10 Amazing Indie Makeup Brands To Try In 2024

Published Feb 05, 2024

Ah, the joy of getting ready and beautifying yourself with makeup. It is a feeling that is unmatched. Nothing beats the feeling of increased confidence when you elevate your features using cosmetics. Polished brows, perfect base, glossy lips, and lively eyes? Sign us up. 

And in the beauty world, it’s no secret that we all have our cult favorite, tried and true makeup and skincare products. Those ones that we’ve been using for years. Those that we simply cannot live without. More so, these ones have also been famous throughout the beauty community. 

Yet recently, there have been so many outstanding new indie makeup brands. We sourced them out one by one. These names are making a mark on the market and deserve just as much attention. 

Revamp your makeup wardrobe! Keep on reading to find the 15 best indie makeup brands you need to get your hands on this new year. Let’s jump right into the conversation. 

What Is an Indie Brand Makeup?

An indie brand is precisely what the name suggests. It is an independently owned and operated brand. It is one without a major company at the helm. Indie makeup brands, because of their nature, can most likely fulfill a certain mission. For instance, they can include specific ingredients and cater to a marginalized audience. They can also do things differently than a major corporation. Thanks to social media, relatively small brands can get significant traction. The certain products they offer can become overnight bestsellers. 

Check out our list of top-performing indie beauty brands!

1. Tower 28

Tower 28 is all over TikTok; you’ve probably seen it already. It was founded by Amy Liu in 2019. It has a giant fan base with over 200 thousand followers across social media. It is originally formulated for those with sensitive skin. Yet, it performs just as well for everybody. The brand’s formulas are vegan and cruelty-free. Tower 28 also abides by the National Eczema Association’s ingredient guidelines. 

If you’re looking for an excellent product to start from, get the SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen and BeachPlease Luminous Tinted Balm. Both are amazing for giving you a healthy, natural, lived-in glow. 

2. Kulfi Beauty

Kulfi Beauty is a small and mighty brand that was launched in February 2021. Priyanka Ganjoo is its founder with a specific goal of speaking to and producing products for the South Asian community. The brand’s name is a traditional South Asian ice cream. Sweet! 

The brand aims to let women of all cultures and backgrounds express themselves. And it is with excellent makeup that allows them to celebrate their confidence. 

Kulfi Beauty has only two product offerings as of now. Yet, both made waves. How impressive is that? Shop their Main Match Concealer and Underlined Kajal Eyeliners. Both products displayed smooth application and fantastic color and coverage. 

3. PYT Beauty

PYT Beauty is under an owner who cares for the environment. Maya Schulman found out the average woman consumes four to seven pounds of lipstick throughout her lifetime. To add, a third of landfill waste in the US is personal care products. Thus, being the superwoman she could be, she set out to help change the game. She crafted a sustainable, clean, safe, vegan, hypoallergenic line. The packaging is crafted with recycled plastic, too. 

PYT Beauty covers the gamut of makeup products. The top one is their eyeshadow palettes. They contain a gorgeous combination of shimmering and matte shadows to make your eyes pop no matter the occasion. 

4. Caliray

Caliray was founded in 2021 by Wende Zomnir. It is a vegan and cruelty-free brand that is as chill as a Cali Sunset. It is beauty combined with wellness. The result? It’s a laidback brand with a profound payoff. 

It is famous precisely for its So Blown Primer. It features niacinamide, collagen peptides, and poreaway technology to filter and blur. And it is all while being lightweight and comfy on the skin. This magic makeup hydrates, nourishes, and cuts redness. A skin’s holy grail, for sure. 

5. Izzy Zero Waste Beauty

Izzy Zero Waste Beauty is another sustainable brand launched during the pandemic. All of their products are zero-waste, cruelty-free, and vegan. 

It is constantly trending both on Amazon and social media. And the reason is it comes in a reusable, medical-standard stainless steel tube. After using it for 90 days, they can send it back in a reusable shipping pouch. Then they’ll be receiving a new one. The tubes are clean and refilled 10,000. The brand also has a membership model that ensures you switch out your mascara every three months. It is recommended and is something you probably don’t do. 

6. Half Magic 

Half Magic was co-founded on May 22 by Emmy award-winning makeup artist Donni Davy. She is the head makeup artist on HBO’s Euphoria. The indie makeup brand is one of the boldest, brightest, and freshest beauty launches of 2022. 

The beauty line is filled with color and glitter. And it is while being vegan and cruelty-free. It is also the first cosmetics company to come with a compostable compact that can be recycled with your normal paper recycling. It is significantly loved for its Magic Flick Liquid Eyeliner. It is a night out, and special occasions are necessary for beauty. 

7. Youthforia 

Makeup you can sleep in? Sign us up. Youthforia is a clean, vegan, and cruelty-free indie makeup brand. While sleeping in makeup is not necessarily encouraged, we know it can be challenging sometimes. Not everyone has the strong urge to wash themselves after a late night out. 

Youthforia prides itself on having products that contain good ingredients. It has jojoba seed oil and willow bark extract, for instance. The two nourish your skin as you wear them. In studies they facilitated, over 90 percent of users affirmed that sleeping in their makeup did not make their face dry or sparked an acne breakout. 

Shop their bestselling BYO Blush. It comes in traditional pink and coral. It is also a universal PH balancing shade that adapts amazingly to your skin tone. It renders an ultimate cool girl flush. The Pregame Primer blends makeup with skincare. It keeps the complexion hydrated and soft. Also, it ensures makeup stays locked in place all day long. 

8. LYS Beauty

LYS Beauty made its debut in February 201 by Tisha Thompson. It is the first Black, clean makeup brand to launch at Sephora. LYS Beauty formulations are cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, talc, fragrance-free, and mineral oil-free. It is imposing in changing the beauty game. 

The brand incorporates skin-loving ingredients into its makeup products to unlock optimal skin health. It has hyaluronic acid, rosehip oil, and green tea extract to start. It caters to all tones, types, and textures. 

The indie makeup brand also uses glass or post-consumer recycled materials when possible. The brand is famed for its Triple Fix Serum Foundation. 

9. Refy Beauty

Refy Beauty is behind the social media sensation Jess Hunt. Jess is known for her big, bold, beautiful brows. She is an angel.  

The brand’s mission is redefining beauty and accentuating your natural features. As a brow guru, her three-step brow product, the 3.0 Brow Collection, is expected to be among the best sellers. 

Ref Beauty also has outstanding blush, highlighter, bronzer, and setting powder. Not to mention, they also have a variety of skincare products. 

10. Westman Atelier 

To close the list of indie makeup brands, let’s talk about Westman Atelier. It is dubbed the gold standard for clean, luxury makeup. Founder Gucci Westman has many accolades, but most notable are stars Jennifer Aniston and Gweneth Paltrow. 

The brand offers products that are paraben and sulfate-free. They are formulated with a skin-first approach and adherence to the European Union’s standards for clean beauty. 

It can undoubtedly give your beauty routine a well-needed luxury upgrade. Shop its Face Trace Cream Contour stick for a snatched canvas.