From luxury to Cheap Makeup Brands
From smoky eyes and sultry red lips to a monochromatic style, we all have unique makeup looks we’re hoping to achieve. So, when it comes to buying the right makeup products, the better the quality, the more long-lasting and nourishing it will be for your skin. The following is an excellent guide for choosing the best makeup brands that are not just trendy but also care about perfecting their formulas time and time again. Read on to see which brands suit your needs and budget:
Best Luxury Makeup Brands
1. Giorgio Armani Beauty
Giorgio Armani is famous for its luminous silk foundation and bold lipsticks. The company features over twenty shades of foundations and over ten shades of concealer colors to choose. Their entire makeup collection comes in beautiful, sleek logo embossed containers to spice up any woman’s boudoir. Armani cosmetics can be found online at high-end department stores like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
2. Chanel
Does Chanel even need an introduction? Chanel is everyone’s first choice for trendsetting cosmetics and has been one of the top globally recognized luxury makeup brands for decades. Founded in 1909 by Coco Chanel, Chanel is known for its understated elegance and sophistication. For the brand’s upcoming spring collection, Lucia Pica, Global Creative Makeup and Colour Designer, visited Asia and created amazing cosmetics in vibrant greens, golds, and fuchsia.
3. Dior
Christian Dior founded his retail business in 1946 and is one of the most recognized luxury makeup brands in the world. Today, the cosmetics division is prospering with several beautiful products for face, eyes, lips, and nails. The label’s bestsellers include luxurious face creams and lush mascaras. Dior is featuring new spring items in light pastels and pretty pinks.
4. Shiseido
Shiseido is a Japanese beauty and skincare company based in Tokyo. Founded in 1872, it is one of the oldest cosmetic, skin, and hair care corporations in the world. Shiseido features lightweight makeup and creative textures. The company’s products focus on distinct textures including gels, inks, dews, and powders. Don’t miss their bestsellers include full lash serum and multi-dimension waterproof mascara. They also feature a product line just for men.
5. YSL Beauty
Yves Saint Laurent is a luxury brand that exudes elegance and beauty. Their newest color collection features soft lavenders, lilacs, and pinks. When looking for one of the best makeup brands, Yves Saint Laurent has it all! For instance, a few of their bestsellers include All Hours Foundation and Liquid Matte Lip Stain.
6. Marc Jacobs Beauty
Marc Jacobs style is known to be chic yet bold with a hint of edgy. He recently introduced the Steel(etto) Collection- featuring Fineliners, which are super skinny gel crayons made for creating perfectly sharp cat eye looks. Part of his newest collection includes the Eye-Conic Eyeshadow Palette that comes in nine different color combinations and the Frost Lip Creme that comes in five gorgeous metallic shades.
7. Tom Ford
Tom Ford has produced an extensive line of clothing, accessories, and cosmetics for both men and women. The makeup collection features a wide selection of eyeshadows, lipsticks, and foundation. Tom Ford offers an extensive palette of classic colors to choose from in his eyeshadow and lipstick collections. A few of the newer items include the White Suede Eyeshadow that provides for stunning blue, gray and peach hues.
Best Professional Makeup Brands
8. Benefit Cosmetics
Benefit makeup is young, fresh, and hip. Known for the brand’s retro branding, they put an extra focus on creating in-store services and kits for great looking brows. Benefit also has a large selection of products like eyeshadows, brow kits, lippies, and skincare. A few of their bestsellers include their Bombass Brow Kit and curling mascara. The company started on a coin toss. Sisters Jane and Jean Ford were trying to decide between starting a cosmetics business or a casserole cafe. Benefit was first known as “The Face Place” in San Francisco in 1976.
9. Mac Cosmetics
Founded in 1984, Mac Cosmetics is based out of fashion-haven, New York City. Created for makeup professionals and models, the brand’s makeup is all about vibrant colors and bold eye and lip colors. Mac is unique in the way they allow customers to customize their palettes with individual concealers, blushes, shadows, and cream bases. A few of their newer products include monochromatic glitter, lipgloss, and powder blush. Mac is one of the highest sold and widely respected professional makeup brands.
10. Nars Cosmetics
Francois Nars has created an innovative, cutting-edge cosmetics company that’s all about bringing out the inner individual with bright, beautiful makeup. He launched his company in 1994 with 12 lipsticks and now has a complete line of makeup for face, cheeks, eyes, and lips.
11. Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
Bobbi Brown started her career as a makeup artist in New York City. Her goal has always been to highlight the natural beauty of those who use her products. With that in mind, she’s created a weightless foundation and nude eye palettes. Bobbie Brown currently features bestsellers that include bronzing powder, long-wear gel eyeliner, and skin foundation sticks.
12.Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury started her cosmetics company in London in 2013. Her company features lipsticks in romantic, soft colors, and mauve, burgundy, and grey eyeshadows. One of the brand’s best perks is that they offer makeup and skin tutorials online for both men and women. New items include Pillow Talk Blush and Eye Duo and Charlotte’s Magic Cream moisturizer. Charlotte Tilbury has quickly risen to the top as one of the best professional makeup brands.
13. Laura Mercier
Laura Mercier offers chic colors and underplayed elegance. A few of their best-selling products include Caviar Stick Eye Colour, Under-Eye Brightening Powder, and Face Illuminator in five shades. Laura Mercier creates makeup, skincare, and body products, with the primary goal being of bringing high-quality cosmetics that are good for the skin.
14. Kevyn Aucoin Beauty
Kevyn Aucoin started with the mindset that makeup should be fun, creative and travel-friendly, hence their collection of makeup combo kits and travel size cosmetics. A few include the Mini Expert Mascara and Mini Deluxe Eye Pencil Primatif. Kevyn has worked with several celebrities including Cher, Tina Turner, and Liza Minnelli. He also authored a variety of books about cosmetics and bringing out the inner beauty in everyone.
15. Urban Decay
This playful cosmetics company is famous for the Naked Palette Collection. These are primary eyeshadow palettes that include gorgeous color combinations such as cherry, smoky, and basics. A few new items from Urban Decay include Double Down Brow Putty and On the Run Mini Eyeshadow Palettes. Urban Decay also features a variety of bright colored lip gloss and vegan eye pencils.
16. Estee Lauder
One of the most well-known professional makeup brands on the planet, Estee and Joseph Lauder started their company in New York in 1946 with four skin products. As of today, the beauty brand has expanded to a full line of beauty, fragrance, and hair care products. Carried at retailers like Macy’s and Dermstore, the company is best known for their Double Wear Matte Powder Foundation, Double Wear Instant Fix Concealer, and Advanced Night Repair Skin Serum.
17. Clinique
Clinique is known for creating fragrance-free skincare and makeup products that are made for different skin types. While focusing on great skin, the company carries a variety of makeup and fragrances. Their sleek, minimalist packaging creates a beautiful, simple look for all of their products. Clinique is a subsidiary of Estee Lauder.
18. bareMinerals
bareMinerals is a beauty company that features makeup and skincare that is cruelty-free and free of many unnatural ingredients. The brand has a reputation for creating beautiful makeup that is natural, clean and nourishing to the skin. Their latest and most cutting-edge collection includes a 16-hour full coverage concealer and the limited edition Floral Utopia Collection that features playful packaging to celebrate the beauty of spring.
19. Shu Uemura
When he was younger, Shu Uemura was reportedly the only male student enrolled in the Tokyo Beauty Academy. He went on to start his own cosmetics line around 1960. Shu Uemura features refined, elegant makeup that focuses on healthy skin. Their unique product search can be narrowed down by areas of concern such as dullness, dryness, and pigmentation spots.
20. Becca Cosmetics
Glamour and glitz are what comes to mind when looking at the glowing cosmetics that Becca offers. They feature face, lip, and eye makeup that focuses on bright colors. The brand is famous for their cruelty-free products including Shimmering Skin Perfector Highlighter and Ultimate 24-Hour Foundation.
21. Cover FX
Cover FX focuses on concealers, correctors, primers, and foundation. The company has created vegan makeup that not only makes customers look good, but they can feel good about wearing. A few Cover FX bestsellers include Power Play foundations and concealers. They also sell a variety of beautiful brushes that include contour, blending, and foundation brushes. The brand is also certified cruelty-free.
22. Make Up For Ever
Make Up For Ever founder Dany Sanz began her career painting theater sets and eventually ended up painting the human body. Today, the cosmetics company, which is known for long-lasting theatrical, set and bridal makeup, offers an array of eye, face, and lip makeup.
23. It Cosmetics
It Cosmetics is clinically proven and has been developed by plastic surgeons. The products include skin-loving ingredients and anti-aging technologies. It Cosmetics features hydrating lip gloss, lightweight concealers, and a 2 in 1 moisturizer that penetrates deep into the skin’s pores. Some of their most popular products include CC creams and full coverage foundation with SPF coverage.
24. Hourglass Cosmetics
Established in 2004, Hourglass offers beautiful makeup in sleek packaging that is also cruelty-free. This top beauty brand is known for being classic and refined, yet wholly made for the modern-day woman. With a complete line of products for cheeks, complexion, eyes, and lips, their best products include the Lip Treatment Oil and Confession Refillable Lipstick Set.
Best Affordable Makeup Brands
25. Nudestix
Nudestix is a young, vibrant cosmetics company that focuses on bringing out the best in beauty instead of covering it up with excessive or unnecessary amounts of cakey makeup. New arrivals include Nude Glimmers that are skin brighteners for the entire face and Nudies Blush in understated colors. Besides makeup, Nudestix also offers fun accessories. Nudestix is an excellent choice for those looking for affordable makeup brands.
26. Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty, sold at Sephora, is a new and unique cosmetics company that was launched by singer Rihanna in 2017. The celebrity-driven brand features bright colors and bold makeup combinations. Rihanna takes center stage in the company, promoting her gorgeous looks and favorite products. The brand’s newest launch includes Stunna Lip Paint, Killawatt Highlighter, and Powder Puff Setting Brush.
27. KKW Beauty
Designed by Kim Kardashian West, KKW offers a wide range of beautiful makeup with lip products that come in classic red, nudes, and pale pastels.Taking inspiration from Kim’s life on photo shoot sets and TV, the brand’s products are easy to wear and come with tutorials featuring the reality star herself. Their latest launches include eyeshadow palettes, baking and brightening powders.
28. Glossier
Glossier is a millennial-focused beauty company that does most of its business online. The brand is well known for being all about bringing out the natural beauty of real people. The product line’s latest launches include Cloud Paint seamless cheek color, Wowder finishing powder, and Generation G matte lipstick.
29. BeautyCounter
BeautyCounter is an award-winning cosmetics company that promotes safer, cleaner, skin-conscious beauty products. The company is mainly known for using above-average ingredients like aloe, lanolin, and magnolia champaca flower oils, and guarantee their customers that less than desirable ingredients don’t make their way into their makeup.
30. KylieCosmetics
Founded by Kylie Jenner, KylieCosmetics is glossy, glitzy, and big on fun, vibrant colors. The company features several bundles and sets. A few of the customer favorites include Candy K Lip Kit and the Bronze Palette. The company was formerly known as Kylie Lip Kits and has become one of the best known affordable makeup brands on the market.
32. Too Faced
If you’re a lady who loves powder pink packaging and plush lilac lipsticks, you can’t go wrong with Too Faced cosmetics. In fact, they consistency release fun and quirky products like the Sweet Peach and Pretty Rich eyeshadow palette. The label is most popular amongst beauty influencers and makeup artist professionals for their Better Than Sex Mascara and Chrystal Lip Topper Mermaid Tears.
33. LimeCrime
When looking for affordable makeup brands, LimeCrime offers reasonable prices with bright colors and innovative products. The vegan and cruelty-free brand’s Venus Palette Eyeshadow, Glitter Liquid Eyeshadow, and Unicorn lipsticks are highly on-trend and made with luxuriously long-lasting formulas. Besides lip and eye makeup, the company also carries vibrantly pigmented highlighters and glitter-filled makeup brushes.
34. OFRA Cosmetics
Developed by Ofra Gaito in 1994, OFRA Cosmetics is a best known for dozens of beautiful eyeshadow and highlighter palettes. With an extensive skincare line on the rise, OFRA offers customers the option of customizing and refilling their palettes.
35. Kat Von D Beauty
Also known as Katherine von Drachenberg, her vegan and cruelty-free beauty line are just the latest of many accomplishments. She started as a tattoo artist and starred in the hit show LA Ink. Kat Von D Beauty features a stylish array of makeup in beautifully designed packaging. New items include Lock it Powder Foundation and the Lolita Eyeshadow Palette, with deep berry tones and soft browns.
36. Milk Makeup
Milk Makeup is a relatively new cosmetics company that launched in 2016. The company is vegan, paraben-free, and cruelty-free. With packaging that’s 100 percent recyclable, Milk also offers a full line of makeup and skincare products. There are face, eye, lip products as well as gift-worthy kits and sets. A few of their best sellers include the Blur Matte Foundation and Cooling Water, created to instantly reduce under-eye puffiness.
37. Pixi Beauty
Pixi Beauty is a makeup and skincare company that emphasizes natural, great-looking skin. Their products are created with botanicals and other healthy ingredients to highlight glowing beauty. Pixi Beauty is best known for its Endless Shade Sticks, Hello Beautiful Face Case, and Lip Icing in soft, elegant colors. Glow Tonic Serum and Vitamin-C Juice Cleanser are among a few of their newest hot-buys.
38. Dose of Colors
Founded by makeup artist Anna Petrosian, Dose of Colors is a vegan and cruelty-free brand that lives up to its name by providing rich pigmented cosmetics with sassy product names like the Extra Saucy Liquid Matte Lipstick and Eyescream Eyeshadow Palette. The booming brand also offers products that were created in partnership with major beauty influencers like Karen Gonzales, Desi Perkins, and LustreLux.
39. Eyeko
Eyeko, as the name suggests, is a cosmetics company that focuses on celebrating the beauty of eyes. With an emphasis on mascara, eyeliners, eye shadows and a variety of eye care products, the company is cruelty-free and trusted amongst beauty professionals worldwide.
40. Dermablend
Created by a dermatologist who was looking for better products for his patients, Dermablend focuses on face and body makeup. The company prides itself for bringing together makeup artistry and the science of dermatology. A few of their best sellers include Quick Fix Concealer and Blurring Mousse Camo Foundation.
41. Smashbox
Founded in 1996 by Davis and Dean Factor, who are the grandsons of makeup genius Max Factor. Inspired by classic beauty, Smashbox is best known for its 15-Hour Hydrating Foundation and Photo Finish Foundation Primer. With over forty foundation shades to choose from, everyone is bound to find the perfect match!
42. Tarte Cosmetics
Founder Maureen Kelly may have started the company in her apartment, but today it’s one of the most notable brands in the U.S. and especially on social media. Her first product was cheek stain that was showcased the following year on Self Magazine. Tarte Cosmetics now offers a full line of fun and flirty lipsticks, eye, and face makeup.
43. Anastasia Beverly Hills
Founded in 1997 by Anastasia Soare, Anastasia Beverly Hills is the perfect combination of classic romance and modern style. They are best known for their eyebrow products and in-store brow shaping services.
Best Cheap Makeup Brands
44. E.L.F Cosmetics
E.L.F. is one of the fastest growing cosmetic companies in America. This brand is the ultimate place to go for above average makeup on a budget. The brand features an extensive selection of lip, face, and eye makeup and is available at most Target stores. Their newest collection of products feature the Poreless Putty Primer, Flawless Concealer, and Hello Hydration! Face Cream. They also have a wide assortment of brushes, beauty tools, and beautiful makeup cases.
45. Revlon
Flirty yet sophisticated, Revlon is a full-service beauty company providing cosmetics as well as fragrances and hair care products. Revlon became famous for its “Charlie” fragrance that launched in 1973. As of lately, Super Lustrous Lipstick is their top seller and comes in different finishes including in frost, creamy, and shimmer.
46. NYX Cosmetics
NYX never fails to provide fun lip colors, exotic eyes, and bold blush and bronzers at ultra-low prices. Bestsellers include Butter Gloss for lips and Micro Brow pencils. The brand’s latest innovation is the website’s “Try On a Look” section for customers who upload a photo and want to see what products will look like on.
47. Sephora Collection
Sephora started in France in 1970 and now has approximately 2300 stores in 33 countries. The largest international beauty store carries the best makeup brands worldwide and recently branched off to create their own collection of cosmetics. The company provides reasonably priced cosmetics as well as in-store learning services. Customers can learn everything from dry hair styling techniques and how to define brows to how to do a full face makeover.
48. ULTA
ULTA is a beauty brand that celebrates the everyday girl. The powerhouse is now the largest and fastest growing beauty retailer and carries its own line of affordable, high-quality cosmetics.
49. Loreal
Loreal is one of few cheap makeup brands that has managed to cultivate a luxurious image with their famous phrase, “You’re worth it.” The brand is known for helping women enhance their natural beauty and combining science and beauty to achieve the perfect formula.
50. Covergirl
Creating a large selection of “easy, breezy, beautiful” face, eye, and lip products, Loreal’s top sellers include Lash Blast Mascara, and Continuous Color Lipstick. Covergirl has recently gone cruelty-free with their makeup testing and is now Leaping Bunny Certified.
51. ColourPop
Colourpop launched in Los Angeles in 2014 by siblings John and Laura Nelson. The brand creates fun, innovative products and as the name suggests, are incredibly colorful. Bestsellers include matte lipsticks, jelly, glitter shadows, and no filter concealers. One of their unique products is their colored mascara, perfect for festival season.
52. Maybelline
Since 1915, Maybelline is one of the oldest cosmetics companies in the United States. After watching his sister use Vaseline and coal dust to thicken her lashes, Thomas Lyle Williams decided to launch a cosmetics company. Over 100 years later, the company is still going strong by perfecting their formulas and producing the most affordable makeup and accessories.
53. BH Cosmetics
BH, the acronym for Be Heard, is a company that promotes cruelty-free, vegan ingredients, at amazingly low prices. A few of their most popular products include the “Take Me Back to Brazil” eyeshadow palettes with 35 vibrantly pigmented eyeshadow shades.
54. L.A. Girl
L.A. Girl is the best choice bright, fun, and colorful makeup. They feature a beautiful pigment mixing foundation and glowing highlighting jelly. Their new Reverie Collection includes an eyeshadow palette with 35 gorgeous shades, a highlighter palette, and liquid glitter eyeshadow set.
55. Morphe
Once known for its cheap yet high-quality makeup brushes, Morphe has expanded their company to include all facets of cosmetics. Believing that makeup should be bold and affordable, the brand features several distinct collections like Flutter, which is a series of false eyelashes.
