The beauty industry is a place filled with many treasures. From Charlotte Tilbury’s Bitch Perfect lipstick, which is the perfect nude, to Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders that set your make-up without making you look one-dimensional, to Maybelline’s Colour Tattoos that are affordable cream eye shadows.
Most mainstream brands, while excellent, can get repetitive. So where does a make-up junkie go to discover something exciting and interesting? The answer is simple: indie brands.
Thanks to the internet, it’s very easy to start a brand out of the comfort of your home, and retail on Etsy or your own website. Here are a few that have been making waves.
Melt Cosmetics
Founded by Lora Arellano and Dana Bomar, Melt Cosmetics began by making bold and bright matte lipsticks. When finding a blue, green or grey matte lipstick was unheard of, they got themselves a niche market. Today, they have a wide range of lipsticks (₹1,270 for 3.2g) and a wonderful matte eye shadow (₹1,070 for 2.97 g and ₹3,208 for a stack of four colours).
They ship internationally for a flat rate of ₹668, and it usually takes one to three weeks to reach.
What you need: The Dark Matter Eyeshadow Stack
EX1
Founded by biochemist Farah Naz, this range is for those with olive and yellow undertones. Naz developed her brand with ingredients sourced to mimic the various tones of natural skin. Her products are made in Italy and are quite affordable. The EX1 foundation (₹1,024), concealer (₹738) and powder (₹738) look ultra natural, while masking pigmentation and texture seamlessly.
EX1 Cosmetics is available on lookfantastic.com that ships to India at a flat rate of ₹819.
What you need: EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation
Sugarpill
Amy Doan was running her fashion line when she realised her make-up was always a subject of enquiry. Eventually, she decided to make her own bright, intensely-pigmented eye shadows (₹1,069 for 3.5g) that are cruelty-free and durable. Today, they have an extensive range of products, from lipsticks (₹1,203 for 4g) to brushes (₹936 onwards) and fake eyelashes. They ship to India from their website for a flat rate of ₹668.
What you need: Pumpkin Spice Pressed Eyeshadow and Cubby Lipstick
Makeup Geek
Marlena Stell launched a line of pigmented eyeshadows (₹401 for 1.8g for regular eyeshadows and ₹668 for foiled eyeshadows) and brushes (₹568). They now have blushes (₹668 for 4.25g), highlighters (₹1,337 for 7g), contour powders (₹668 for 4.25g) and even lipsticks (₹1,003 for 2g).
What you need: Foiled Eyeshadow in Legend and Flame Thrower and Rekindle Highlighter
Bitter Lace Beauty
The Prism Highlighter (₹1,871) that took social media by storm has since been replicated by several brands, but it was originally by Bitter Lace Beauty.
The founder, Jenna, makes all her highlighters by hand. If you prefer subtle make-up, this rainbow-hued product may work better as an eye shadow once you mix the colours together.
They ship internationally via Etsy at ₹1,135. It may take one to three weeks to ship and up to an extra 10-14 days for delivery.
What you need: Highlighters! If Prism is not for you, go for Tooth-Ache.
Apart from these, the online world is buzzing with many unique brands, such as Fyrinnae, which hand-makes blends of products, or Younique, a brand that focuses on products that are made to enhance, not hide. It’s all just a click away.
*All pricing approximate
