Our team's favourite woman-founded beauty brands for International Women's Day

International Women's Day places the spotlight on women, celebrating our achievements, offering support for one another and raising awareness for the challenges we face. With that in mind, we're sharing some of our favourite woman-founded beauty brands that we reach for on a daily basis.

When it comes to beauty brands, we typically place focus on the products they produce, meaning we can often disregard the creatives behind it all. That's why we're taking the opportunity this International Women's Day to share our favourite female-founded beauty brands, that have created some of the best long-lasting perfumes and best-smelling body lotions on the market.

From a natural skincare brand rooted in family values to a luxurious fragrance brand with scents inspired by the founder's life events, these are the four woman-founded beauty brands that you need to have on your radar this International Women's Day and beyond.

Our team's favourite woman-founded beauty brands

Supporting and celebrating women's achievements, innovation and business endeavours is more important than ever before. While International Women's Day is a great opportunity to do all the above, it's also important to recognise these brands all year round, not just on a single dedicated day in the calendar.

With that said, we're taking this moment to introduce you to four woman-founded beauty brands that deserve love, support and recognition throughout the year (and years to come), including a bodycare brand equipped with nourishing, aromatic buys inspired by London neighbourhoods and an industry-favourite beauty brand founded by a trailblazing makeup artist.

Soapsmith

I’ve admired Soapsmith and its founder, Samantha Jameson, for years because this is a brand that’s been built from scratch and still feels completely itself (not easy to do when everyone’s looking around on social media) Production began - and remains - in London's Walthamstow, by Samantha and a small team of craftspeople, with excess soap made into mini bars and donated to Beauty Banks charity. Oh - and the products are gorgeous. There are aromatic bath soaks, body butters and of course, soaps made with natural and cruelty-free ingredients in beautifully designed, highly giftable packaging. New scents get launched when the time is right, so it’s always exciting when a new one comes along. I love that they’re all inspired by London neighbourhoods - and not the usual ones you might expect - herby, summery Hackney, incense-filled Camden and spiced Brick Lane are particularly evocative and well worth a sniff.

Fiona McKim, Digital Beauty Editor

Pat McGrath

An industry favourite among makeup artists, Pat McGrath Labs was founded by the trailblazing makeup artist herself. An award-winning makeup expert and creative, Pat McGrath has been voted as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and in 2021 was awarded D.B.E. Dame of the British Empire by the late Queen for her services to the Fashion and Beauty industry and Diversity - making history as the first makeup artist to achieve this accolade. As a working makeup artist who has created looks for countless Fashion Week shows over the years, McGrath knew exactly what she wanted to put into her products and that experience shows in her diverse, high quality collections. From her iconic Sublime Perfection foundation to the wide assortment of eye palettes and the robust lip options, the brand offers diverse products that offer a perfectly-finished, long-lasting finish to everyone.

Aleesha Badkar, Digital Beauty Ecommerce Editor

Jo Loves

Boasting an array of chic and uncomplicated fragrances, along with luxurious bath and bodycare buys, Jo Loves is a brand I've really been gravitating towards lately. Founded by Jo Malone CBE, following her departure as Creative Director at the eponymous Jo Malone London in 2006, Jo Loves feels fresh and modern - combining both Malone's renowned taste and experience in the world of perfume. Her passion and well, love for fragrance is clear in every uncomplicated, sparkling blend, be it Pomelo or Amber, Bergamot and Lime. Each scent is inspired by memories in Malone's life and offers distinctive but minimalistic signatures for very accessible prices. It's a creative triumph and again feels fresh, which is no easy feat in such a saturated market.

Naomi Jamieson, Digital Beauty Writer

Tropic Skincare

Debuting onto the market with her nourishing Body Smooth scrub, Tropic Skincare was founded by Susie Ma at age 15 to help her mum pay the bills. 21 years on, and now a mother herself, Ma has received various accolades including Forbes 30 Under 30 and EY Young Entrepreneur thanks to her brand's stellar offering of skincare, bodycare and makeup must-haves, each formulated to feed the skin with natural nutritious ingredients that are sustainably sourced from the world's tropical regions. Not only does Tropic excel with their lineup of products, whether that be their hydrating Rainforest Dew Serum or delicately toning Morning Mist, but they also donate 10% of their profits to support global causes, such as The King's Trust Women Supporting Women and funding education for children in remote parts of the world.

Sennen Prickett, Digital Beauty Writer