Tribe Dynamics revealed the top indie beauty brand movers and shakers in Q4 2022 with their new Indie Beauty Debrief. In addition to reporting on the quarter’s winning brands, the report reveals that lip balm is back — with sales surges from Glossier and EOS as proof, and the magic made by creators who embody a brand, as evidenced by Gisou’s growing digital presence. Here, the biggest indie beauty takeaways on social during the last quarter of 2022.

  • Kiss Products saw a 45% quarter-over-quarter boost, earning $35.2M EMV, proving that collaborations with superstar influencers still carry weight. The brand typically turns to micro-influencers, which make up 36% of its EMV ($12.7 million) and 76% of its creator community (3.9K). But in Q4 Kiss teamed up with Meredith Duxbury (@meredithduxbury) on a paid partnership and campaign for their limited-edition joint product, Kiss X Meredith Duxbury Holiday False Eyelashes, leading to an 8.9% increase in EMV to $693,000. Plus, #Kisslashes became the brand’s third-ranking hashtag, leading to a $3.6M EMV.
  • Halloween is anything but scary for Mehron Makeup. They saw major growth in Q4 largely due to Halloween makeup tutorials created by major content creators, with nine out of 10 of their top Q4 earners being dominant content creators. The number one slot was held by self-taught makeup expert Janani Selvaradj (@jananiselvaradj), who posted realistic animation-inspired makeup looks on her Instagram featuring the brand’s products, driving $1.8M EMV for Mehron Makeup, a 544% quarter over quarter increase. The brand saw 402 hashtags pegged to Halloween, with #HalloweenMakeup as their second-highest hashtag.
  • Glossier had a major renaissance, with a 208% quarter-over-quarter EMV surge, totaling $4.2M EMV, with 46% of that coming from its ever-popular Balm Dotcom. Glossier dropped limited-edition versions of Balm Dotcom, including a hot cocoa-inspired scent with a mahogany color that got coverage from TikTok beauty creator Victoria Lyn (@victorialyn). Glossier’s top EMV driver was Olivia Yang (@olaffiee on Instagram), who shared #Aesthetic morning routines that included Glossier’s skin care products. Creators who were new to posting about Glossier drove 82% of Q4 sales.
  • EOS garnered $4.0M EMV in Q4, thanks partially to a surge in body lotion, with #Bodylotion nabbing $590K EMV. The brand teamed up with TikToker Audrey Trullinger (@audreytrullinger) to feature her bestie “Shea,” in which she took a life-size version of the body lotion on city streets to stop traffic, get coffee, and sightsee, to name a few. The brand’s Smooth Sphere Lip Balm also garnered $518.8K EMV, contributing to a total 59% month-over-month EMV surge in Q4.
  • All about that clean beauty lifestyle, Gisou focused on its dedication to “honeybees and hair care,” and enjoyed a 70% quarter-over-quarter increase, with a total of $9.7M EMV for Q4 2022. They carefully tapped the right creators to share their story, homing in on the “clean girl aesthetic,” and Olivia Yang (@olaffiee on Instagram) led the pack with $672.0K EMV in creating posts that shared the brand’s cool and calm aesthetic. Gisou also saw results from micro-influencers, who drove 59% of total EMV at 5.6M.

Get the full scoop on the indies that popped during the final quarter of 2022 in Tribe Dynamics’ Indie Beauty Debrief.