We all love makeup and skincare (that's why you clicked on this article, isn't it?) and nothing is better than supporting beauty brands that are home-grown. Some of these brands may surprise you, others will be familiar already. For instance, did you know Sephora has a large west-coast warehouse in Salt Lake City? Get ready to shop some great beauty brands created and formed right here in Utah.
Seint (Formerly known as Maskara )
Cara Brook, a native to St. George, started Maskara Beauty in 2013. The makeup brand grew exponentially and recently changed its name to Seint. With customizable beauty palettes, Seint aims to simplify makeup for all makeup wearers. Instead of bombarding customers with constant launches of trendy products, they focus on making quality makeup for great everyday looks. They carry makeup brushes, skincare, and a myriad of color cosmetics. The signature of the brand is the buildable palettes. Choose from contour, blushes, eye shadows, and more to build a full-face palette that is completely customizable. These palettes cut down on cost, waste, and packaging by bringing everything together in one compact palette.
When founder Chandler Taylor realized how inappropriate makeup names had become, she sought out family friendly makeup and beauty products. Just look up the names of some popular makeup products (mascaras and blushes with shocking names come to mind) and you'll see why she decided to launch her own brand of cosmetics. Taylor and her partners launched Shine Cosmetics to market makeup to everyday women who want makeup without the negativity that often pervades beauty marketing. Shine sells cruelty, paraben, and gluten-free cosmetics with a wide range of offerings. From mascara to foundation, they aim to keep it positive and beautiful.
Operationally based in Spanish Fork, Earth Harbor Naturals is a surprising Utah-based beauty company. The founders are in Georgia, but all the operations, creation, shipping, infusions, etc. all happen in the hills of Utah Valley. This brand has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and other fashion and beauty publications. They're known for their cleanly formulated skincare products that produce noticeable results by loyal customers. For customers new to the brand, check out their skincare kits. These come with a batch of targeted products for whatever your skincare concerns may be.
Bath bombs are one of my favorite parts of taking a hot bath. The founders of Cosset agree, and in 2013 started selling their aromatic bath products at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City. Beyond the fizzy goodness of their bath bombs, Cosset also offers body creams, scrubs, bubble bath, and more. They have a fun creation called bath marbles, which are essentially small bath bombs. I especially enjoy their Misfit Clearance Box. If you don't care about the shape of your bath fizzes, the clearance box comes with 12 assorted bath-bombs that are misshapen, broken, or just not up to snuff for the store. It's a great deal and comes with some fabulous scents.
Now, What's Not Included in This List?
The reputation Utah has for beauty isn't always a good one. There are many, many more beauty brands that hail from the Beehive State, but sadly, they are Multi-Level Marketing companies. The predatory nature of these companies requires me to hold these brands off any list of truly home-grown cosmetic companies. These brands typically have "presenters" buy large bundles of products in hopes of selling them to their friends and family. The only way to truly make money with these brands is to recruit other presenters to join your "down-line" and reap profits from their sales. Hardly anyone who signs up for these programs makes any real money and is often left with a makeup kit full of products that they can't sell or use. So in the interest of transparency and integrity, I will always leave these companies alone.