Celebrating Female Founders of Game Changing Beauty Brands this Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, powerhouse beauty brand founders are in our spotlight. We applaud their brilliant achievements and beloved products that enhance our lives. Cheers to every woman on this list for their determination, creativity, and inspiration.

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” - Maya Angelou

Salwa Petersen is a champion for time-honored techniques and modern rituals. As a Harvard graduate, product development expert, and founder of her namesake brand, she empowers a legacy. Collaborating with scientists and hairstylists and harvesting nutrient-rich properties from the Chébé plant (native to her homeland Chad where women have notoriously magnificent hair), Petersen crafted an eco-friendly collection of products that promotes longer, stronger, and softer strands.

Her family’s land is now an organic regenerative Chébé farm where her great-grandmother’s heirloom seeds will thrive for generations, farmers who gently hand-pollinate are paid five times the local wages, and Mother Earth is respected. Petersen profoundly cares about people and planet, setting a monumental example we praise and support.

Pure genius encompasses Liz Whitman. Previously president of The Red Door by Elizabeth Arden, co-founder of Manicube, marketing extraordinaire at Beauty Bar, and Harvard Business School graduate, Whitman founded Exponent Beauty as the first self-activated clinical skincare brand. Why? Active ingredients in premixed water-based formulations lose efficacy daily and degrade by 40 percent within two months of use. (Insert gasp here). “The inspiration was traditional esthetician practices,” says Whitman on Beautytap’s Luminary Spotlight podcast.

Whitman is a disruptor and her brand is groundbreaking - Exponent Beauty products are packaged in powder form to retain optimal potency. Once easily mixed with a silky Hyaluronic Acid Hydrator, serums are activated instantly for proven and polished results. This customizable system including Brightening Boost Vitamin C, Time Rewind Retinol, Firming Filter CoQ10, Calm Revival Green Tea Reservatrol, and Clear Comeback Probiotic Enzyme offer skincare at peak potency and each serum benefits a bevy of specific skin concerns. The patented refillable bottles are also user-friendly works of art. Exponent Beauty is sustainable, a certified B Corp business and masterful reflection of its founder—sensible, smart, sophisticated, and effective.

Naturally a classic, Pacifica has commendable roots. Brooke Harvey-Taylor established this trailblazing brand in 1996 with a commitment to 100% vegan, clean, and cruelty-free beauty products—and she paved the way with prowess.

Growing up in Montana, Harvey-Taylor had a deep respect for all living things; her practice became her purpose. “[Pacifica] is a beauty company based on the strong beliefs that animals, humans, and the planet should be treated with compassion and that fearlessness is our greatest natural resource,” says Harvey-Taylor on the Glossy Beauty Podcast. “We use this brand to make a difference in the world, and we work tirelessly to do that.” Definitely a worthwhile victory. We are grateful for Pacifica’s leadership, ethos, affordability, and prized skincare, haircare, makeup, and perfume.

La dolce vita is captured with Dolce Glow where skincare meets sunless tanner and a vision to “live a decadent life and never dull your shine”. Courtesy of founder and celebrity spray tan artist Isabel Alysa, you feel whisked away to the sun kissed Italian Riviera with a golden glow. A

Alysa persevered through life’s ups and downs prior to memorable success. She says her first spray tan ignited such a confidence boost that she wanted to kindle the same in others…thus her brand was born (and named after her sweet daughter, Mia Dolce Vita). Self-tanning mists, mousses, and lotions are made clean in Australia with anti-aging ingredients for a bronzed bod sans harmful UV rays. Longtime friend and client Miley Cyrus is an official investor and aficionado of the Endless Summer Vacation set. Alysa believes beauty comforts the soul and she partners with local organizations to build supportive communities for women and children in need. Brava!

Harmonizing heritage, European élan, and a love for luxe aromas, Marie du Petit Thouars created Maison Louis Marie. A lavish line of clean, botanical perfumes, skincare, and candles brings forth her family history with a reverence for nature’s pleasurable scents.

As a fashion industry veteran, Thouars has collaborated with illustrious haute couture worldwide; she adds refined style and panache to her coveted brand. Fragrances are made with unisex appeal and without toxic ingredients—No. 4 Bois de Balincourt and No. 13 Nouvelle Vague are particularly enchanting. Maison Louis Marie cares for the environment with minimalist, sustainable packaging, climate neutral certification, and plants thousands of trees via 1% for the Planet. We hold Marie du Petit Thouars in the highest regard and are intrigued by every essence she curates.

Sahara Lotti is the visionary of natural DIY lash extension phenomenon Lashify. Her award-winning system revolutionized at home lashes with proprietary tools, myriad lengths, angles, gossamer styles, and colors. “To see the amount of self-confidence these lashes have brought to people is amazing,” says Lotti on Beautytap’s Luminary Spotlight podcast.

Lotti’s background as an actress and screenwriter along with authentic Facebook Live connections bolstered an ingenious path to business bliss. Her inventive technology grew from a personal desire for premium DIY lashes…and she nailed it. The brand now has more than 300 patents and its first glamorous studio on Melrose Place along with Lashify Labs where Lotti is cooking up other new beauty must haves including Flush Cheek Stick – a jelly cheek stick that delivers a natural kiss of color for the face and body.

Revered by customers as life-changing and worn by celebrities from Nicole Kidman and Salma Hayek to Lupita Nyong’o and Emma Stone, Lashify is an eye-catching sensation. And Lotti is unstoppable; we can’t wait to see what she launches next.

Superstar esthetician Kate Somerville is a total inspiration who lives and breathes skin health. Her compassionate manner stems from challenges and triumphs; and gold standard expertise fuses dermatology and cosmetology. “People told me my dreams were impossible. I didn’t take it personally. I found a way to defy impossible,” says Somerville. And indeed she did.

Coined the Guru of Glow by Hollywood elite, Somerville’s Skin Health Experts Clinic is a transformative haven where she educates and heals. Her legendary treatments guide extraordinary product innovation and clinically proven formulas work wonders for resplendent results (cue new plant-based KateCeuticals SuperCell Rejuvenating Serum that gently treats skin, reverses damage, targets aging, and supports collagen production). Somerville’s celebrated skincare empire is flourishing…and so is our admiration.

As a third-generation virtuoso, Alicia Lindner heralds a bright future for her family’s esteemed enterprise that reigns as one of the original natural beauty brands. Lindner was recognized by Business Insider as a “25 Women Future Makers” and “Germany’s Young Elite - Top 40 Under 40” by Capital Magazine. Founded in the Black Forest in 1959, ANNEMARIE BÖRLIND is a pioneer in botanically boosted beauty. 

Made with plant extracts from wild harvesting and organic farms, spring water from an onsite well, and responsible practices, all products are vegan, science-backed, and divine. “What I can’t eat, I don’t put on my skin,” said founder Annemarie Lindner. Company values have always been grounded in integrity, ecological awareness, and social responsibility—Alicia Lindner carries the torch with gusto.

Beauty industry maven Michele Gough Baril is a force of nature. Her soulful approach blends insight and aspiration into high performance, low maintenance skincare/makeup hybrids. This

luminous line nourishes and rejuvenates the skin with clean, high quality, and sustainable ingredients while delivering an effortless glow.

“Iris&Romeo was born from a belief that we, as women, can liberate ourselves from limited choices, self-esteem crushing beauty standards, and toxic products,” says Gough Baril. “This is a movement to simplify our lives and be a force for good, starting with our beauty routines—because we've got more important things to do.” Hallelujah. Named Iris (for her mother and floral symbol of faith, valor, and wisdom) and Romeo (a retired racehorse who helped Gough Baril reflect and reconnect), Iris&Romeo is a manifestation of self-love and fortitude.

The right tools make all the difference and T3 delivers with impressive attraction. Harnessing advanced technology and sleek, counter-worthy design, Julie Chung and her salon-savvy husband developed luxurious, supercharged hair tools beloved by celebrity hair stylists all over the world.

Made to improve hair prep, flat irons, hair dryers, curling irons, blow dry brushes, and even shower heads flaunt form and function. Julie embodies beauty and brains for the brand. With next-gen tech, hair is healthier (temperature settings auto adjust to suit unique hair profiles), styling is easier (with sleek and intuitive touch features), and styling time is reduced (faster, smarter, better). T3 has a treasure trove of tools that give locks undeniable pizzazz. Thank you, Julie.

As chief of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Margaret fell in love…with the vibrant ambience, healing spa culture, and her Hungarian husband. Together they founded skincare brand Omorovicza to bottle the magic of Budapest’s mineral-charged waters and share with the world.

Old-fashioned wellness merges with new-fashioned science. Every grand elixir is vitalized by the patented Healing Concentrate, clinically proven to boost skin health with hydration, elasticity, and firmness. Queen of Hungary Mist, Thermal Cleansing Balm, and Miracle Facial Oil are standouts. Now a prominent beauty ambassador, de Heinrich de Omorovicza balances her bustling schedule with mindfulness. She says her “top tip for feeling confident is really quite simple; have a clear head, be healthy, be organized, and have some fun.” Brava!

It takes two to tango and Jenna Meek and Jess Hunt have scintillating rhythm. Meek, who launched glittery must-have Shrine Beauty, partnered with Hunt to introduce REFY. Named one of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing businesses in 2023, their innovative brand is “simplifying beauty, encouraging you to embrace you.”

Hunt is a model (with brows that wow) and influencer who shares swoon-worthy tips with a community of nearly two million followers; her content is artistic, genuine, and informative. Meek has massive business moxie and spearheads REFY with an entrepreneurial spirit. The line is dapperly designed and multifunctional products are vegan, fragrance free, and Leaping Bunny certified. Their new Lash Sculpt mascara lifts and lengthens with serious flair. Additional makeup essentials for face and lips accentuate a lustrous finish. Quite the dynamic duo.

No myth here, Mermade Hair has magical allure. Launched on a shoestring by Tara Simich—in her garage at the pandemic’s onset no less—this celebrity-loved Australian brand sparks easy breezy tresses. Just take a look at Hailey Bieber’s and Khloe Kardashian’s (who has partnered with the brand in the past) perfectly tousled beach waves.

When Simich couldn’t find an ideal styling tool for her own mane, she produced one (other gizmos followed) and turned a side hustle into a multimillion-dollar business. “I just thought to myself how cool it would be if my old crimper from the ’90s could be bigger so it could have a nice modern wave rather than these kinds of zig-zaggy little crimps of the ’90s,” says Simich. “So it really was born out of that. I just really wanted something to kind of solve that problem.” All was solved with pretty in pink tools, advanced heat technology, ionic ceramic accessories, and thermal protection haircare.

A spectacular combination of outdoor playtime, curiosity, ambition, on-trend sense (she styled at Vogue), southern charm, and sunshine energize Shelby Wild. Her lifestyle brand, California Naturals, has a motivating vibe of positivity and inclusivity.

Previously the architect of Playa Beauty, Wild’s newest line of eco-conscious and affordably priced goodies for hair and body splashes coolness into shower time. Made clean with luxurious ingredients void a lofty cost, California Naturals is a gift that nurtures with agave nectar, coconut cleansing complex, sunflower extract, avocado and geranium oils, and joie de vivre. We are soaking up all the smiles as is Owen Wilson who is the Chief Shampoo Officer, investor and advisor.

“I really wanted to create something that was super sustainable and super natural that would force the institutional players to evolve, to create things that are better for everyone,” Wild tells Vanity Fair. Mission accomplished.

“There's something so special about a woman who dominates in a man's world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” - Rihanna

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