RealHer
After the birth of his daughter, Bill Xiang decided to create a beauty brand that would inspire women after taking note of the societal pressures and standards his little girl will encounter as she grows up. He founded RealHer, a natural and cruelty free makeup brand, in 2015 with the mission of empowering all women by adding positive affirmations to the packaging of each eye, lip and face product. Messages range from “I am a queen” to “Yes I can” and are meant to uplift the wearer in the morning and serve as a reminder throughout the day as she reapplies it. Twenty percent of sales are donated to organizations that advance equity for women and girls. Prices range from $9 to $60.
London’s Pedisoaks
“People think about their gut heath or anti-aging for their skin, but it’s rare that people consider their feet,” said founder Chris Loney, who named her brand after her daughter, London. She handcrafted a line of products with purposeful, feet-focused ingredients after suffering from severe edema during her pregnancy. The brand’s Essential Collection ($95) contains five core products recommended for proper foot care, including a pedisoak, nourishing butter, moisturizing polish, refresh masque and healing salve.
The Beauty Archive
This organic color cosmetics line is hoping to break into the U.S. market with its slow beauty concept of Scandinavian minimalism. Founder Zandra Arvidsson Holgersson brought her vision to life with multi-tasking makeup meant to offer a natural and effortless beauty look. Each item is made from organically derived ingredients, crafted in small batches and individually poured by hand. At the show the brand debuted two newly released illuminating creams, Embrace and Empower, which sell for $39 each. The two product names are meant to highlight emotions Zandra hopes users will feel when using the creams.
Cocos Organics
When Coco Carnese began searching for organic, non-toxic skin care products, she had a difficult time finding items that met the strict criteria she was looking for, especially when it came to safe packaging. She created Cocos Organics to offer a chemical-free unisex product line, which includes a jet-black activated charcoal face mask, popular because of its Instagram-worthy effect; a raw organic honey lip treatment and a coffee/cacao sugar scrub. The products range from $14 to $60 and are packaged in reusable extra thick European Miron glass jars, which are air- and light-proof and use UV Light filtering technology to preserve freshness. Users are asked to reuse the bottles for storage or return them to the company for an upcoming recycling/return rewards program.
Purequosa
Created with the athleisure crowd in mind, this collection offers a shower-on-the-go via cleansing body sprays that stops odor-causing bacteria with the help of its colloidal silver, plant hydrosols and essential oils. The sprays are meant to be applied liberally pre-activity to neutralize odor before it starts and then post-activity to keep skin fresh. Prices start at $5.95 for a 2-ounce bottle.
Saya
Inspired by the power of Australian native botanicals, this skin care line features indigenous ingredients, such as crown of gold tree, illawarra flame tree, desert lime, quandong and kakadu plum to promote healthy skin. The line’s best seller is its Argon Face Oil ($30), which the brand refers to as “liquid gold,” and is formulated with organic kakadu plum, vitamin E and cold pressed pure argon.
Pure Principles
This chemical-free skin care line was founded by Cheryl McSherry, an Ayurvedic practitioner who became frustrated after seeing products on store shelves labeled as “all natural” or “organic” even though they still contained unnatural ingredients. Popular products in the line include Complete Protection All Natural Deodorant ($15), made with organic ingredients such as essential oils, arrow root powder and coconut neem oil; and Balancing Powder Facial Cleanser ($23), a blend of Ayurvedic Herbs meant to be mixed with water to form a thick paste to be used for cleansing.
Terra & Co
Noting that some conventional toothpastes may contain toxic chemicals that are absorbed by the gums, sisters Amra and Azra Hajdarevic created their Brilliant Black Toothpaste ($25) as a safe alternative to get clean, white teeth. The non-foaming paste is formulated with activated charcoal, as well as tea tree and coconut oils. The company also offers a biodegradable toothbrush made out of bamboo and nylon bristles that are charcoal-infused.
