23 LGBTQ+-Owned Beauty Brands That Should Be On Your Radar
Though the beauty community has come a long way in the past few years when it comes to the inclusivity of LGBTQ+ people, there's still a long way to go. Many beauty influencers have shared their desire for the beauty world to make some changes to make everyone feel more included, including Leovard founder Sheg Aranmolate, who got very candid about what more needs to happen for equality to prevail.
"The beauty industry spends millions of dollars on marketing and advertising each year. It has an opportunity to create campaigns that are more inclusive and inspirational to all genders, races and orientations, and empower everyone to forge their own beauty ideal, forgoing any effort to conform to societal definitions of beauty," he explained to Beauty Independent.
One of the best ways to bring more attention to the community is to use Pride month to turn the spotlight firmly onto LGBTQ+-owned brands. There are far more out there than you probably realize, all doing good in the community and beyond to make the world a more inclusive place. Of course, supporting these companies — like these LGBTQ+-owned fashion brands — isn't just reserved for the month of June. Pride month is a great time to start to finding an LGBTQ+-owned brand to buy from year-round, as we should all be doing our best to spread the love the whole year through. So Women.com rounded up a few of our very favorites in the beauty world.
About-Face
Founded by none other than singer Halsey, About-Face is about celebrating beauty in a different way. The star, who uses she/they pronouns, has opened up a few times about what inspired her to start her own beauty brand, including why she felt so connected to makeup as a celebrity.
"Getting to sit down with your face every day and get to know it and what you look like ... it definitely helps with your sense of identity, and makes you feel more accepting," she told Byrdie, noting that she chose the ingredients that go into her products meticulously. "I have an autoimmune illness, so I'm very sensitive to what goes on my face. And a lot of my audience, they're really young, and I just don't want anyone putting stuff on their face that's going to hurt them down the line," she said.
The star, who is openly bisexual, has also opened up about how their line is designed to be androgynous and used by anyone, no matter how they identify. "It's something for the generation of e-girls and e-boys out there," she shared. "I'm watching you. I would have been friends with all of you 10 years ago. I love you." About-Face offers a wide range of different products — and isn't afraid to go bold. Amongst some of our favorites? The pink, green, and blue eye paint brights and the Punched Up-Pinks glossy lip balms.
Madison Reed
Madison Reed's CEO and founder Amy Errett is one of the most influential women in the business world right now, even helping her company to stay thriving through the tough pandemic months. "I started Madison Reed with a simple mission: to provide the best, most luxurious hair color made with ingredients you can feel good about," Errett, who identifies as queer and landed on Fast Company's Queer 50 list in 2021, explained of the business on its website. "Our company is founded on the belief that we all deserve better. Better hair color made with better ingredients, and better care for not only our hair, but for our clients and community."
Madison Reed is actually (adorably) named after Errett's daughter, and is working hard to support the LGBTQ+ community (represented by pride flags in every color). In fact, Madison Reed partnered with GLAAD during 2023 and looks to diversity in all aspects of the business. "Madison Reed's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is rooted in our belief of representing diverse and unique perspectives, identities and lived experiences across all team members, including the LGBTQIA+ community," Errett told CNN Underscored of the venture.
JVN Hair
JVN Hair is all about inclusion, no matter how you identify or what your hair is like. Founded by "Queer Eye" star and hairstylist extraordinaire Jonathan Van Ness, the brand is all about positive self-expression with sustainability in mind. The products are free of things like silicone and sulfate as well as being suitable for vegans and cruelty-free. "JVN allows everyone that uses it to find their best hair self, feel beautiful, and show the world that they can look better than ever, while being confident in their choice to bring clean beauty to their hair," Van Ness said of his brand on its website.
The openly gay TV star and hairstylist has also spoken out about how central the beauty world has been in his life, explaining how important it is that everyone feels comfortable expressing themselves in their most authentic way.
"Some people can feel very threatened by queer people and the way that queer people express their beauty. I think when some cisgender people see people in the LGBTQIA+ community who are comfortable in their own skin and embracing who they are and don't abide by constraints of the gender binary, that can feel threatening," he explained to Elle. "It can be very discombobulating when you assign your personality and your identity to this thing that you thought wasn't a choice then you see other people being themselves unapologetically, not conforming or compromising and there's a little bit of jealousy there."
Boy Smells
Partners Matthew Herman and David Kien worked together to found and run their company, Boy Smells, which specializes in the ever-growing gender-neutral fragrance movement, candles, room sprays, and more. Their scents are not only marketed to everyone, no matter how they identify, but they also mix the traditionally feminine with the traditionally masculine to create a real amalgamation of aromas for their customers.
In 2022, Boy Smells launched its first Pride campaign, which benefitted The Trevor Project. The brand re-released six unique scents to celebrate Pride, with Herman explaining to Wallpaper, "Each scent has complex, diverse ingredients and fragrance profiles that we hope represent the diversity and uniqueness of the LGBTQ+ community. No one Pride flag can represent all of us, and we wanted the candles to mirror that and to celebrate uniqueness and differences."
Boy Smells has repeatedly used its platform to support the LGBTQ+ community, including using its notoriety to stand against the controversial 2023 ban on drag shows in Tennessee. "Everyone has the right to be who they are — The bill passed in Tennessee last week will not only vilifies the art of drag, it sets a precedent to limit the ability — regardless of gender identity, gender expression, or sexuality — for individuals to express themselves," Boy Smells' official Instagram account shared in the poignant upload. "Boy Smells values self acceptance, self expression, and inclusion. We also believe in a world that shares those values."
KimChi Chic Beauty
You'll probably recognize Kim Chi from Season 8 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," but her talents stretch far beyond reality TV. The drag queen started her own beauty brand, KimChi Chic Beauty, in 2019, in an attempt to bring affordable, quality makeup to the market to allow people to be who they are — without having to shell out for expensive products to do it.
"The biggest hurdle I had growing up as a baby drag queen and a makeup artist was that so much product in the market was so expensive, especially good products. And even when you use good products, you're not even really sure if the pigments and the payoff will be good," she explained to Allure about starting the company. "So for my makeup line ... I wanted a price point that everyone could afford."
There's no doubt that KimChi Chic Beauty packs a punch too, with its products — particularly its eyeliners — being heavily pigmented. But what we love most is the brand's dedication to giving back. An impressive 2% of all sales are donated to The Trevor Project, which provides a safe space and lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth who may be struggling with their sexuality.
NOTO
Named after its founder Gloria Noto, NOTO is all about makeup and skincare, all without toxic ingredients and chemicals. The Noto brand was created with gender-neutral packaging, so it's attractive for people no matter how they identify. Each vegan makeup product in the range also has multiple uses, which allows people to be who they want to be without having to buy multiple products and spend a whole lot of cash in the process.
"Launching NOTO quite literally in my kitchen, I became excited to use all the skills I learned over the years to create a line that celebrated the spectrum of authentic identities I felt I wasn't seeing in the clean beauty industry at that time," Noto, who identifies as queer, shared on the company's website. "I wanted to hear their stories and celebrate their lives through how we all connect with self-care."
One of our very favorite things about the brand (aside from the clean products, of course!) is how dedicated NOTO is to giving back and creating a better world, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community. "As a business owner, queer person, and a first generation child of immigrants, it's important for me to connect with my community through my work," Noto shared. The brand donates to the likes of Planned Parenthood, The Okra Project, The Transgender Freedom Fund, Black Mama's Matter, The Love Land Foundation, and The Trevor Project through sales of its Agender Oil.
Philip B.
Philip Berkovitz, aka Philip B., founded his eponymous brand back in 1991 and it's been going strong ever since. "Being a gay man proudly in touch with my feminine side helped me to develop empathy and gain trust so I was able to best serve my clients," he explained to CNN Underscored.
"People are people all over the world and solution equals resolution. I continue and always want to develop solutions to help people with real scalp and hair issues. I was able to break through all barriers with exceptional formulations and products to ultimately transcend all forms of bias or discrimination." For Pride Month 2023, the company announced it would be donating a portion of its profits to Los Angeles LGBT Center, making it one of several brands that support the LGBTQI community in a meaningful way.
Berkovitz proudly works alongside his partner, Michael Huober, on the brand, and has opened up about how being gay has influenced his career. "Being a gay man was an asset in many ways. Women trusted me and confided in me, and that motivated me to work extra hard to lift them up and to empower them by making them feel beautiful," he explained on his blog in a post to celebrate Pride month. "Making people feel great and finding solutions for their hair and scalp issues is a thrill. I get a lot of satisfaction from enhancing my clients' natural beauty."
Beekman 1802
Another brand that was founded by a loved-up couple (and that we can't get enough of), is Beekman 1802, the brainchild of Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell. "As a brand founded by an out gay couple, Pride isn't a marketing campaign for us. Pride is our autobiography. It serves as an opportunity to remind us of the unique challenges and obstacles we faced when we launched 14 years ago and others continue to face in business and their personal lives," they told PureWow. "We may all be different but we have an obligation to lead the way for other LGBTQ+ and minority lead businesses to thrive, through kindness to both self and others," the duo added.
And Beekman 1802 really is about spreading kindness in the world. The brand is all about creating skincare and body products that are designed to be suitable for sensitive skin, with some even made from goat's milk. Not only that, but Beekman 1802 also sells its own range of adorable "Kindness Merchandise" to spread the love the world over.
Empower Bodycare
Boy, do we love a romantic and business partnership here at Women.com, and Trista Okel and Michele White show us why. Founded by Okel, Empower Beauty offers ethical, vegan, and cruelty-free CBD products, including bath oils and body lotions to really help you to relax. "I want to simultaneously reduce the stigma around cannabis by providing 'ambassador' products that anyone can use without having intoxicating effects, thus proving that cannabis has therapeutic value and help people relieve their discomfort and live their best lives," Okel told Go Solo of her business venture.
Okel has also shared her advice for how the beauty world can better help the LGBTQ+ community, particularly through visibility in advertising campaigns. "The industry has made great strides in recent years to be more inclusive, but these efforts lack widespread consistency and tend to only feature Hollywood stars identifying as LGBTQ," she told BeautyIndependent. "Like all people who seek out beauty products, we want to see people in ads who look like us," she added. The company is also giving back to the LGBTQ+ community by donating a percentage of sales to different charities that support LGBTQ+ people and women's rights. How amazing is that?
BioGlitz
Get ready world, because you're about to be doused in glitter. And we love it. Saba Gray founded BioGlitz in 2015, an eco-friendly biodegradable glitter brand that is dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community and helping create a safe space for everybody. Gray actually started out hating the sparkly stuff because of the connection it had to traditional concepts of femininity and beauty, so decided it was time to take back the narrative. To do that, she created a company that made glitter gender-neutral, creating a way for people to have fun with self-expression no matter how they identify.
"We're working towards creating a sustainable haus of shine. One of inclusivity and self-expression that goes between fashion art and community," Gray and Kentucky store manager Timmy Singer told Queer KY. "We want to help normalize queer things and being weird to people here who may not be so accepting of these things," Singer added.
Singer was also open about how the company helped change their life and better understand their own sexuality. "Bioglitz really did change the trajectory of my life," they said. "The first queer rave we had here left me in literal tears. It has changed how I see myself and other people. It has made me more accepting of weirdness and queerness and everybody."
Jordan Samuel Skin
Founded in 2013 by Jordan Samuel, a former professional ballet dancer turned skin expert, Jordan Samuel Skin has become a leader in the skincare world. The brand has a wide range of products that aim to keep the skin looking totally flawless, from exfoliators to moisturizers to retinol products and cleaners.
Samuel, who is openly gay, created the business after noticing his own issues with skincare during his career as a dancer, and he's spoken multiple times about how his sexuality and his business intertwine. "Having a skin-care routine plays a major role in my life, especially as a gay man. Your routine is very personal. It's something that I've always taken as the finishing step in my identity, and I never feel completely ready without doing my skin-care routine," he told Allure.
But Samuel's focus now is on helping members of the LGBTQ+ community who still aren't getting the recognition and support they need. "The beauty community still has a long way to go in recognizing, honoring and celebrating Black, lesbian and trans lives. Specifically, there is an underrepresentation/lack of these individuals in marketing materials and collaborations as well as an appalling lack of offerings in shade ranges," he told BeautyIndependent. "Beauty products and tools are created to make us feel good and express ourselves. It is imperative that we welcome Black, trans and lesbian individuals and voices, so that all identities can feel supported and empowered to let their true identities shine."
Peace Out Skincare
The LGBTQ+-founded brand Peace Out Skincare is focused on making the world a better place for the community while keeping our skin glowing at the same time. With a wide range of different products available, including its famous acne patches, eye creams, retinol products, and moisturizers, Peace Out Skincare is another one of the admirable companies on our list that have teamed with The Trevor Project.
The brand was founded by Enrico Frezza, who decided to take matters into his own hands after failing to find products that could get his acne and blemishes under control. He was also inspired to help young LGBTQ+ people, particularly those struggling with their appearance.
"When I was a young gay man, I was constantly bombarded with all this imagery of the 'perfect male' — being told this is what I must look like to be loved or accepted. That caused me so much anxiety, plus, having severe acne made life at times horrible mentally for me," Frezza said on the brand's website. "When I started Peace Out, I knew that I needed to create a space for all LGBTQIA+ (people) to feel safe, skin positive, inclusive and understood. Peace Out, above all, is an open-arms brand — we are made for everyone, welcome everyone and support everyone."
=Love
As the name suggests, =Love (aka Equal Love) is all about celebrating the notion that love is love — and it's doing it through genderless scents. Founded by Ana María Hernández, Equal Love is another company breaking through the barriers of the idea that there are scents for women and scents for men, with a wide variety of scented products (including candles, body lotions, and soaps) made for everybody to enjoy.
"Equal Love is a brand with purpose, a genderless line of natural products. They were born out of the need to express myself and raise awareness about diversity. LOVE and beauty have no gender and are wonderfully diverse," Hernández explained on the company's website. "We created an exclusive essential oil blend to break free from gender stereotypes or roles. We believe that good personal care and confidence is universal."
The talented businesswoman also opened up to Refiney29 about how equality and inclusivity have always been some of the biggest driving forces behind the brand, ever since it was founded. "I want to open the conversation of diversity with my brand — diversity in the fullest of its meanings," she shared. "Seeing that diversity means breaking stereotypes. The visibility of that is very important, and that's been a motto of mine since I came out of the closet."
Non Gender Specific
With Non Gender Specific, you know exactly what you're getting — a genderless experience. The brand was created by the openly gay Andrew Glass, who got the inspiration for the brand due to his own experiences within the industry.
"As a gay man, equality has always been important to me. I knew that if I ever started my own brand, equality would play a huge part in that brand's core values," he explained to Teen Vogue, adding that he decided to take the gender out of beauty products after working in the men's skincare market and noticing how much of a divide there really was between men's and women's beauty products. "It became my mission to change that. As someone who has always wanted to feel accepted by others for who I am, I wanted to create a brand that accepted everyone else," he said.
Non Gender Specific offers a stunning range of gender-neutral fragrances and skincare products, including cleansers, masks, and creams, all of which use genderless packaging. One of the best parts, though? Each product not only makes use of neutral packaging when it's sent out, but also has a strong focus on sustainability,since the company makes use of treeless paper in shipping.
Makeup By Mario
You may know Mario Dedivanovic best as Kim Kardashian's incredibly talented makeup artist, who's featured in more episodes of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" than we can even count. The hugely popular makeup artist launched his own brand of cosmetics, Makeup By Mario, in 2020, one year after bravely coming out while on stage alongside Kardashian at the 2019 American Influencer Awards — and he hasn't looked back since.
Makeup by Mario was created with everybody in mind, with the products being designed to be universally flattering on all genders, skin tones, and skin types. "With Makeup by Mario, I've taken my signature techniques and transformed them into accessible pro products inspired by the ones I've loved and used throughout my career," Dedivanovic said of his cosmetics in a press release back in 2020. "When I teach my Masterclasses, I take my students through my entire thought process and demonstrate all of my techniques. Now, my techniques and philosophy are infused into my products," he added.
Malin+Goetz
From skin products to haircare to candles, Malin+Goetz has it all. Founded by couple Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz, the brand relies on simple products to make the world's beauty routines a little less complicated, with natural ingredients made for all genders. "Andrew noticed that many small independent start up beauty businesses were being sold off to large corporations like Estée Lauder and L'Oréal. He suggested that we pool our experiences of design and beauty and fill a void — make skincare easy and uncomplicated," Malin explained of how the company was founded in March 2004, while speaking to Museum Hotel.
The couple has staunchly continued to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community in interviews and across social media ever since, proudly opening up about their love and their desire to help others. "It is with enormous pride that matthew + I joyfully revel, + earnestly fight for equality + dignity for the LGBTQ+ community at home + abroad," Goetz wrote in a sweet Instagram post in June 2023.
Roots & Crowns
Owned by Max Turk, who identifies as queer, Roots & Crowns offers a range of natural products, including natural fragrances, herbal remedies, and botanical skincare items. "This iteration of my work started from a place of bonding with plants and seeing firsthand how even the psycho-emotional power of plants is so helpful!" Turk told Ritual Dyes. "People begged me to make herbal products that were ingestible and applicable for healing the body. So I started my tincture-based bitters line, then salves, and then on and on!"
The company proudly celebrates the LGBTQ+ community on its Instagram account, including posting an inspiring message in honor of Pride month 2023. "Bless all queers with empowered expression; protection, courage, and fortification; support and love; the ability to be proud and with boundless joy!" one Instagram post read alongside a stunning video showing an LGBTQ+ flag made out of flowers. "We are magic!"
One/Size
Another brand on our list, One/Size is again from a familiar face you may just recognize, popular YouTuber and beauty influencer Patrick Starrr. The openly gay star has been very vocal about his love of makeup through his hundreds of videos shared online, and created his brand with everyone in mind. "I was shopping for clothing in a store that said it would have plus sizes, and there weren't any clothes there available in my size. And I literally had an epiphany. Unlike clothing, makeup is one-size-fits-all," he told The Cut of how the brand came about.
Inclusivity in all forms has been one of the number one priorities for One/Size, as Starrr even made a point of hiring non-cis women as models to show off his collection following its launch. "In 2015, I was the first boy to have a collaboration at Sephora with Formula X nail polishes. It sold out, and it was three shelves of Patrick Starrr," he told Refinery29 of how he's breaking down barriers. "Now, being the mutha and giving that moment to my children for their first collaboration in Sephora? I think that's so badass." And we totally agree.
Trixie Cosmetics
Another former "RuPaul's Drag Race" star, Trixie Mattel is a superstar drag queen who's made the transition from reality TV into the makeup world. The drag queen (one of the many who paved the way for our favorite makeup trends) launched her own makeup range back in 2019 after noticing a gap in the market for people who want quality products that aren't totally boring. "When you start to watch people shop for makeup for a living you start to realize that drag queens and people, they want the same thing: We all want products that work well, that are priced well and are fun to apply," Mattel told Fashionista. "I noticed that they call it a makeup routine; I'm like, 'Mama, if it feels routine, switch it up.' So all of my products are very fun and they're sort of daring."
For Pride Month 2023, Trixie Cosmetics went all out to show its pride by with stunning bright and glittery makeup shades to help everyone celebrate in style without being totally basic. But it's not just about being out and proud for a few weeks of the year, as Trixie Cosmetics vowed on Instagram to celebrate Pride at all times.
Pärdē
If you're looking to change things up on your nails and try a shade you may not be able to get elsewhere, try Pärdē. The brand was co-founded by Troy Solomon and Gregory Littley, who are both members of the LGBTQ+ community. The company is unique in the sense that it doesn't market its gorgeous nail polishes to men or to women, as the brand is fully inclusive of everyone who wants to try a little (or a whole lot of) self-expression on their nails.
"We want to create a brand that everyone could feel seen and represented in — a brand where we could build a community of people from all different backgrounds and identities to finally dispel the idea that nail polish itself has any specific identity," Troy shared while speaking to Teen Vogue. "This isn't a nail polish brand 'for men' or 'for women' — it's a brand for anyone who wants to wear nail polish because that's as complicated as it should be," he added, proving nail color really is for everybody.
#MyDentity
#MyDentity is all about bringing the fun back to hair color, with a range of super fun and hard-to-find shades on the traditional market. It was founded by Guy Tang, who struggled with his own identity before coming out as gay. He opened up to Beauty Launchpad about how he deals with the haters as he goes from strength to strength with his business, sharing, "Instead of being mad about how others dislike my ambition, I share my knowledge with them. I carry that mentality with me every day." He added, "It gives me such purpose when I share. I think because I struggled with my own identity and didn't have anybody to trust, I want to give people who felt like me someone they can look to."
Tang has been vocal about the changes he thinks need to happen within the beauty world to help the LGBTQ+ community, including giving advice to those experiencing the same things he went through when it comes to their sexuality. "When you are truly yourself, there is a type of energy that comes out of everyone. We need to empower everyone to not be insecure and hide things about themselves they may think are 'weird' or 'odd,'" he explained to BeautyIndependent. "Most of the time, those are your own opinions and criticisms. Don't let hate allow you to overanalyze yourself. We are all unique in our own ways, and that is what makes us special," Tang added. Totally agree!
Jecca Blac
Jessica Blackler founded Jecca Black with one big thing in mind, creating makeup for everybody. And that she did. Blacker actually began her career offering makeup lessons to transgender people who wanted to learn how to better express themselves, and her brand has a strong voice when it comes to making it clear everyone is included in the makeup movement.
"I am a strong believer that makeup should be used by anyone who wishes to, no matter your age or gender," Blacker told Teen Vogue. "I realized that my clients felt very overlooked by the beauty industry, as there were a lack of products that served their needs and they were never reflected in the brands. Jecca Blac celebrates individuality," she added.
But Jecca Blac, which offers vegan and cruelty-free products, most certainly isn't just about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month. It's a constant reminder of how important is to always be yourself. "As someone who is a founder of a LGBTQ+-focused brand and part of the community, there is nothing more frustrating than when it hits June and all brands decide to add a LGBTQ+ flag in their logo. Pride is a time of the year that celebrates the community; it's not a party for most, but it's a time to reflect on the progress we've made," she said, urging more companies to incorporate more support for the community into their products and marketing campaigns every day.
Sappho New Paradigm
Named after the poet Sappho —who lived around the 1600s and is famous for writing poetry about love between two women —longtime makeup artist JoAnn Fowler founded Sappho New Paradigm after a conversation she had with "The L Word" actor Mia Kirshner, who told her she didn't want makeup on her face that had parabens in it. Fowler, who was working as a makeup artist at the time, decided it was time she needed to start her own brand with clean cosmetics (which are also organic and vegan) at the forefront. "Our mission is to offer the world high-performing, organic, vegan, diverse beauty formulations that support a living breathing world," she told TZR.
In addition to promoting clean beauty, the brand is also heavily focused on celebrating the LGBTQ community, of which Kirshner is a member. "We have lost wholesale accounts and consumers once they realized what we stood for and what our beliefs are; perhaps they didn't know who Sappho was at first, or their mentality changed and we didn't reflect their values, or they saw a post we shared supporting trans women...," the brand wrote in a candid Instagram post. "It's important to support 2SLGBTQIA+ owned businesses year-round, but during Pride Month, while the light is shone on us, we all appreciate the support, the shares, the likes, or however you choose to help spread the word."