What are the next big trends in independent beauty startups? Clean beauty, cruelty free products, even cannabis derived ingredients. It’s no wonder we love attending Indie Beauty Expo every year – odds are we’ll discover something perfect for us, that we won’t find in Sephora. This year, our gift bags runneth over – we tried over 75 products in two weeks (don’t ask us how.) Here are our favorites.

Hair

Soil Serum + Oil $68.00

For years we’ve searched for a serum that hydrates our hair, adds shine and protects it without making it greasy, or weighing it down with silicones and other harmful ingredients. Soil miraculously does just that. They’re certified toxic-free and eco-friendly, and the best part is the product has so many uses -- you can even use it as a conditioning treatment. And it works! Ok, maybe that’s the best part.

Loba Mane Transformative Mask $24

Loba Mane is natural, eco-friendly hair care for all hair types. After just a few minutes, this mask sealed in moisture to our color treated hair and nourished it, leaving it noticeably soft. We can’t stress enough how happy we get when we find organic, cruelty free hair products. This will be a staple in our showers for a while.

Makeup

Luk Beautifood Natural Lipstick $29.95

We’re big believers that anything that goes on your body should be safe enough to eat (especially if it goes on your mouth). Luk Beautifood uses food-grade ingredients to bring you beautiful, surprisingly pigmented, long-lasting lip color.

Elate Cosmetics Brow Balm $25

Say hello to the world’s first sustainable, vegan, cruelty-free and non-toxic brow product. Yeah, we were surprised too. This tinted pomade creates definition and depth while keeping your brows in place. It’s a welcome alternative to our usual brow pencils.

FitGlow Goodlash Mascara $38

We’ll be the first to admit it: we’re picky when it comes to mascara. So we were surprised when we fell for this one! FitGlow makes vegan, paraben free makeup that’s 98% organic and this mascara contains vitamins that actually nourish your lashes. It’s got a big fat brush and the product is semi-waterproof. Our lashes look long, curvy and amazing. What more could we ask for?

Nails

Nailmatic Nail Polish $8.99

Vegan! Cruelty-free! Plant-based! Affordable! There’s never been nail polish like this until now. The colors are adorable and the polish stays on for days without chipping. They even have a water-based line that safe for little kids, so you can give one to your niece or take it to your babysitting gig.

Hype Plant-based Nail Enamel $7.99

Plant-based nail polish that’s Certified “Leaping Bunny” Cruelty-free is not something you see every day, and certainly not for $7.99. We’re obsessed with this trend, and the fact that they come in such cute little bottles. More, more, more!

Karma Naturals Soybean Oil & Lavender Nail Polish Remover Wipes $11.99

We know what you’re thinking, and yes, they actually work! (Better than conventional nail polish remover, dare we say!) Not only that, but they smell good and they actually hydrate your hands instead of drying them out. That’s because they’re made with all plant based, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic ingredients. If you really love it, you can get the remover in a bottle, too. Brb, ordering.

Skincare

~Cleansers~

Knours Your Only Cleanser $25

After puberty, for some reason we all stopped talking about the causal connection between our hormones and our skin. Knours is changing all of that. Combining traditional remedies for PMS with Korean skincare innovation, the Knours line is specifically optimized for a woman’s cycle. We love the cleanser, but we really recommend this whole line as it’s meant to be used as a series. It leaves your skin feeling healthy and soft. EWG certified so you know it’s real.

Alder New York Everyday Face Cleanser $28

On the flip side is Alder New York’s gender neutral skin care line, that keeps it simple, smooth, and 100% clean. This super concentrated cleanser is formulated with plant-derived surfactants, glycolic acid, and sea botanicals – swoon! It left our skin feeling clean, moist and absolutely glowing.

Ambar Micellar Cleansing Essence $29.75

If you’re looking for a super sensitive makeup remover, this is it. Using natural ingredients like viola, yucca root, apple, rose, and lily, this product is a 3-in-1: it cleanses, tones and hydrates. It’s totally nontoxic, and non-drying.

~Masks~

Woodlot Rejuvenating Green Tea Clay Mask $24

Woodlot creates natural home and skincare basics designed around ritual. Our favorite is this green tea clay mask, which is the closest thing to turning your skin into a matcha latte. The entire line is plant based, eco-friendly and cruelty free, which by now you know we love.

Petite Amie Age-defying Marble Masque $15

We live for sheet masks, and even though we’re not anti-wrinkle (love your age! Love your wrinkles!) any product that claims to be age-defying has our attention. These masks are saturated in peptides and nutrient rich ingredients that hydrate the skin, leaving it feeling tighter and brighter than before. Would be great as a monthly treatment in your rotation.

~Moisturizers~

Everyday Resting Beach Face $30

This line is, first and foremost, aptly named – we never want to stop using it! Resting Beach Face is the only moisturizer you’ll ever need because it’s literally a triple threat: anti UV-damage, anti-pollution and anti-aging. It’s SPF 30 and doesn’t leave your skin feeling goopy. Plus, it’s reef safe, people safe, and animal safe (the whole line is vegan, cruelty free and nontoxic). Feeling dry in other areas? Try Club BFF Rescue Balm ($15) for hands, lips, heels, and other dry bits.

Ducalm Multitastic Balm $29

Ducalm is skincare for when you leave the gym, which explains why this packaging is so great – this soothing moisturizer comes in a stick that glides over your skin leaving it hydrated and glowing without any grease. It also soothes redness and razor burn, and doesn’t clog your pores. A yoga bag must-have.

First Salt After the Rain Solpy Salt Hand Creme $6.50

This uber affordable line of products is based on the science of healing Sinan Salt, a South Korean ecological treasure that’s highly nutrient rich. This cream made our hands not just feel softer and smoother, but look smoother instantly.

~CBD~

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Rad Ritual Zitblitz Anti-blemish Beauty Oil $68

A growing trend in the beauty world is combining the healing and calming powers of CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that’s known to treat inflammation, muscle tension, stress and more. Rad Ritual makes handmade, CBD infused skincare with an emphasis on the self care part of your skincare routine. This dry oil calmed the redness in our faces and helped minimize some existing acne spots too, naturally and medicinally.

Verboden Beautyfood BLAZE Coffee + Cardamom Salve $30

Verboden makes a whole line of soothing, anti-anxiety CBD skincare products including everything from this awesome hydrating salve to chocolate truffles to edible lube. They’ve combined cannabis, beauty, food and sex, and we’re pretty sure there’s nothing better than that.

Crave Skincare Glo-Berry Glistening Oil Serum $48

This gives you all the things you’d want from a facial oil (moisture, glowing skin, vitamins, antioxidants) with the added calming effects of CBD. It’s vegan, cruelty free and totally clean, and it leaves your skin with a noticeable shimmer, too.

~Deodorant~

You’ve heard us hype up natural, aluminum free deodorant before, and these are some of the best we’ve ever tried. They’re all cruelty free, clean and affordable. Pick one!

Type A $10 - sweat activated formula that goes on dry and smells amazing

Smartypits $9.99 - great for sensitive skin and makes a baking soda-free option for those with sensitivities

Black Chicken $19 A surprisingly dry, all-natural paste that has a pleasant, neutral smell.

Honestly pHresh Pre/probiotic Spray $14.99 Balances your body’s natural pH and encourages the growth of good bacteria that fight odor.

~Self Tanner~

The Shady Sun Shady Foam $35

We dabble a little in at-home tanning, but we’d pretty much given up on finding a natural, non-toxic option...there aren’t that many around. Well, we despair no more. Not only is Shady Foam 100% naturally derived, it’s also vegan, cruelty free, paraben free and works like a charm. After just one coat we were nearly two shades darker and had an even, natural looking tan.