8 top-selling indie beauty brands you can shop on Amazon right now

Publish date: 2024-07-08
Updated 2020-06-29T18:00:00Z

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While Amazon first started out as an online bookstore, its goal was always to become "an everything store."

Since its launch in 1995, the e-commerce behemoth really has become the destination for just about everything. You can still find a sprawling selection of books along with electronics, household goods, automotive parts, sports collectibles, fine art, credit cards, music, and much more — the list of categories only continues to grow. 

With all of these options, shopping on Amazon can be an overwhelming experience. But if you do a little searching, you can find some cool brands and great products. I just stumbled upon the indie beauty section, which stocks unique, independently owned beauty brands. Here are eight brands with great products and missions we can really get behind.

Keep reading to find our top indie beauty brands on Amazon below:

Avarelle

Amazon

Shop acne patches, serums, and sheet masks from Avarelle

Founder James Oh started cutting up large hydrocolloid patches to help heal his pregnant wife's pimples and scarring from hormonal acne. When he realized how well the products worked on her and how much they improved her confidence, he thought it was time to share this simple solution with the world, and so Avarelle was created.

The brand offers a spot treatment and a few different kinds of spot patches and sheet masks, all with the goal of clear skin. All of the products are free of sulfates, parabens, and other questionably toxic ingredients. Plus, the brand is cruelty-free. 

Marlowe

Amazon

Shop men's scrubs, lip balms, and more body products from Marlowe

Marlowe is a men's skin-care line with high-quality, no-nonsense products. That means you can expect simple yet efficacious bath and body products — like deodorant, facial scrubs, and body lotion — made with clean ingredients right in the U.S.

All of Marlowe's products contain its proprietary M Blend — a formulation of willow bark, deep sea algae, green tea, and passionflower extracts that help nourish skin. And for every Marlowe product sold, the brand donates soap to Clean the World, an organization working to help those at risk of hygiene-related illnesses.

Coco & Eve

Coco & Eve

Get the nourishing hair mask from Coco & Eve

This British brand's Like a Virgin Hair Masque is a 5-in-1 hair mask made with five key natural ingredients — it's also the only thing that the brand sells. (Well, except for some hair accessories like a microfiber towel.)

The mask is made with coconut, fig, shea butter, argan oil, and linseed to rejuvenate dehydrated hair in five to 10 minutes. The product helps smooth frizz, deeply conditions, boosts shine, and all around restores hair to a healthier state. 

This mask has the Amazon's Choice seal of approval with a 4.2 rating and a price of just $50.

Alima Pure

Alima Pure Instagram

Shop makeup essentials from Alima Pure

Alima Pure has a wide range of makeup from essential foundations to vibrant eye shadows, all made with minimal ingredients. Instead of using parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and other potentially toxic ingredients, Alima Pure uses natural pigments, plant oils, and botanicals. Eco-friendly and social values are hugely important to the brand — it's a certified B Corp and is carbon neutral too.

The products themselves are also eco-friendly. When you're done with any of the pressed foundations, eyeshadows, or powders, just buy the magnetic refill version and pop it into the packaging of the finished product. It's more sustainable, affordable, and looks just as good. 

Knours

Amazon

Shop clean skin-care products from Knours

Our skin is not just a reflection of what we put on top of it, but of everything that's going on inside our bodies too. That's why body-conscious skin-care brand Knours considers how our hormones and their fluctuations affect our skin.

Knours offers cruelty-free, clean skin-care products for all kinds of issues, so you can create a custom routine for whatever kind of mood your skin is in. Some of the popular choices are the double duty mist (currently unavailable), a spray formulation that can be customized to deal with sensitive skin or dry skin, and the convenient alcohol-free cleansing wipes (currently unavailable).

Shaina B. Miami

Shaina B. Miami Instagram

Shop makeup tools and pigmented palettes from Shaina B. Miami

Shaina B. Miami was born out of the multicultural energy of Miami and personal passion from makeup artist Shaina B. She was using products from so many different brands to achieve the beauty looks she wanted that she ultimately decided to create her own. This way, she could always count on her own line for all of the products she needed.

The eyeshadow and blush/highlighter palettes are filled with highly-pigmented colors that flatter all skin tones. You can also find false lashes and tools — just about everything you need for a vibrant makeup look.

Atar Gold

Atar Gold Instagram

Shop eco-chic hair care from Atar Gold

Atar Gold is inspired by ancient Egypt, where attars (the fragrant oils found in plants, flowers, and woods) are abundant.

Teri and Tony, the brand's founders, both have years of experience in the beauty and haircare industries. They channeled that into a collection of vegan hair products made with some of the best ingredients nature has to offer, like plant stem cells and moringa oil. Every product is made with pure colloidal gold that claims to have healing and anti-aging properties.

Sugarpill Cosmetics

Sugarpill Facebook

Shop colorful, sparkly cosmetics from Sugarpill Cosmetics

While many beauty brands accentuate your natural features with pared-down makeup looks, Sugarpill Cosmetics wants you to stand out and sparkle.

It's a gender-inclusive skin-care line offering some of the brightest, sparkliest makeup you've ever seen. Sugarpill has everything you need to create vibrant makeup looks that help you express your own unique style, from shimmery lipsticks to rainbows of eye shadows. Everything's always cruelty-free, and most of the products are completely vegan too.

spanRemi is a former reporter for Business Insider's affiliate commerce team, Insider Reviews. After graduating from Colgate University with a degree in Creative Writing and Political Science, Remi joined Business Insider to help readers find the best products worth buying. Since joining the team in 2018, Remi has reviewed hundreds of products and interviewed founders of industry disruptors, such as direct-to-consumer startups a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/koio-sneakers-review"Koio/a and Absolut Art. /span spanShe specializes in women's lifestyle, but loves to learn about any and all products that add value and excitement to our everyday lives. Say hello at rrosmarin@businessinsider.com. /span spana href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-reviews-expertise-in-product-reviews"Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here/a./span Remi Rosmarin Commerce Reporter Remi is a former reporter for Business Insider's affiliate commerce team, Insider Reviews. After graduating from Colgate University with a degree in Creative Writing and Political Science, Remi joined Business Insider to help readers find the best products worth buying. Since joining the team in 2018, Remi has reviewed hundreds of products and interviewed founders of industry disruptors, such as direct-to-consumer startups Koio and Absolut Art.  She specializes in women's lifestyle, but loves to learn about any and all products that add value and excitement to our everyday lives. Say hello at rrosmarin@businessinsider.com.  Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Read more Read less

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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.

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