Best of Beauty Awards 2020: Beauty Brand

Beauty : Love

09 December 2020

Because Beauty Awards 2020: New Brands

Rachel-Singer Clark is a contributing beauty editor at Because.

2020 has been a year where we've all had to take a good hard look at ourselves and our beauty requirements. Stripping back to basics seemed so easy...but what can't we live without?!

Never before has it been taken so literally but DIY beauty has become a new way of life for some of us in 2020. So many of our beloved salons had to close their doors, or limit slots, so we the public have had to adapt and be creative with our options.

And hasn’t it been fun, I hear you say? We at Because magazine HQ love a challenge, so these beauty awards have given us the best time to discover, play and truthfully try out what’s been on the market in 2020 and report back to you with our best findings.

The second category is: Best New Beauty Brands of 2020!

To launch a beauty brand in 2020 is no mean feat. Brand owners needed to adapt quickly and hit the ground running or risk getting left behind or worse, blending into the background of a saturated market. But these 3 up and coming brands are part of the former with outstanding product lines that I followed up with, read up on, bought and tried at home to see if they were kit-worthy. The results? Well, let's say I was not disappointed…

WINNER: VAPOUR BEAUTY

This is a new ethical brand with sustainable packaging based in New Mexico.

The brand is a full colour cosmetic line consisting of foundations, concealers, blushers, eye colours, lip colours – they've got everything. So although it was hard to choose, I especially liked the range of eyeshadow quads they offer. They've got great base colours to accentuate the eye; they're highly pigmented so the colour transfers onto brushes easily and blends like a dream.
Their velvet gloss comes in a round compact with gorgeous deep berry hues. My top tip? Just dab onto the centre of your lips then blend out gently. For the sustainable stalwarts out there, they've also got a vegan brush line.

The brand is not leaving their customers behind amidst the various lockdowns and restrictions as they offer video consultations so you can be helped and advised before or after purchasing from them – genius.

2nd PLACE: SWEED LASHES

Designed and created by make-up artist Gabriella Elio, their line of lashes is outstanding and exactly what the lash industry needed.

With its pro-like finish and effect for your lashes, this range caters exactly to you.

It has a huge range to choose from including brown-coloured single lashes (FYI, that's never been done before!) and can help you fulfil a more simple effect. On the other hand, you can pump up the volume or intensity depending on what you need.

The band being so small is the most helpful part as it means you can easily apply it to lash line: no pre-bending necessary. Another plus is the lash lift mascara, which has permanent status in my own wash bag and I use religiously.

3rd PLACE: HIGHR COLLECTIVE

Based in LA and London, Highr Collective is a clean-beauty brand specialising in all things lips. Their lipstick range is particularly interesting with a small capsule of 5 colours at an affordable price point of £22. The shades are simple and wearable, offering red and pink shades but the nude beige ‘chateau’ shade is my favourite. However, if you're feeling festive then the scarlet red 'Bravado' is great for Christmas time.
The brand was created to cater to the everyday woman whilst making sustainable packaging, something I am always trying be more aware of with my purchases. Their ingredients aren’t harmful on the environment (no silicones, palm oil or micro-plastics here!) plus they record all freight, employee travel etc. and offset it to a charity they want to support. If that isn't doing your part then I don't know what is!