shopping happening soon!
The Newbury Girl says
February 9, 2019 at 2:36 pmI’m glad you found these brands interesting! Even though I love so many of the larger brands, I love supporting indie brands too! 💜
kattieh says
February 10, 2019 at 1:35 pmMe too! I have mostly larger brands, but I should try to support the smaller brands too!
katedaysaweek says
February 10, 2019 at 1:33 pmRight there with you on CP and JP. Actually I think that as a European, my CP and JP collections are pretty impressive.
Not very interested in ND palettes because they’re just too expensive (I have tried some of them). I’ve tried the Face Glow foundation, though, and I almost wet my pants.
I don’t know much about Nudestix and Glossier is hard to get here, so they’ll wait.
I don’t think Charlotte Tilbury qualifies as an indie brand but there’s a lot of products (mostly complexion and skincare) that I’d love to try.
The Newbury Girl says
February 10, 2019 at 1:54 pmNot going to lie, may have done some damage this weekend with the 20% off CP sale lol! 🙈So much to try and so affordable!! I also accidentally order 2 of the same palettes so one will go in a giveaway since it isn’t worth the hassle to return lmao.
In terms of ND, I’ve been hoarding gift cards because I’ve decided I want to give one of her big palettes a go before I make my final decision. I’ve never heard of the Face Glow foundation though and now I’m intrigued!!
Nudestix is definitely similar to Glossier and Milk Makeup (which I know is coming to the UK)! But I find their products to be a little more impactful in that they are more pigmented and long-wearing. They’ve been growing a lot lately so hopefully they’ll become more readily available in Europe!
I was on the fence about including CT on this list, but I ended up just including them since they weren’t owned by one of the big conglomerates. And they’re such a buzzy brand, but still fairly new in the states.
This portion of the list (lol 2 more posts to go) is definitely the most “mainstream” of the indie brands I think, and then they get less known with each additional post to come. (Originally everything was in one post, but I decided to break it up since I can be a little worst sometimes haha).
katedaysaweek says
February 10, 2019 at 2:25 pmOh great I can’t wait to read your next ones!!
jessierenea says
February 10, 2019 at 2:03 pmI’ve never heard of the indie brands before! Interesting and they look like they’d give great results 💋 great post boo!
The Newbury Girl says
February 10, 2019 at 2:14 pmThanks girl! 💜 Glad you were able to read about some new brands. ☺️
jessierenea says
February 10, 2019 at 2:19 pmMy pleasure !! Happy Sunday!
Arianne Peters says
February 10, 2019 at 2:20 pmI hardly ever wear makeup because I have freckles and red skin so cheap foundations look back and anything that does still show freckle and hides redness is tons of money. I usually feel too discouraged to try makeup because it takes so much talent and money but this piece has really got me thinking I may give it a shot!
The Newbury Girl says
February 10, 2019 at 4:45 pmI’m so sorry that so many brands and products have made you feel discouraged about makeup. Not sure if you’ve tried these foundations – but I really like the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation and the L’Oreal True Match Foundations (which are sold at the drugstore). But also, freckles are amazing – I wish I had more of them!!
Wellbean blog says
February 10, 2019 at 2:35 pmLoving the blue eyeshadows!
The Newbury Girl says
February 10, 2019 at 4:38 pmMe too!! I’m such a sucker for bright colors!
JJ Dandrea says
March 15, 2019 at 10:50 amSo many choices. I see these brands around sometimes, but always afraid to try. Love how thorough this post is. Loved it so much I decided to add you to my weekly blogroll.
The Newbury Girl says
March 15, 2019 at 12:11 pmAw thank you so much for your kind words – glad you found my descriptions helpful! 💜
sophienaylor1 says
May 30, 2019 at 7:56 amI really want to try a Juvias Place eyeshadow palette but just haven’t got round to purchasing one! They look fab and so pigmented in the tutorials I’ve watched. x
The Newbury Girl says
May 30, 2019 at 9:33 pmThey are so affordable and they have so many sales so you should def hold out for a sale!!! They typically do 30%-50% off throughout the year and you can use affiliate codes on top of the sales, too!! 🙂