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Graduate from Glossier: 4 Sophisticated and Youthful Brand Alternatives to Glossier

Chelsea Mason

Refreshed JULY 6, 2024

Disclosure: I only highlight companies and products that align with Empower Palette’s values and/or I personally use. This blog may receive a commission from purchases through some or all of the links in this post (affiliate links). To shop some of the brands I love, check out the shop page. To see how much I make, visit the FAQs page.

Glossier is a great brand with products that I’ve owned for a while now. But I’ve grown up a bit since starting this blog. Having products that are more mature feels REALLY good.

More sophisticated branding, elegant and to-the-point copy is a skincare turnon. BUT the products also need to ACTUALLY work.

I came across these 4 brands and I’m obsessed with each of them for different reasons. Take a look at what I’m talking about. 👀😍

1 —

ILIA

  • Female-founded by Sasha Plavsic

  • Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free

  • Skincare-powered makeup + SPF

Wake up the skin. Makeup the rest

ILIA is a skincare-first, makeup-second brand which I love! It combines skincare and makeup in one for powerhouse products.

I believe brands like this will become more popular in the coming years. Makeup looks really good on healthy skin.

Our potent formulas are designed with active levels of skincare ingredients that shield skin from environmental stressors. We strongly believe in SPF, as it is what protects and powers these actives, making them up to 200% more effective. Without it, those skin-saving ingredients deteriorate quickly when exposed to light.

ILIA’s Sustainability:

We strive towards more sustainable packaging through the use of recycled aluminum, glass components, and responsibly sourced paper. But it isn’t enough—that’s only the beginning of the product’s lifecycle. We believe end-of-life is far more important, to ensure products don’t end up in a landfill.

ILIA is now using TerraCycle's Zero Waste Box platform that's dedicated to recycling the hard-to-recycle.

Now, we invite our U.S. customers to mail in up to 5 empty beauty products per month—ours or another brand’s, we don’t discriminate—and TerraCycle will break it down responsibly, so it doesn’t end up in a landfill. 

Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

ILIA Recycling Program

Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint meet ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40

Vegan skincare, makeup, & sun protection all-in-one weightless serum, made with niacinamide, plant-based squalene & hyaluronic acid (macro & micro)

Glossier Cloud Paint meet ILIA Color Haze

Vegan, can be used for lips and cheeks, made with jojoba oil, coconut oil & linseed oil

Glossier Generation G Sheer Matte Lipstick meet ILIA Tinted Lip Conditioner

50% balm, 50% lightweight lip, made with sunflower seed oil, cocoa seed butter & orange peel wax

Glossier Lash Slick Mascara meet ILIA Limitless Lash Mascara

100% natural dye, buildable & flake-free, made with arginine, organic shea butter, beeswax

Glossier Pro Tip Eyeliner meet ILIA Liquid Liner

Carbon black free, water resistant, made with charcoal powder

Glossier Boy Brow meet ILIA Essential Brow Gel

Vegan, soft hold without shine, lasts all day, made with aloe leaf juice, organic shea butter & sunflower seed oil

Glossier Haloscope meet ILIA Illuminator

“1 minute face lift”, no sparkles or glitter just dew, made with organic shea butter, orange peel wax & avocado oil

2 —

Kosas

  • Female-founded by Sheena Yaitanes

  • Certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny

  • Read more about their ingredients

It’s makeup.

It’s skincare.

It’s both.

We take our name from the philosophy of the five “kosas” of self. According to this philosophy, there are five intersecting and connected layers of self that communicate with each other: a physical layer, a vitalizing layer of energy, a sensory mental layer, a discerning intellectual layer, and a layer of truthful bliss. Beauty lives in each of these layers, not just in the physical.

Glossier Skywash Lid Tint meet Kosas 10-Second Eyeshadow

Vegan. There in 10. A clean, water-based, fast-drying, crease-resistant formula for buildable, high-impact color that lasts

Glossier Lip Gloss meet Kosas Wet Set

Vegan, 100% treatment, 100% lip gloss packed with peptides to plump & hydrate, while providing a juicy slick of color

Made with apricot kernel seed oil, rosehip seed oil & jojoba oil

Build-your-own set of 3 shades

  • Jellyfish = glossy clear

  • Dip = bikini nude

  • Jaws = hot blood red

Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint meet Kosas DreamBeam SPF 40 PA++++

A clean, silicone-free, comfy mineral sunscreen packed with ceramides and peptides to moisturize, visibly smooth and brighten, and create the dreamiest makeup base.

Glossier Stretch Concealer meet Kosas Revealer Concealer

Vegan, eye treatment + spot treatment + concealer

Glossier Balm Dotcom meet Kosas LipFuel Set

Hyaluronic lip balm with natural oils & vitamins + minty scent

3 —

The Ordinary

Do you test on animals?

As required by the European Cosmetics Regulations, we only work with suppliers who do not perform animal testing. Since that regulation came into force, it has pushed cosmetic raw material suppliers to replace animal testing with available alternatives to support the safety of their ingredients. DECIEM and The Ordinary do not test on animals and do not ask others to do so. For this reason, none of our brands or products are sold in stores or conventional retailers in mainland China, since such sales require animal testing for registration purposes.

Clinical Formulations with Integrity.

Glossier Super Bounce (hyaluronic acid + vitamin b5 serum) meet The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

Vegan, oil-free, uses three forms of HA with varying molecular weights, to offer multi-depth hydration and visible plumping without drawing water out of the skin solely to improve temporary surface hydration

I see A LOT of reviews hating on the stickiness of a facial serum. However, when you are using products with high concentrations of acids or vitamins, it SHOULD be sticky. Any product that has a high concentration of ingredients like hyaluronic acid, retinol or vitamin C will include the ingredient’s percentage. If you do not see a percentage, there is a little amount or frankly you’re getting ripped off.

Hyaluronic acid is temporary hydration:

Many products have used HA to claim hydration benefits, but HA is too large of a molecule to penetrate the skin and instead sits on the surface and can draw moisture out of the skin making the surface feel soft and hydrated temporarily, while making you feel like you need more HA after the product is rinsed.

Glossier Super Pure (niacinamide + zinc serum) meet The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Vegan, oil-free, reduces skin blemishes and balances visible sebum activity

The Ordinary also sells 100% organic cold-pressed oils including: marula oil, borage seed oil, Moroccan argan oil, rosehip seed oil, virgin chia seed oil & seabuckthorn fruit oil

4 —

Flesh – this brand is now closed

  • Female-founded by Linda Wells

Do you test on animals?

Our products are not tested on animals nor are they sold in countries where testing on animals is required.

We believe that beauty is more than pigment and powder. It’s about how you imagine yourself and how you bring that vision to life. That’s why Flesh starts with 40 inclusive shades of foundation for smooth, skin-matching coverage. Every highlighter, blush and lipstick is conceived for every shade of skin. But Flesh is not a timid, predictable line of nudes. It includes punctuations of intense color for style and personal expression.

Flesh comes in every color of you.

Uncensored. Unfiltered. Unapologetic.

Glossier Stretch Concealer meet Firm Flesh Stick Foundation

Medium coverage, dewy finish, foundation, contour & concealer

Glossier Haloscope meet Touch Flesh Highlighting Balm

Vegan. Formulated with mica pearls and conditioning oils for a lit-from-within natural glow

Glossier Nightshine (highlighter concentrate) meet Ripe Flesh Glisten Drops

High concentration of mica pearls for build-able intensity of highlighter

What do you think of these dupes? Or should I say upgrades...

Post a comment or question below and don’t hesitate to share this post and help create a cycle of brand awareness 😘

& remember to allow your authentic self to empower the women around you

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