Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) is celebrating its 65th anniversary, and marked the occasion by honoring the beauty industry's top 65 independent businesses at its inaugural Indie65 Awards. The ceremony was held on October 22, 2019. 

CEW's Indie65 Awards were designed to celebrate the most interesting, impressive and noteworthy "indies" – those that should be on the beauty industry's radar – all ranging from $1 Million to $1 Billion in size. The exclusive list of brands was carefully curated by an Advisory Board comprised of CEW Board members and additional key industry stakeholders such as retailers and financial advisors.

Honored brands had the opportunity to meet potential retailers and industry executives while participating in discussions surrounding the acquisition of market share in a competitive landscape.

Carlotta Jacobson, president, CEW, commented, "For more than six decades, CEW has served as a resource for the beauty industry at large, helping brands and individuals gain access to invaluable business information. We've observed the indie brand segment within CEW membership grow exponentially and are proud to continue serving as an industry resource – providing support to drive their businesses forward."

Indie brands are growing at a rapid pace -- the direct sales of top-selling "Instabrands" and digital native brands has grown an estimated 12 percent in the first half of 2019, up 3 percent from 2018, according to The NPD Group.  

Stay tuned -- CEW will continue to assess the indie segment to unveil a new, curated list of brands annually.

Honored Brands 

Under $5 million

·       Alchimie Forever
·       Alpyn Beauty
·       Lawless Beauty
·       Loli Beauty
·       Pinrose
·       Saint Jane
·       Sara Happ, Inc.
·       Uma Oils
·       Unsun Cosmetics
·       Yuni Beauty

$5 million to $10 million

·       Aquis
·       Augustinus Bader
·       Dose of Colors
·       Hey Honey
·       Jouer
·       Kjaer Weis
·       Mented Cosmetics
·       One Love Organics
·       Urban Skin RX*
·       Youth to the People

*A company represen­tative claims that the brand's revenue numbers now place it in the $10-20 million category.

$10 million to $20 million

·       Dermaflash LLC
·       Dr. Barbara Sturm Skincare
·       Makeup Geek
·       Patchology
·       Summer Fridays
·       The Honey Pot
·       Winky Lux

$20 million to $50 million

·       Briogeo
·       Farsáli
·       Frank Body
·       Grande Cosmetics
·       Invisibobble
·       Milk Makeup
·       Nudestix
·       Ofra Cosmetics
·       Ouai
·       Peach & Lily
·       Prai Beauty
·       Raw Sugar Living
·       RMS Beauty
·       Rodial
·       Wander Beauty

$50 million to $100 million

·       Amika
·       By Terry
·       Charlotte Tilbury Beauty
·       Coola/Bare Republic
·       Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare
·       Tata Harper
·       The Balm

$100 million to $150 million

·       Beautyblender
·       Drunk Elephant
·       Glossier
·       Olaplex
·       Pacifica
·       Pixi Beauty
·       Sunday Riley

$150 million to $200 million

·       Chantecaille Beauté
·       Josie Maran

$250 million to $300 million

·       Caudalie

$300 million to $350 million

·       Beautycounter

$400 million to $450 million

·       Revolution Beauty

$500 million to $1 billion

·       Huda Beauty
·       Kylie Jenner Cosmetics
·       Sisley

More than $1 billion

·       Rodan + Fields


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