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Human Interest Stories

Human Interest Stories

Human Interest Stories

The 10 Most Popular Makeup Brands

By Laila Abuelhawa

There are thousands of makeup brands in existence in the United States alone. With that many out there, it may seem overwhelming when deciding which brand to pick. There are a few key factors to consider when deciding what to put on your face. The quality of the product and if the company is cruelty-free are some deal-breakers for some people. Then, factor in marketability, like which celebrities are endorsing the products, as well as their social media content. In 2023, it is obvious that TikToks, Reels, and YouTube videos are what attract people, so it only makes sense for a makeup company to follow suit and have video content daily to keep new customers coming in.

The makeup and cosmetic industry is blossoming, with predictions by The Branded Agency indicating a value of $805.61 billion by 2023, a substantial growth from $532.43 billion in 2017. The makeup market is a competitive one. Research suggests that brand recognition plays a pivotal role in consumer choices, with 59% of consumers favoring products from brands they recognize and 21% willing to buy a product purely because they appreciate the brand.

A study conducted by Hey Goldie analyzed over sixty different makeup brands and their popularity. For each brand, average Google searches for the United States and Instagram posts containing the brand’s name were counted, then dividing the sum by the years the brand has been around in order to even out the results and rank the top 10 most popular makeup brands.

Keep scrolling to see which makeup brands are the most popular in the US.

  • 10. Too Faced

    Founded in 1998 by Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson, the California-based brand ranks 10th, with 117,000 monthly Google searches. In June 2022, Blandino and Johnson departed the brand to take on new entrepreneurial projects and endeavors. At press time, there are 6,381,803 posts mentioning the Estée Lauder Companies subsidiary, so their score is 259,952. Too Faced’s most popular products are their nude eyeshadow palettes and their volumizing mascara, cheekily named “Better Than Sex.”

  • 9. Charlotte Tilbury

    As one of the newer makeup brands that is successful, Charlotte Tillbury was formed in 2013 by a British makeup artist of the same name in London. The brand features high-quality products that are long-lasting, and as a result they often sell out. Tilbury, who is 50 years old, is also a contributing beauty editor for British Vogue.

  • 8. Sephora

    Sephora’s cosmetics company launched all the way back in 1970! On Instagram, Sephora has 10,317,631 tagged posts (not only for their makeup but for being a retailer). On top of that, Sephora is searched monthly on Google 4,900,000 times. With these factored in with their founded date, Sephora ranks 8th with a score of 287,125.

  • 7. NYX

    NYX was formed in Los Angeles in 1999 by Toni Ko. It was named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. Ko sold the company to L’Oréal in 2014 for $500 million. NYX is a cruelty-free brand that offers vegan cosmetics, and with high-quality products at accessible prices, this makes the brand popular among makeup artists and beauty bloggers.

  • 6. Urban Decay

    Urban Decay was formed in 1996. With 85,000 monthly searches and over 11 million Instagram posts, the cosmetics company ranks sixth with a score of 433,814. The brand’s headquarters is in Newport Beach, California, and is another subsidiary of L’Oréal. They are most well-known for their Naked collection eyeshadow palettes and their All Nighter setting spray.

  • 5. Morphe

    Founded by Chris and Linda Tawli in 2008, Morphe is famous worldwide for its eyeshadow palettes and brushes. The total average monthly searches and Instagram posts is 8,478,528. Divided by 15 years since its creation, Morphe results in fifth place with 565,235.

  • 4. MAC Cosmetics

    The Canadian brand comes in fourth. MAC (Make-up Art Cosmetics) was founded 39 years ago, in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo with headquarters in New York. MAC is a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies. MAC registered 474,000 U.S. average monthly searches, the second highest on the list, and was mentioned in 29,190,380 Instagram posts for a total of 29,664,380. Then divided by 39, the final score is 760,625.

  • 3. Fenty Beauty

    Rihanna’s brand is third with 194,000 average monthly searches in America and 5,598,525 Instagram posts. Fenty Beauty was founded in 2017 and was among the first of a series of celebrity-led beauty companies. The brand was launched in September of that year during the New York Fashion Week. The total searches and posts divided by the years the brand has been around results in a final score of 965,421.

  • 2. Anastasia Beverly Hills

    In second comes Anastasia Beverly Hills, founded in 1997 by Romanian-born Anastasia Soare and based in Beverly Hills, California. The brand registered 63,000 average monthly searches in the US, as well as 25.6 million Instagram posts containing the brand’s name. ABH was released in 1997, so with its total number of searches and Instagram posts, has a final score of 990,026.

  • 1. Huda Beauty

    Huda Beauty comes in first with 77,000 US average monthly searches and a whopping 30.3 million Instagram posts containing the brand’s name. The brand was created in 2013 by Huda Kattan, an Iranian-American businesswoman who, unsatisfied by the false eyelashes sold on the American market, decided to make her own, then starting a snowball effect which was followed by a line of products that now is exclusively sold in Sephora all around the world and is among the best sellers. As the brand has been around for 10 years, the relation between them and the total searches and posts is 3,039,855, the highest on the list.

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