Fifty brand guides to makeup and beauty — clean brands, artist and creator lines, and shade-inclusive pioneers.
Makeup brands are increasingly founded by artists and creators. These guides look at how each presents itself, with honest caveats where the record is thin.
Artists and creators
Artist-founded lines include Pat McGrath Labs, Makeup By Mario, Danessa Myricks Beauty, RMS Beauty, Natasha Denona and the legacy line of the late Kevyn Aucoin; Half Magic was co-founded by a Euphoria makeup artist and A24. Jones Road is Bobbi Brown’s second act, and Huda Beauty began in Dubai with Huda Kattan.
Shade-inclusive pioneers
Fashion Fair, founded in 1973 for darker skin, was revived in 2021; Juvia’s Place, Mented, The Lip Bar, Beauty Bakerie, Kulfi and Live Tinted build their ranges around shade inclusivity.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers a brand’s visual identity — its packaging, palette and voice — as design commentary, and notes where facts could not be fully confirmed. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Beauty icons
L’Oréal, Maybelline, MAC, Estée Lauder, Glossier, Nivea and Fenty Beauty.
- L’Oréal — The black-and-gold wordmark with its signature rounded ‘O’, the 1909 hair-dye origin, and ‘Because You’re Worth It’.
- Maybelline — The black-and-magenta wordmark, the Mabel-plus-Vaseline name story, the 1915 Chicago origin, and ‘Maybe it’s Maybelline’.
- MAC — The stark black-and-white M·A·C wordmark, the pro-artist Toronto origin (1984), the Alias Ano typeface, and the Viva Glam ethos.
- Estée Lauder — The pale ‘Estée Lauder blue’, the gold EL monogram, the macron-over-E wordmark (Optima), and the 1946 founding.
- Glossier — The signature ‘Glossier pink’ (#F5DADF), the minimalist black wordmark + hand-drawn G, the Into The Gloss origin, and the pink pouch.
- Nivea — The trademarked ‘Nivea Blue’ (≈#0032A0) and white, the iconic 1925 blue tin, the ‘snow-white’ name, and the Beiersdorf origin.
- Fenty Beauty — Minimal black-and-white, unisex industrial packaging, the 2017 40-shade inclusive launch (‘the Fenty Effect’), and Rihanna’s surname.
Beauty icons, part 2
Rare Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, NARS, Clinique, e.l.f., The Ordinary and Rhode.
- Rare Beauty — The minimal lowercase wordmark, the soft rose-and-peach palette, the mental-health mission, and Selena Gomez’s 2020 launch.
- Charlotte Tilbury — The signature script, the Art-Deco CT crest by Made Thought, the rose-gold glamour, and the 2013 founding.
- NARS — The bold sans wordmark and matte-black packaging by Baron & Baron, the provocative names, and François Nars’s 1994 founding.
- Clinique — The refined serif wordmark, the signature pale-green palette, the dermatologist origin, and the 1968 Estée Lauder launch.
- e.l.f. Cosmetics — The bold lowercase ‘e.l.f.’ (eyes, lips, face), the accessible-disruptor positioning, and the 2004 founding.
- The Ordinary — The deliberately plain serif, the ingredient-and-percentage naming, the DECIEM parent, and the 2016 launch.
- Rhode — The minimal lowercase wordmark, the neutral cream palette, the ‘glazed’ aesthetic, the middle-name origin, and Hailey Bieber’s 2022 launch.
Clean makeup
Ilia, Kosas, Saie, Westman Atelier, Tower 28, Merit and Jones Road.
- Ilia — The clean, skin-first makeup brand built on a tinted serum with SPF.
- Kosas — The clean makeup-skincare hybrid brand built on a skin-improving concealer.
- Saie — The clean, dewy makeup brand with third-party climate certifications.
- Westman Atelier — The luxury, artist-founded clean makeup brand of Gucci Westman.
- Tower 28 — The clean makeup-and-skincare brand made for sensitive skin.
- Merit — The minimalist, editorial clean makeup brand built for a five-minute face.
- Jones Road — The independent clean makeup brand of Bobbi Brown’s second act.
Artist-founded lines
Pat McGrath Labs, Makeup By Mario, Danessa Myricks, RMS Beauty, Natasha Denona, Half Magic and Kevyn Aucoin.
- Pat McGrath Labs — The luxury artistry makeup line of the legendary editorial artist Pat McGrath.
- Makeup By Mario — The colour-cosmetics line of celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic.
- Danessa Myricks Beauty — The inclusive, multi-use colour line of a self-taught makeup artist.
- RMS Beauty — The clean, cream-based colour line of makeup artist and clean-beauty pioneer Rose-Marie Swift.
- Natasha Denona — The pigment-forward, luxury eyeshadow line of a professional makeup artist.
- Half Magic — The experimental, glitter-forward makeup line co-founded by a Euphoria makeup artist and A24.
- Kevyn Aucoin — The legacy colour line carrying the name of the late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin.
Creator brands
Huda Beauty, Victoria Beckham Beauty, Made By Mitchell, One/Size, Refy, Rose Inc and Vieve.
- Huda Beauty — The Dubai-founded makeup empire of original beauty influencer Huda Kattan.
- Victoria Beckham Beauty — The clean luxury makeup brand of designer Victoria Beckham.
- Made By Mitchell — The viral, creator-fronted colour-cosmetics brand of Mitchell Halliday.
- One/Size — The inclusive, full-coverage makeup brand of beauty creator Patrick Starrr.
- Refy — The brow-first colour-cosmetics brand co-founded by influencer Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek.
- Rose Inc — The clean makeup brand a supermodel founded, now under new ownership.
- Vieve — The elevated-everyday colour-cosmetics brand of Scottish creator Jamie Genevieve.
Shade-inclusive makeup
Fashion Fair, Juvia’s Place, Mented, The Lip Bar, Beauty Bakerie, Kulfi and Live Tinted.
- Fashion Fair — The pioneering 1973 cosmetics brand for darker skin, revived in 2021.
- Juvia’s Place — The Afrocentric, highly-pigmented makeup brand built for deep skin.
- Mented Cosmetics — The shade-inclusive makeup brand built on nudes for every skin tone.
- The Lip Bar — The vegan, shade-inclusive lipstick brand a Wall Street expat built in Detroit.
- Beauty Bakerie — The dessert-themed, shade-inclusive makeup brand of Cashmere Nicole.
- Kulfi Beauty — The South-Asian-founded, shade-inclusive brand that reimagined the kajal.
- Live Tinted — The shade-inclusive makeup-and-skincare brand for melanin-rich skin.
Mass makeup and nail polish
CoverGirl, Almay, Rimmel, Max Factor, Revlon, Sally Hansen, essie and OPI.
- CoverGirl — The makeup line the Noxzema Chemical Company of Maryland launched in 1961, owned by Procter & Gamble from 1989 and by Coty since 2016, and relaunched in 2017 with the strapline “I Am What I Make Up” and a new geometric sans logotype.
- Almay — The cosmetics brand launched in 1931 and named after the chemist Alfred Woititz and his wife Fanny May, developed with the dermatologist Marion Sulzberger, and owned by Revlon since 1987, with a long line of celebrity spokesmodels.
- Rimmel — The London perfumery the Rimmel family opened in 1834, Eugène Rimmel’s Victorian perfumes and lash colour, a name that became a word for mascara, Coty ownership since 1996 and the London Look campaigns with Kate Moss from 2001.
- Max Factor — The theatrical make-up shop Max Factor opened in Los Angeles in January 1909, his greasepaint for film actors, the 1935 Hollywood studio, Norton Simon in 1973, Revlon, Procter & Gamble from 1991 and Coty from 2016.
- Revlon — The New York cosmetics company Charles and Joseph Revson and chemist Charles Lachman founded in 1932 with a nail enamel, built on matched nail and lip shades with names such as “Fire and Ice,” owned by MacAndrews & Forbes from 1985 and private again since 2023.
- Sally Hansen — The nail-care brand Sally Hansen founded in New York in 1946 with a logo modelled on her signature and Hard As Nails among its first trademarks, sold in 1962 to Maradel Products (later Del Laboratories), and owned by Coty since 2007.
- essie — The nail-polish brand Essie Weingarten launched in Las Vegas salons in 1981, built on named shades such as Ballet Slippers, and owned by L’Oréal since 2010, after L’Oréal USA agreed to buy Essie Cosmetics in April that year.
- OPI — Odontorium Products Inc., a North Hollywood dental-supply company bought by George Schaeffer, turned to nails with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, acquired by Coty in 2010 and part of Wella Company since 2020, known for its bottle and its named shades.
At a glance: founding, founder and signature
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Founder or owner | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almay | United States (1931) | See guide | Cosmetics for sensitive skin, celebrity spokesmodels |
| Beauty Bakerie | 2011 (San Diego) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Charlotte Tilbury | 2013 | Puig | See guide |
| Clinique | 1968 (Estée Lauder) | See guide | See guide |
| CoverGirl | Maryland, United States (1961) | See guide | Clean Makeup, “Easy, breezy, beautiful”, “I Am What I Make Up” |
| Danessa Myricks Beauty | See note (United States) | Founder-led | Multi-use makeup |
| e.l.f. Cosmetics | 2004 | See guide | See guide |
| essie | Las Vegas salon launch; founder based in New York (1981) | Essie Weingarten | Named nail-polish shades: Ballet Slippers, Mademoiselle, Wicked, Bordeaux |
| Estée Lauder | 1946 (New York) | See guide | See guide |
| Fashion Fair | 1973 / 2021 (United States) | Independent | Inclusive cosmetics |
| Fenty Beauty | 2017 (LVMH / Kendo) | See guide | See guide |
| Glossier | 2014 (Emily Weiss) | See guide | See guide |
| Half Magic | 2022 (Los Angeles) | Founder + A24 | Experimental makeup |
| Huda Beauty | 2013 (Dubai) | Founder-owned | Colour cosmetics |
| Ilia | 2011 (Canada) | PE-backed | Clean makeup |
| Jones Road | 2020 (New Jersey) | Independent | Clean makeup |
| Juvia’s Place | 2016 (United States) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Kevyn Aucoin | 2001 (United States) | Held by a company | Colour cosmetics |
| Kosas | 2015 (Los Angeles) | Founder-led | Clean makeup |
| Kulfi Beauty | 2021 (New York) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Live Tinted | 2019 (Los Angeles) | Founder-led | Makeup & skincare |
| L’Oréal | 1909 (Hair dye) | See guide | See guide |
| MAC | 1984 (Toronto) | See guide | See guide |
| Made By Mitchell | 2019 (United Kingdom) | Operator-backed | Colour cosmetics |
| Makeup By Mario | 2020 (New York) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Max Factor | Los Angeles, California, United States (1909) | Max Factor | Film make-up, greasepaint, face powder, mascara |
| Maybelline | 1915 (Chicago) | See guide | See guide |
| Mented Cosmetics | 2017 (New York) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Merit | 2021 (Los Angeles) | Founder-led | Minimalist clean makeup |
| NARS | 1994 (Barneys NY) | Shiseido | See guide |
| Natasha Denona | See note (Undocumented) | Founder-led | Luxury eyeshadow |
| Nivea | 1911 (Beiersdorf) | See guide | See guide |
| One/Size | 2020 (United States) | Luxury Brand Partners | Colour cosmetics |
| OPI | North Hollywood, California, United States (1981) | See guide | Nail lacquer with named shades: I’m Not Really a Waitress, Malaga Wine, Alpine Snow |
| Pat McGrath Labs | 2015 (New York) | Founder + PE | Luxury artistry makeup |
| Rare Beauty | 2020 (Selena Gomez) | See guide | See guide |
| Refy | 2020 (United Kingdom) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Revlon | New York City, United States (1932) | See guide | Nail enamel, matched lip and nail shades, Fire and Ice, ColorStay |
| Rhode | 2022 (Hailey Bieber) | See guide | See guide |
| Rimmel | London, United Kingdom (1834) | See guide | Perfumery, mascara, lipstick, nail colour |
| RMS Beauty | 2009 (United States) | Tengram (PE) | Clean makeup |
| Rose Inc | 2021 (United States) | New ownership | Clean makeup |
| Saie | 2019 (New York) | Founder-led | Clean makeup |
| Sally Hansen | New York City, United States (1946) | Sally Hansen | Hard As Nails, nail colour, nail care, beauty tools |
| The Lip Bar | circa 2012 (Detroit) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| The Ordinary | 2016 (DECIEM) | See guide | See guide |
| Tower 28 | 2019 (Los Angeles) | Founder-led | Clean makeup & skincare |
| Victoria Beckham Beauty | 2019 (New York) | Founder-led | Clean luxury makeup |
| Vieve | 2020 (Scotland) | Founder-led | Colour cosmetics |
| Westman Atelier | 2018 (New York) | Founder-led | Luxury clean makeup |
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Jones Road?
Bobbi Brown; our guide describes it as her second act.
When was Fashion Fair founded?
In 1973, for darker skin; it was revived in 2021, according to our guide.
See also our skincare and sun care brand guidelines.
Part of our Beauty & Grooming brand guidelines. See also all collections.