5 Bomb Brands We're SO Happy Launched This Year
View this post on Instagram
“The last thing the world needs is another beauty brand,” Lady Gaga famously says in her first commercial for her new beauty line, Haus Laboratories, which she brilliantly continues, “But that’s too baaaad.” And that pretty much sums it all up! Yes, there are so many beauty brands that sometimes you don’t know where to go or what to buy, but hey, that’s why we’re here to help you. Because at the end of the day, more beauty brands means more choice for you, and hopefully, more diversity and a broader product offering. Of the many new brand launches in 2019, here are five that definitely made a welcome and unique offering to the beauty community.
1. Pattern Beauty
View this post on Instagram
Founded by actress Tracee Ellis Ross, Pattern was designed to “fulfill the unmet beauty needs of the Curly, Coily & Tight Textured community. To celebrate, empower & embrace our true patterns.” Amen! The affordable range ($17 to $25) currently has a variety of shampoos, conditioners, and serums, each designed to enhance your unique curl pattern with safe ingredients that will keep your curls looking ‘healthy & hydrated, juicy & joyful.’
They also have a wet brush, curl clip, microfiber towel, and some pretty bomb merch, not to mention the Pattern website has a really thorough Curl Guide that helps you choose the right products for your curl pattern. Products aside, their Instagram page is a real curl community that empowers, embraces and educates on all things curly – get following!
2. HoliFrog
View this post on Instagram
This uniquely named brand is all about Holistic practices that meet effective face washes. That means face washes that balance and nourish your skin, without stripping it of natural oils. HoliFrog launched with just four cleansers, but each of them (between $36 to $42) is beautifully formulated and we love that they list the pH of each face wash, which are all balanced to work with your skin.
There’s the Kissimmee Vitamin F Therapy Balmy Wash, a rich cleansing balm that makes a great first step for your evening double cleanse. The Superior Omega Nutritive Gel Wash (pH 5.5) is now our go-to every evening because it lightly foams and removes all our makeup without leaving our skin feeling dry and tight, and that’s thanks to its rich omega fatty acids content, probiotics, and antioxidants that nourish and replenish the skin.
The super gentle and divinely (naturally) scented Tashamoo Water Lily Nourishing Milky Wash (pH 5) is a great option for dry skin, but an all-time fave for the perfect morning cleanse for every skin type. In the morning your skin is essentially clean, so all you need to do is rinse away any pillow dust and sweat from overnight. It hydrates, calms and reduces inflammation and contains skin-identical amino acids to help skin renew itself. We are obsessed. Lastly, the Shasta AHA Refining Acid Wash (pH 4), blends Glycolic, mandelic, lactic, tartaric, and citric acids to sweep away dead skin, clear out clogged pores, reduce inflamed breakouts, and smooth pores. It’s great for those with acne-prone skin but it’s also quite intense, so we like to use this a few times a week in the evening when our skin needs a thorough detox.
Each wash helps skin’s healing and repair response and avoids drying, irritating, and sensitizing ingredients and those that disrupt skin function. Wondering about the frog bit? As HoliFrog explains, a frog’s skin is so thin, soft and permeable that it absorbs everything, which means they can’t survive in toxic environments. Like a frog, when we wash our faces, our pores are at their most open and permeable, which is why they believe great skin starts with well cleansed skin.
3. UOMA
View this post on Instagram
Possibly one of the most inclusive brands to launch this year is UOMA (pronounced uh-mah), which translates into beautiful in the founder’s mother tongue Igbo, the native language of south-eastern Nigeria. The brand celebrates African culture – and inclusivity as a whole – in a major way, starting with 51 shades of foundation in six formulas developed to work for each skin tone. The fair range of foundation shades addresses concerns like hypersensitivity and redness with Aglianico grape extract, while the richer shade range addresses two common skin concerns that UOMA specifies are problems for darker skin tones; dullness and oily/combination skin.
UOMA didn’t stop at foundation, they also launched with a full coverage concealer, Stay Woke, in 17 shades, three lip products, three eyeshadow palettes and a liquid eyeliner. (Read more about the range here.) As Founder Sharon Chuter says, “The world is beautiful because we are all different and colorful in our unique way and this is why UOMA beauty exists. To celebrate uniqueness, to bring people from all ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, sizes and of all ages together in a colorful celebration and co-existence.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
4. Sweet Chef
View this post on Instagram
K-beauty isn’t just a trend, it’s a whole different level of beauty that focuses on healing and hydrating ingredients that protect the skin. Thankfully, creators of cult K-beauty brand Glow Recipe, Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, have created a super affordable range of amazing K-beauty products with their Sweet Chef brand. The brand is formulated with an emphasis on natural, veggie-derived ingredients that are packed with nutrients and skin-loving vitamins to boost skin vitality and health.
The range so far has a collection of three sheet masks ($3.50 each) and three serums, each in their core range of Ginger + Vitamin C for brightening and evening skin tone, Beet + Vitamin A for refining pores and smoothing the skin, and Kale + Vitamin B for hydrating and soothing dry skin. There’s also an extremely hydrating, probiotic-infused Superfood + Vitamins Moisture Boost moisturizer and a Ginger Kombucha + Vitamin D Chill Mist that we love to use through the day to refresh and soothe our skin.
Stay tuned though, as early next year they’re launching two new products that we’re currently testing and loving! All Sweet Chef products are cruelty-free, alcohol-free, and made without parabens, synthetic dyes and fragrances. What’s not to love?
5. Haus Laboratories & Victoria Beckham Beauty
Okay, we know this is two brands, but they’re both launched by huge A-listers and we couldn’t choose between the two. Although both very different brands, we’re equally impressed with the offering of both collections.
View this post on Instagram
Haus Laboratories is all about letting your creativity flow and making yourself feel beautiful for you. As founder Lady Gaga says “Your glam, your expression, your artistry.” The collection includes a really great liquid eyeliner, pretty liquid eyeshadows, lip liner, lipstick, and lip gloss. And although it doesn’t seem as ‘out there’ as one might expect from Gaga, these products are great quality, not too expensive, and they definitely give you creative freedom to be as subtle or as daring as you choose. The brand has also just launched a sparkly brow gel and 10-pan eyeshadow palette – both of which we’re keen to play with! Read our full review here.
View this post on Instagram
Victoria Beckham, where do we start? Pop icon turned fashion icon, and now beauty brand owner. After her stint with Estee Lauder, Victoria Beckham has finally launched her own beauty collection – think grown-up beauty for the minimalist – and we’re seriously impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of every product. From four intensely creamy lip liners and the most beautifully packaged lip tint we’ve ever seen, to gorgeously packaged cream eyeshadows with insane sparkle and mini palettes with a perfectly curated collection of shadows. This is definitely a brand to watch! Read our full review here.
Which brands did you guys discover this year that are your new faves?
Leave a comment