As told to Kavita Daswani
For us, creating a bestselling product pretty much always starts at the grassroots level. It’s about one customer falling in love with a product, that customer telling three of her friends, each of whom then tell three friends, and maybe one of those friends has a great voice on social media, and then that brand is amplified even louder. It’s truly word of mouth that brand success is built on.
We receive more than 800 brand submissions annually, but we also have an automatic filter that narrows that down because of our commitment to clean ingredients. Certain things make a brand stand out; we look at their website, social media, and we ask around. Everything we launch at The Detox Market we have tried, tested, and approved. We look at ethics in sourcing, packaging, and social responsibility, as well as sustainability and inclusivity. These are now table stakes for a brand to succeed. We’re noticing that best-selling skin care products all have clinicals behind them. The level of testing and rigor that goes into these products speaks volumes for results. Before and afters also work because they help someone visualize an end result and make a product more relatable.
These are some of our ongoing top sellers.
Living Libations Best Skin Ever – Seabuckthorn
Buy it now (starting at $30 for 30ml)
This is a unicorn multi-tasking oil. Many people use it as a cleanser, others use it as a face oil. The numbers don’t lie: 4.9 stars out of 148 reviews, with 317 units sold on average per month in 2022. Seabuckthorn oil provides excellent hydration while also regulating oil production, so it’s great for all skin types. With so many new skin care brands being launched daily, Living Libations is still made in small batches and feels like it was custom-made for each customer.
Maya Chia Power Fol Advanced Multi-Correctional Scalp and Hair Treatment
Buy it now ($72)
This is not only our number-one hair sku, it holds a special place in my heart. When I entered perimenopause, my hair started to thin, and Power Fol helped build back my crown. The before and after pics featured on our website don’t lie. Chia Seed Oil is the star ingredient in Maya Chia’s products, but other ingredients really bring these products to the next level. Amino acids, adaptogens, vegetable collagen, pea protein, and zinc blend with chia seed to make Power Fol really work. Bethany Frankel recently discovered and reviewed Maya Chia, turning the brand into a viral sensation with a simple quote: “Holy s**tballs! Maya Chia, who are you?!”
Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator
Buy it now ($46)
We launched Humanrace in April of this year after we fell in love with everything from its genderless, inclusive, and sustainable packaging to its effective ingredients, and its minimalistic approach to skin care. The Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator may feel like it’s a milder exfoliant with its finely milled rice powder, but the 8% glycolic acid really does its job at lifting dead skin cells so that the rice powder can sweep them away. Founder Pharrell Williams consulted his dermatologist of many years, Dr. Elena Jones, to bring his clinical-grade products to life. This exfoliator leaves skin baby smooth, but with the addition of sugar maple extract, so skin stays hydrated.
ILIA Limitless Mascara
Buy it now ($28)
Limitless Mascara remains our number-one mascara year after year. The formula is gentle and lightweight, so one coat will give you a nice natural lash, but it’s easily buildable with two to three coats to create a more dramatic lash. The formula uses a blend of organic bee and carnauba waxes to weightlessly condition each lash, as well as arginine, a form of keratin, to boost lash length. We start every one of our monthly all-hands-on-deck meetings with a quick quiz where we ask the team to shout out what they think was the best-selling sku by location for the month. Limitless is hands down the most cited and is more often than not the correct answer. It belongs with Diorshow and Definicils in the mascara hall of fame.
True Botanicals Chebula Active Immunity Serum
Buy it now ($98)
I have worked in beauty for over 20 years and I’m always excited to learn about a new powerful ingredient. Chebula is not new, but it wasn’t on everyone’s radar before True Botanicals made it the star ingredient in this serum. Chebula fights inflammation and is a leader in targeting fine lines and uneven skin — all things that anyone with the good fortune of aging will eventually acquire. True Botanicals has the clinicals to back up its claims, and since launching this brand one year ago, it has catapulted to the top of our best-sellers list.
Odacite le Blue Balm
Buy it now ($48)
I like to call this my blue pillow in a jar. Odacite le Blue Balm with shea butter is a repair balm that launched last winter to meet the needs of our customers during peak stressed-skin season. That’s not to say le Blue Balm is only for winter skin. It is for all seasons and all skin types that need a little extra love. The smell is enchanting; an herbaceous light floral that comes from blue chamomile and clary sage.
Ere Perez Coco Crayon
Buy it now ($26)
Many times, after a product launches you see the sales drop precipitously once the 360-marketing stops. Ere Perez is a brand that has shown double-digit growth year over year, especially in 2022 with the launch of Coco Crayon. This 100% plastic-free crayon delivers a long-wearing, moisturizing, matte lip and the colors are a perfectly edited collection of six wearable shades. My lips don’t feel like dry clay the day after I wear them like many matte lipsticks make them feel.
OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil
Buy it now ($48)
The only reason we are able to keep this in stock is because we keep a lot of it in stock! OSEA uses algae in all of its products and the algae mixed with acai and babassu oils is the perfect combination to super hydrate your skin but not leave it so greasy that you can’t get dressed right away. There are clinicals to back up its moisturization and elasticity claims, too, which visibly improves sagging to give skin a more toned look.
Innersense Bright + Balanced Purple Toning Duo
Buy it now ($54)
Innersense debuted this hair balancing duo this fall and it was an instant success. They are the products that brassy-haired, clean beauty lovers have been waiting for. Formulas have purple pigment in them to help tone down the yellow we often see in blondes. And it makes white hair appear brighter. While brightening, formulas also neutralize brass with natural, non-toxic ingredients such as monoi, pumpkin seed and coconut oils, as well as apple and rice extracts. They’re also vegan, sulfate-free, and silicone-free. We had been waiting for this launch for over a year and it did not disappoint—it truly met a rare hole in clean hair care.
Maude Vibe
Buy it now ($49)
We launched sexual wellness a year ago and sales of this device is proof of the demand and need for sexual wellness to be out in the open and embraced. Maude leads the pack with this 100% platinum-grade silicone design that has three speeds and a run time of up to two and a half hours. The brand just knows how to make the pursuit of pleasure feel luxe and inclusive, yet discreet. Vibe is our number-one sexual wellness sku. That’s a lot of happy customers!