With International Women’s Day upon us, it’s an apt moment to champion the voices—and creations—of women around the world. With this in mind, we’ve asked ten discerning female beauty founders to share their go-tos from their own collections, and reveal the products masterminded by innovative industry peers that they cherish most.
“Supporting the founders you want to see in the world is how you help to build an ecosystem that is truly nurturing and self-sustaining,” notes Trinity Mouzon Wofford, the 29-year-old cofounder and CEO of the wellness brand Golde. As one of the youngest Black women to ever have her products—superfood ingestibles and exfoliating face masks alike—line the virtual shelves of Sephora, she understands the power of representation and community. “There’s enough room for all of us to win.”
With beauty essentials ranging from subtle powder pigments to display-worthy body oils, it’s easy to say: Women supporting women has never looked so good.
Amanda Chantal Bacon, Moon Juice Founder
The California-based wellness guru Amanda Chantal Bacon is known for her inside-out approach to a glowing complexion. “SuperYou is my daily, non-negotiable stress care,” she says of her adaptogen-rich supplement. “I like to think about it as SPF (stress protection factor): You use it daily to protect you from the environment that will burn you (out).” Still, she is not immune to a carefully chosen makeup pick-me-up. Enter the 95% natural mascara created by Westman Atelier’s Gucci Westman, with whom Chantal Bacon first connected over a smoothie recipe and the makeup artist’s ashram upbringing. At the time, “Gucci was in the final stages of her clean-mascara formulation and promised to send one when it was done,” recalls Chantal Bacon, whose sensitive eyes had previously forced her to steer clear of any lash formulas. Now, with newfound fluttery fringe, she happily notes, “I haven’t stopped using it since then.”
Neada Deters, Lesse Founder and CEO
“I feel it’s crucial to support other female-founded and -led brands,” says the Los Angeles–based Australian Neada Deters, whose beauty brand, Lesse, has become a favorite of minimalist aesthetes the world round. In addition to her own Ritual Serum—an oil rich in turmeric and sea minerals, which, she notes, “continues to be my number one skin-care essential”—Deters is partial to J.Hannah’s less-is-more nail lacquers, created by jeweler Jess Hannah Révész. “The colors are so restrained; [they’re] hues no one else really creates,” Deters adds, calling out Eames, an earthy chartreuse, and Miso, an anything-but-boring beige. “I think I might own six or seven different shades.”
Kerrilynn Pamer, CAP Beauty Cofounder and CEO
It’s no easy feat for Kerrilynn Pamer to choose just one hero product from CAP Beauty’s collection of self-care pantry essentials—but when pressed, she admits that she’s partial to the organic, ceremonial-grade matcha, thanks to its multi-functionality. “I drink it during the day for focus and support in my body, and I also use it as a mask mixed with some Manuka honey for its anti-inflammatory and nourishing properties,” explains Pamer. She also swears by Alexis Smart’s ingestible floral remedies. “I rely on her blends for anything that ails me. She’s even helped with my rescue dog’s deep anxiety, and he’s a different, and better, animal now. She’s truly a healer.”
Susanne Manasi, Manasi 7 Founder
“Women tend to have a more holistic mindset, and usually when we do something we believe in, we do it thoroughly,” muses the Stockholm-based Susanne Manasi, whose creamy, colorful pigments are beloved by the likes of runway makeup artist Fara Homidi. Manasi reaches regularly for her Bronzelighter Roseate—a luminizing bronzer that lends complexions and limbs alike a subtle sun-kissed glow—as well as a spritz of Nurture, one of former winemaker Frances Shoemack’s natural perfumes. Laced with rose, orange blossom, and ginger, the scent is “not too overwhelming, but it gives you an extra dose of confidence,” Manasi says.
Gloria Noto, Noto Botanics Founder and CEO
By her own admission, Gloria Noto can’t go a day or night without Noto Botanics’s Deep Serum, an ultra-moisturizing formula made with anti-inflammatory rosehip seed and vitamin C–rich grapefruit oils. “Six years ago, you couldn’t catch me outside without a bit of foundation on at bare minimum, but now I feel totally confident with just the Deep Serum on my skin,” she says. The light-catching formula has even healed her previously acne-prone complexion—not to mention the fact that it works wonders on her lips, décolletage, and hands too. As for another game-changing product in Noto’s arsenal? Sustainably made false eyelashes from Jenna Lyons’s brand, LoveSeen. “As a makeup artist on set, I would rarely use lashes, or I would have to totally customize them by cutting them up,” she recalls. “I don’t even need to touch these lashes because they look so natural and beautiful.”
Babba Rivera, Ceremonia CEO and Founder
“Not only is it nice to support female-founded businesses because I know firsthand how challenging it can be to build a growing business as a female, but also I find it to be way more trustworthy to buy beauty products from a female founder who is also the customer,” Ceremonia’s Babba Rivera says. Case in point is her own shine-boosting scalp remedy oil, which she applies before bed and rinses out in the morning for extra luscious lengths. She also likes the Glowy Super Gel by Saie, founded by Laney Crowell. “It gives my face such luster and glow without the need for any additional coverage,” Rivera explains. “I love how it lives between skin care and makeup, with clean ingredients that are good for my skin while giving me instant makeup-esque results.”
Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Golde Cofounder and CEO
On a mission to make wellness easy and accessible, Trinity Mouzon Wofford starts most days with Golde’s Coconut Collagen Boost, a 100% vegan collagen creamer, which can be added to tea, coffee, and even smoothies. “It’s a great place for anyone to get started with superfoods,” notes the New Yorker. She makes a point of seeking out products from brands that have similarly well-meaning intentions, such as the Restorative Oil from Shannon Davenport’s Esker Beauty. “It’s formulated with a special extract of carrot seed oil that gives it this warm, earthy scent,” Wofford says of the all-natural skin-care savior, which she’s had on heavy rotation for the past few years. “It stays in my routine thanks to the non-greasy formula and the 100% clean ingredient list.”
Emily L’Ami, Bodha Founder
As the nose behind Bodha’s smokeless incense, aromatherapy eye pillows, and therapeutic perfumes, Emily L’Ami is well versed in the intoxicating world of scent. At the moment, she’s been anointing her mask with her Refresh Ritual Oil—a blend of crushed basil, mint leaf, and clary sage flowers—for an uplifting olfactory experience. She is also leaning into Wild Roses from Aftelier Perfumes, a collection of small-batch fragrances hand-blended and bottled in Mandy Aftel’s Berkeley, California, studio. “You can smell the earth, the leaves, and the rose petals,” L’Ami says. “It’s like walking in a rose garden.”
Ozohu Adoh, Epara Founder and CEO
“It is a matter of great importance that female-founded beauty brands be given as much support as possible,” asserts Ozohu Adoh, who notes that, in the face of challenge, it’s exactly that bolstering that has motivated her to carry on with Epara, her skin-care brand powered by African botanicals. Plus, she continues, “Women know firsthand their needs and are therefore well-placed to provide authentic solutions.” Such is the case with her go-to Balancing Face Oil, which she prizes for “keeping [her] skin moisturized without leaving it greasy,” as well as Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes. “I truly enjoy how dramatically the mascara enhances my eyes when I use it.”
Lauren Jin, Clé Cosmetics Founder
In the age of Zoom, Lauren Jin of Clé Cosmetics—a collection of innovative K-Beauty makeup must-haves—is never without her own softly pigmented pink powder, which she dots onto her cheeks and lips for a natural flushed look. Another essential is the vegan and paraben-free Liquid Concealer created by Kelly Zhang, a fellow Californian. “I met Kelly when I went to get microblading, and we ended up talking about our brands,” notes Jin. “Later, we gifted each other products, and I’ve been in love with her concealers ever since!”
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