The rise of the athleisure market (athletic apparel, footwear and accessories), currently generates more than $97 billion in the U.S., and has inspired a range of beauty brands that perform in accordance with an active lifestyle. Beauty Insider presents the leading beauty brands that go the distance in bridging the gap between fitness and beauty for women who want to look good and feel good.

Sweat Cosmetics

Brains Behind the Brand: Sweat Cosmetics is the first cosmetic line created for active women: the idea originated from collegiate and professional soccer players. Sweat Cosmetics also celebrates one’s femininity as a female athlete, versus downplaying it.

Positioning: With the highest quality ingredients, all-natural SPF and on-the-go application, Sweat Cosmetics is aiming to be the best cosmetic line for active women.

Standout Products: Sweat’s Mineral Foundation with SPF is the current best-selling product. Another favorite is its Skin-Balancing Towelettes that are individually packaged for on-the-go use.
Reason to Believe: Sweat Cosmetics has tested everything on themselves, fellow athletes and former teammates.
Marketing/Social Media Campaign: The brand’s #motivationmonday posts are where Sweat uses real-life quotes and gets to feel from its community how far a couple of powerful words can go. Sweat loves seeing its products in use and often shares how people are getting their sweat on.

YUNI Beauty

Brains Behind the Brand: In 2015, beauty industry veterans and Ashtanga yoga teachers, Emmanuel Rey and Suzanne Dawson, launched YUNI, an innovative, green beauty brand inspired by the athleisure movement.

Positioning: Mindful beauty meets fitness.

Standout Products: YUNI Shower Sheets, Flash Bath No-Rinse Body Cleansing Foam, Chillax Muscle Recovery Gel and Hot Head Microveil Hair Treatment.

Reason to Believe: YUNI products address three key needs: saving time, healthy prep and recovery and stress relief. The brand’s plant-based formulas are made with organic and fair trade ingredients sourced from around the globe. YUNI products are non-toxic, biodegradable, cruelty-free and contain 100% all-natural aromas. All products are also manufactured in a solar-powered facility.

Marketing/Social Media Campaign: YUNI has an ambassador program on social media with influencers in the yoga and fitness community. This community had not been approached by beauty brands before, and hence is very welcoming.

Rae Cosmetics

Brains Behind the Brand: Rae Cosmetics was specifically created for hardworking, fun-loving, active and athletic women looking for beauty, as well as performance from their cosmetics. “I am a sweaty girl,” said Rochelle Rae, the brand’s founder. “Not only am I active in the gym and outdoors, but I do it in Texas. Sometimes just walking to the car feels like a sauna. For me, no makeup is not really an option.”

Positioning: The heat, humidity and perspiration-resistant formulas won’t crease, cake or smear, even when you sweat.
Standout Products: The bestselling product is the first product Rae Cosmetics created, Climate Control Mineral Tint SPF 20, an all-in-one oil-free foundation, non-chemical sunscreen and antioxidant moisturizer.

Reason to Believe: Rae Cosmetics has put makeup on ladies and sent them to an hour boot camp, filming the workout and the awesome results after.

Marketing/Social Media Campaign: The brand has professional and non-professional athletes working on ad campaigns in print and social media.

Athleisure Makeup by Tarte

Brains Behind the Brand: Tarte believes “sporty is the new sexy.” Products are clinically and consumer tested to be longwearing and sweat-proof.

Standout Products:

There’s a gorgeous highlighting moisturizer called brighter days that gives skin an even-toned radiance and all over glow. There’s also tarteguard 20 tinted moisturizer,which is chock-full of amazing ingredients such as sodium hyaluraonate, antioxidants and apple extract that gives the coverage of a light foundation.

Marketing/Social Media Campaign: Tarte partnered with Laiba Zaid @bodmonzaid because they saw her as a true tartelette, someone who is not only naturally beautiful, but also extremely athletic and really puts products through the ultimate sweat session every single day.

ARROW by Birchbox

Brain Behind the Brand: Birchbox recognized the significance of the athleisure movement and knew its customers were among the women embracing the trend.

Positioning: ARROW is subtle and practical. Birchbox worked hard to create lightweight, long-lasting formulas that won’t streak or clog pores during workouts – they’re designed to work during physical activity.
Standout Products: The ARROW Boost Color-Enhancing Lip Balm is not only the top-seller from the ARROW line, it’s also the overall best-selling lip product on Birchbox.com too. Formulated to adjust to users’ unique pH, it enhances natural lip color to create a just-for-you hue.

Reason to Believe: All products in the ARROW collection are vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free and gluten-free.

COOLA

Brains Behind the Brand: Growing up, COOLA founder, Chris Birchby, spent his summers at the beach. With relatively little protection, sunburns were a constant nuisance. Several years later, both of Chris’s parents were diagnosed with melanoma. Fortunately, they made full recoveries, though the melanoma scare inspired Chris to take a closer look at his own bad sun habits.

Positioning: COOLA offers a full line of prestige sun and skin care products. Products contain formulas with over 70 percent certified organic ingredients, which are easily identified by the products’ organic seals.

Standout Products: The brand’s SPF 30 Makeup Setting Spray is the first ever 70 percent-plus certified organic setting spray with broad spectrum SPF protection. In 2016, the brand introduced its Mineral Face SPF 30 Rōsilliance BB+ Cream, a skin perfecting tinted moisturizer that provides a luminescent glow. In 2017, COOLA entered into the sunless tan space with the first ever globally approved EcoCert Cosmos Organic Sunless Tan Collection.

Reason to Believe: COOLA incorporates natural plant phyto-protectors into all products, what they have trademarked as Plant Protection. COOLA ingredients are Farm to Face sourced, meaning they are harvested from local and organic farms and then processed and incorporated into formulas expeditiously, thus retaining greater potency and effectiveness.

Hello FAB by First Aid Beauty

Brains Behind the Brand: Inspired by the athleisure trend, First Aid Beauty wanted to create a collection that made it easier than ever to achieve one’s unique definition of beauty with a line of uncomplicated, effective and fabulous essentials.
Positioning: The collection fuses skin care with makeup to simplify the beauty routine.

Reason to Believe: Each Hello FAB formula is packed with superfoods to revitalize, renew and enhance the appearance of skin. It was first-to-market with a three-in-one Superfruit Color Correcting Cushion, which merges three shades into a cushion compact. Products are free of artificial color and fragrance, along with parabens, sulfates, alcohol and petrolatum.
Standout Products: Makeup meets skin care with the Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer – a two-in-one moisturizer and makeup-gripping primer. The perfect prep step, this oil-free formula features superfood ingredients that are rich in vital proteins, electrolytes, and minerals and infused with a natural coconut scent.

Marketing/Social Media Campaign: First Aid Beauty partnered with top influencer Arielle Charnas of Something Navy on a six-month partnership to launch the Hello FAB collection. The collab included video content for Sephora.com and FirstAidBeauty.com, video and blog content on Arielle’s channel, social support on Instagram, Snapchat and paid social advertising. Additionally, FAB seeded the collection across a wide range of influencers. Custom packaging for influencer gifting was created to help build excitement and buzz around the launch.

Epionce

Brain Behind the Brand: Dr. Carl Thornfeldt, Dermatologist
Positioning: This tinted lotion provides broad-spectrum protection while smoothing skin tone and texture, even on sensitive and allergy-prone skin. Daily Shield features a water-resistant formula that withstands up to 80 minutes of moisture exposure and features active ingredients including titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The see-through protection works on all skin tones and can be worn alone or under makeup.

Standout Products: Daily Shield Lotion Tinted SPF 50

Reason to Believe: Botanical ingredients provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as well as skin-conditioning properties that increase the moisture content of the skin. See-through protection and just the right amount of color let skin look bare, while evening out texture and smoothing color and tone.