Cruelty-Free | Black-Owned | Vegan | Cheap | High-End

Top Cruelty-Free Makeup Brands 

#1. Ecco Bella

The Brand: Ecco Bella, a cruelty-free makeup brand was founded by Sally Malanga in 1998. In the early ’90s, Sally saw the process of animal testing through a video. The horrific scene prompted her to provide an alternative product for customers. These products were neither tested on animals nor have ingredients that are extracted from animals.  The New Jersey-based brand produces different beauty products consisting of face care, body care, hair, perfume, and makeup.

Need to Know: Ecco Bella, which means ‘behold beauty’ is a major pioneer of natural beauty products, and has a revenue of $1 million.

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#2. Edible Beauty

The Brand: In 2015, Edible beauty was founded by Anna who was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18 years. As a result, she developed a passion for natural herbs and supplements to manage her condition. The very few available options for therapeutic and “edible” skincare products birthed this brand. The brand consistently propagates the possibility of a toxin-free beauty.

Need to Know: Edible Beauty, an Australian brand, partnered with OMG and went ahead to expand to the US, increasing their revenue by 368%. 

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#3. Edward Bess

The Brand: The admission of Edward Bess to study theater in New York exposed him to varieties of beauty. His immense passion made him launch ‘Lip Wardrobe’. This collection contained 10 lipstick colors in a box which sold out all at once. This will later pave the way for him to become one of the biggest makeup brands in the world. 

Need to Know: The success of Edward Bess began at Bergdorf Goodman’s department of New York. The brand gained international recognition by introducing products that were original and not based on trends.

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#4. Frank Body

The Brand: Frank Body’s idea emerged as five friends were in a coffee shop and it occurred to them that coffee could be used to exfoliate the skin. In 2013, the skincare brand was launched in Australia and started with $5000. With aggressive marketing and hard work, the brand became established as a world-class skin care product maker. It’s a cruelty-free brand with huge fans across the world.

Need to know: Frank body’s brand identity is a key to its success. ‘Getting dirty has never felt so good’ is the brand’s popular slogan which transformed it into a multi-million dollar company. 

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#5. Good Dye Young

The Brand: The founder of Good Dye Young is a Grammy Award-winning singer, Hayley Williams. She partnered with her hairstylist to develop an innovative brand called Good Dye Young. The philosophy of the brand circles around creating a community of people who are not ashamed to express themselves and are happy for who they are. This, therefore, differentiates it from just being a company but a community of people with a shared passion.

Need to know: Good Dye Young only participated in 1 funding round since 2016. The total funding was about 1.7 million dollars.

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Top Black Owned Makeup Brands

#1 Beauty Bakerie

The Brand: In 2011, Beauty Bakerie was founded by Cashmere Nicole. In the early stage of the brand, she battled breast cancer. For 5 years she employed creative strategies to grow the brand. With tenacity and consistency, Beauty Bakerie has become a big brand in the USA.

Need to Know: Nicole’s love for sweets is the inspiration behind the names she gives the makeup products. Today, the brand is a multi-million dollar company.

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#2 IMAN

The Brand: Iman Abdulmajid was born in 1955 and the beginning of her career was becoming a model in 1975. Her career as a model has served as an example to challenge what people think about beauty. Iman was born in Somalia and spoke 5 languages. She was an immediate success in the world of fashion. This spurred her to launch Iman in 1994 with a mission of creating beautiful make-up options for multicultural women of different skin tones.

Need to Know: Iman is a global beauty company that partnered with Proctor and Gamble to break the convention. Iman skincare products can be found in Walmart. 

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#3 Fenty Beauty 

The Brand: Fenty Beauty was founded by Rihanna in 201. The prestigious musician took the world by surprise as she stormed the market with Fenty Beauty. It offered a beautiful array of 40 unique shades of foundation. The make-up brand has towed the tracks of its founder and a dominant force, with a collection of products available for women of all skin colors.

Need to know: Rihanna is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.7 billion fortune and the brand has a revenue of $ 5 billion in 2021.

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#4 Lip Bar

The Brand: Melissa Butler rounded Lip Bar in 2012, consequent upon the frustration of very few lipstick options that are available for women of color. Her rejection in 2016 on Shark Tank did not discourage her, instead, it propelled her to work harder on her business. Two years later, her business soared with her natural lipstick liner bringing in half a million dollars. 

Need to know: The Lip bar brand has redefined the beauty industry and has adequately represented women of color. The brand’s products can be bought at Target. 

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#5 Mented Cosmetics

The Brand: Mented Cosmetics was founded by two friends who graduated from Harvard. The idea of the company came from the search for a nude lipstick that is perfect for dark skin tones. As the company grew, they began to make more additions to their products such as eyeshadow and blush. Mented pride itself as a producer of  wares that are “vegan, paraben-free, non-toxic and cruelty-free.” They are sold at Ulta.

Need to know: In 2020, the holiday lip trio produced by Mented was selected by Oprah as one of her favorite things. 

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Top Vegan Makeup Brands

#1 PHB Ethical Beauty

The Brand: PHB Ethical Beauty was founded in 2012 by John Tierney and Rose Brown after observing the toxic ingredients that are contained in most beauty products. PHB is an acronym for Pure Handmaid Britain which represents a company that is a company that is passionate about ethically sound beauty. The brand strongly believes that every beauty company should produce 100% vegan and cruelty-free products.

Need to know: PHB ethical beauty is a leading pioneer of conscious beauty, revolutionizing the way people look after their bodies. 

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#2 Milk Makeup

The Brand: Milk Makeup was founded in 2017 by the founders of Milk Studios. It is a New York-based brand that manufactures 100% vegan and cruelty-free skincare products. Milk Makeup thrives upon a strong community of online fans referred to as Milk mobs. The brand promotes personal style as an ultimate form of self-expression. 

Need to know: The partnership of Milk Makeup with Wu-Tang and TRUE NYC, in 2018, was a giant move towards its global influence. 

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#3. E.L.F Cosmetics

The Brand: In 2004, Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent founded E.L.F Cosmetics. They produce a wide variety of personal and professional beauty kits from bath and skincare products to professional tools and many more. The California-based brand produces vegan and cruelty-free products which are categorized into three; E.L.F studios, E.L.F Essentials, and E.L.F Minerals.

Need to know: In 2017, E.L.F Cosmetics generated total revenue of $295 million. The brand has over two million members on its social networking site.

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#4. Pacifica Beauty

The Brand: Pacifica was founded by Brook Harvey-Taylor, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana. This made her have a great affinity for natural products. She grew to fall in love with animals and could not bear the sight of her pets being eaten. This became the inspiration to make vegan products. Harvey, the brain behind Pacifica who is a perfume lover, integrated perfume-making into her brand. Pacifica beauty products are known for their pleasant sensation. 

Need to know: In 2018, the CEO of Pacifica beauty was introduced by Jenny Fine, the Executive Beauty Director at WWD as the “godmother of clean beauty”. 

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#5. Bite Beauty

The Brand: Susanne Langmuir founded Bite Beauty in 2011 and launched it in 2012. The brand specializes in lip products and manufactures its product with vegan ingredients only. The brand which was bought by Kendo is carried at Sephora. An innovative creation of Bite Beauty is lips labs, where customers have the opportunity to create their lipstick.

Need to know: In 2015, the Bite Beauty factory located in Toronto produced 2000 pieces of bite Beauty products daily.

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Top Cheap Makeup Brands 

#1 Profusion Cosmetics

The Brand: The makeup palette is one of the strong points of this makeup brand. Profusion Cosmetics has become a world-known makeup pallets maker due to their affordable and quality products. Being customer-centric, they have devoted a large chunk of time creating and perfecting products that meet the needs of their customers. ‘Play as you learn’, a slogan that shows their commitment to making make-up easy and fun for both individuals and professionals.

Need to know: Profusion cosmetics is a cruelty-free brand and has stores in Taiwan, Asia, and Europe.

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#2 Lottie London

The Brand: In 2015, Charlotte Knight founded Lottie London and came on board as a beauty brand, and became widely known for nail products. It was launched by Brand Agency London, the agency behind Ciaté London. The brand’s products which comprise 60 shades of nail polish, makeup brushes, and other accessories are sold in retail stores in Britain. The products are affordably aimed at customers between the age of 14-24

Need to know: Although it began in the UK, the brand is now available in the United States, Europe, France, and the Middle east.

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#3 Makeup Revolution

The Brand: Makeup Revolution was founded by Adam Minto and launched in 2014 which got a lot of attention from the media as soon as it was launched. It is recognized across the globe for its makeup, skincare, and hair products. Makeup revolution products are extremely affordable. This allows every person from different backgrounds and classes to participate in the revolution.

Need to know: The global recognition of this brand is a result of its influencers and the core philosophy that high standard products plus affordability.

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#4 L.A. Girl

The Brand: LA Girl was founded in 1985. What distinguished the brand from others is their offering of the highest quality products at a very affordable price. The brand believes that no matter the demography, or location, beauty should not be stopped by a high price tag. The multi-million dollars company continually brings their customers pacesetting styles and colors. The brand is known all around the world for its unique style and affordable price.

Need to know: LA Girl is owned by Beauty 21 Cosmetic Inc. It prides itself as an ‘affordable luxury cosmetic brand.’

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#5 Wet N Wild

The Brand: Right from the launch period of Wet n Wild, in 1979, the lipstick and nail polish has been sold 99¢, and the same lipsticks and nail polishes remain the same price today. Wet n Wild is one of the world’s leading cosmetic companies that offers cheap beauty kits. The price of its products has made this brand expand rapidly across the world.  Wet n Wild beauty collections capture everything from the eyes, lips, face, nails, and body.

Need to know: Wet n Wild is a subsidiary of Markwins, a world-leading cosmetic and beauty product organization for nearly 20 years.

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Top High-End Makeup Brands 

#1 Chanel Beauty

The Brand: Chanel Beauty is one world’s most prestigious brands in the beauty industry. It started in 1921, producing the best-selling perfume and since then it has gone to become a global icon. The founder Gabrielle Chanel created a color she was much known for. The popularity of this color opened the door to a highly successful lip color collection in 1924. Every Chanel makeup product has a touch of elegance with the signature of the brand and interlocking C’s.

Need to know: After 100 years of existence, Chanel beauty remains a world-class icon in the beauty industry.

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#2 Gucci

The Brand: In 1921, Guccio Gucci founded the Gucci brand in Italy. It is one of the oldest Italian brands that are still existing today. Gucci started by producing classy travel products for the wealthy categories of people in Italy. The Gucci family was affected by a family feud in 1993. After this crisis, the brand was revived in 1999. In the year 2010, Gucci rose to become an iconic brand.

Need to know: In 2019 Gucci had a tremendous revenue of 9.8 billion Euros in sales. Making it one of the most valuable fashion companies in the world.

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#3 Tom Ford

The Brand: Tom Ford began in the late 80s. After Tom Ford displayed excellence as a creative director of Gucci, he left Gucci in 2004 and founded his brand in 2005. Right from the beginning of Tom Ford Label, the quality of the clothes was made of very high-quality fabrics. Tom is not afraid to refer to his customers as people of disposable income. This brand is true icon excellence seen in every piece of the brand’s work.

Need to know: One of the most enjoyable and most popular fashion shows in the USA is the Tom Ford fashion show. It hosts an impressive number of high profiles and VIPs from around the world.

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#4 Charlotte Tilbury

The Brand: Charlotte began her journey when she was a kid. She had natural eyes for beauty and colors. To sharpen her skills, she attended Glauca Rossi School of Makeup. Over 27 years she built a vast network of professionals. She burst into the limelight with her creation of campaigns for the top magazines in the world. In 2007, she partnered with MAC cosmetics to create a luxury 16-piece collection known as ‘MAC for McQueen.

Need to know: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream Moisturiser, CHF 32,50, Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes Mascara, CHF 30,00 are some of the most wanted beauty products in the world.

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#5  Giorgio Armani

The brand: Giorgio Armani, the personality behind the Giorgio Armani brand was born in Piacenza, a town in Italy. His journey into the world of fashion began with his job as a window dresser at La Rinascente. Giorgio Armani founded his company in 1975 which quickly attracted the upper class of the society because of the touch of aesthetics and luxury in all of the brand’s designs. Giorgio Armani brand has several subsidiary brands that meet specific needs, becoming one of the biggest brands in the world.

Need to know: Giorgio Armani’s brand cuts across all fashion segments, with the net worth of its founder running to $8 billion in 2020, being the sole shareholder of the brand.

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