Dozens of credit card-wielding women—and a few guys—queued on Washington Street in New York City yesterday waiting for the city’s first Indie Beauty Expo (IBE) to open its doors.
If you’re into under-the-radar beauty brands, consider IBE your happy place. Spanning three days—two for industry only and one for ticket-holders keen to discover and shop—the expo brought together over 220 skincare, makeup, and wellness brands under the one roof. Even better: Most of these new-comers exclusively used natural ingredients (we like that).
We know not everyone nabbed tickets, which is why we went along to scope out up-and-coming lines that are about to blow up. We loved Girl Undiscovered’s virgin coconut oil-infused skincare from Bali and the emoji sheet masks from Petite Ami, plus these fresh faces in beauty that you need to know.
Petite Ami
To be honest, we’re surprised someone didn’t think of emoji face masks earlier. This skincare packaging is cute. Now available at Free People and Petite Ami’s online store, the masks are paraben-free and packed with potent ingredients like hydrating hyaluronic acid and nourishing fruit extracts.
Shop here.
Au Naturale Cosmetics
We were first drawn to Au Naturale’s stand at the expo by these shimmering highlighters, but spent ages testing out their other (all natural, obvs) makeup: lipsticks, cover-up, and their latest release, a brow pencil.
The brand has a great back-story, too. Founder Ashley Prange was working as a nuclear analyst in D.C. (!) when she started searching for solutions to her problem skin. The search led her to start Au Naturale in 2011.
Shop here.
Milk + Honey
Milk + Honey has a mantra we can get behind. This up-and-coming skincare brand exists to offer a spa-like experience, using only clean ingredients, while also giving back to the community. Start with the body cream, and work your way to the luxurious face products. And, once you’ve totally fallen in love with the ultra-nourishing products, remember that Milk + Honey also has three spas and five salons across the country—so it might be time to book in a facial.
Shop here.
Clove + Hallow
We made a beeline for Clove + Hallow’s table after spotting their crimson red lipsticks and a big sign proclaiming the entire line is both PETA-certified cruelty free and completely natural. (It’s pretty hard to find a natural lipstick with vibrant color that won’t slide off with the first sip of your smoothie.) They also do lightweight, pressed mineral foundation and a few skincare products, which you can shop online.
Shop here.
Girl Undiscovered
Girl Undiscovered takes organic and sustainable skincare to a whole new level. The brand works closely with suppliers on the ground to make sure every step of the production process is ethical and sustainable. All products—from the face mask to cleansing water— are grown free from plantations and pesticides, and packaged in cute-as boxes. You’ll love it, trust us.
Shop here.
Smoothie Beauty
We love this concept: Natural, ethically-sourced face masks delivered fresh, chilled, and ready-to-use. The blends are made entirely out of fresh, organic food-based ingredients formulated to bring beautifying benefits to all different skin types. Individual masks are an affordable $10, or you can try a full month beauty smoothie cleanse to totally detox your skin.
Shop here.
