14 Beauty & Skincare Brands That Deserve Your Money & Attention

This line of pocket-friendly and organic (no, the two don't have to be mutually exclusive) body care is currently making a mark in the market for its high-quality range of face care, body care, and hair care products. Riverside Nectar honours the goodness of nature and puts it to good use in their 'shop by nature section'. Here you can pick up bottles full of healing ingredients like activated charcoal, cucumber, lemon, almond, aloe vera, goji berry and so much more. And since we're strictly into reading labels that only make sense to us, it helps to know that everything on Riverside Nectar is free of sulfates, silicone, paraben, and toxins. Ethically and sustainably made at the prices of INR 399 - INR 599, this new beauty and body care brand is luxury at a bargain! Read more here.

Recommended: Charcoal Face Wash, Argan & Shea Butter Conditioner, and Apple Cider Shampoo

Hills + Herbs says it all in its name but we must dig deeper and give you the stunning introduction this brand totally deserves. Though we already love the eco-friendly, plastic-free packaging and the rustic "natural" look of Hills + Herbs, the actual products speak for themselves too. Only flowers and herbs make into their skincare and lifestyle products, and this is after the founder dedicated time to studying and testing natural and sustainable skincare. The brand also responsibly sources ingredients from small and independent farmers in Kashmir, Himachal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttrakhand. Hills + Herbs focus is also to empower with nature, and thus far, their botanical soaps and shampoo bars have been hits. Prices range between INR 250 to INR 450. Read more here.

Recommended: Hemp & Hibiscus Solid Shampoo, Moringa & Chamomile Botanical Soap and Fruit Enzyme Vitamin C Face Mask.

Featured on Elle India, Grazia and pretty much every beauty/skincare influencer and blogger's handles - there are tons of reasons why we love Ozone Signature. First off, every oil carefully crafted to pamper your scalp and skin has made its way from a certified organic farm into a bottle. Ozone Signature's signature recipes are also all about that ancient ayurvedic life. Mixtures derived from rare plants, unaltered and potent, target all concerns - hair fall to pigmentation, scars, and wrinkles. The complex oils may be a little pricey, but a little goes a long way, so Ozone Signature is definitely a wise investment. Besides, shelling out a few dollars for some R&R never hurt nobody. Prices for the oils range between INR 975 to INR 2,500. Read more here. 

Recommended: Kumkumadi Thailam, Bhringaraja Taila, and Purifying Face Cleanser

You've got to have some faith and patience in Faith & Patience, but trust that it won't be long before you see results. After all, a secret but not-so-secret ingredient makes it into all of their products - camel milk. You heard that right, Faith & Patience has concocted India's first camel milk shampoo and conditioner made from fresh camel milk and the reviews are par excellence. Super hydrating, strengthening, conditioning and hair-loving are only a few of the adjectives we've heard of the hair products from this dermatologically tested and sulfate-free brand. For your body care routine, they've got camel milk wax and soaps too. Basically, a whole collection (hair, skin, and body) of soothing and aesthetically pleasing (some cool packaging and colours - red/blue/green shampoos) products for you to give a whirl. Prices range between INR 950 to INR 2,000. Read more here.

Recommended: Camel At Gym Everyday Shampoo, Camel In Tahiti Deep Conditioner, and Minty Camel Anti Dandruff Shampoo.

When you're promised skincare that works with the physiology of your skin, how do you pass that up? Skin Pot Co is a hot new skincare brand that lets your bare face radiance shine and comes through with the help of science and nature-inspired formulas. Boasting a full range of skin/face products like washes, serums, exfoliation peels, sleeping masks, and more, Skin Pot Co goes through the effort of breaking down scientific ingredients and compounds to the T, explaining what it means, has, and does (other brands, take note). Expect skin that's deep cleansed, toned, and hydrated after a quick sesh using everything Skin Pot Co. How's that for some proper TLC? Prices range between INR 500 to INR 1,500. Read more here.

Recommended: Intense Repair Hydration Serum, Hexa Repair Sleeping Mask, and Hyper Repair Exfoliation Peel.

Peau Care existed back in 2020 but the popularity of the brand seems to have skyrocketed only in 2021, with the likes of Dr. Ankur Sarin (MD Dermatology, drskincure_sarinskin on IG) and Dr Jangid (Hair Transplant Surgeon, doc.jangid on IG) endorsing their products as effective. Calling themselves a "cosmeceutical startup", this brand's "honest skincare" was formulated keeping in mind the climate of India and how specific skin types react to these seasonal changes and what it needs for protection and care. For visible results, all of their products have a mix of safe chemicals + organic ingredients put together by a team of Indian and French skincare experts. Their oil-free mineral based sunscreens and potent face serums come highly recommended. Oh, and their packaging is 90% plastic-free. Prices range between INR 499 to INR 1,190. Read more here.

Recommended: Clair Peau Serum - Anti Acne & Anti Ageing Face Serum, L'Eau Shield - Oil Free Sunscreen and Ascorbic FE - Vitamin C Serum.

Sova's skin and hair care was a personal discovery. I tried their Wild Mogra & Olive Oil Conditioner and Sage & Rhubarb Bathing Bar and was pleasantly surprised. The conditioner, although meant for regular hair worked well on my curly hair. It's locked in moisture and made my curls softer. The bathing bar on the other hand, has a lovely scent and is super moisturising. It's also a pretty big bar (priced INR 225) that lasted me over months. The reason I picked Sova was because they are an all-natural, paraben-free brand but also because their labels/ingredients (all native, like Coorgi oranges, Keralan cinnamon and Kashmiri walnut) aren't vague or misleading. Turns out, from the noise they receive on social media and LBB (a customer writes, "I could see lot of difference in my skin, loved it"), the brand is pretty popular with other influencers too! Prices for their skin and hair care products range between INR 225 to INR 1,500. The brand also curates gift packages. Read more here.

Recommended: Sage & Rhubarb Bathing Bar, Wild Mogra & Olive Oil Conditioner and Shea Butter & Kumari Body Lotion.

Everybody who shopped from Harkoi on LBB has rated this brand new brand 5-stars and rightly so! This is because their first-of-its-kind paraben-free, vegan and cruelty-free nail paints deliver on what they promise (LBB Crew has used them too) - they're easy to apply, hydrating, quick-drying, long-lasting and have the goodness of glycerine. The range of colours are pretty cool and unlike what we've spotted elsewhere, all formulated to suit Indian skin tones, basically, their range of super dope nail paints are for "harkoi", meaning everyone in English. Read more here.

Recommended: Dusty Rose With Gold, Sage Green and Muted Coral

True Frog was a discovery we didn't know we were going to love as much as we do! First up, the branding is on point, in fact, several customers on LBB and off have pointed out how much they love the packaging and the brand mascot. True Frog initially started out with a range of hair care products, and Ahalya from the crew began her curly hair journey with the no-nonsense Shampoo for Curls, sharing that it feels great on her hair, brings out the curls after the first few washes and smells nice. We recommend them obviously because the brand is non-toxic, free from allergens and vegan and cruelty-free but most of all they are transparent in their ingredients and results. That's not all, True frog recently launched a few skincare products, and safe to say our co-founder and CEO is obsessed with the Bakuchiol & Olive Squalane Face Oil! Read more here.

Recommended: Shampoo for Curls, Deep Conditioning Mask and Bakuchiol & Olive Squalane Face Oil.

Safe to say Birds of Paradyes took the internet by storm when they first launched (their meteoric rise on IG and rave reviews by stars, influencers and the masses is proof). The power of a unique and exactly-what-the-customer-wants product, eh? If you're wondering what it is, it's only India's FIRST semi-permanent hair colour brand that also happens to vegan, cruelty-free, boasts ayurvedic extracts and is hyrdrating and free of all nasties - parabens, sulfates, ammonia and ppd. Their range of colours is pretty wild too, with options like Carola Pink, Saxony Yellow, Superba Aqua. These are safe to use and well-tested, of course, lasting about 10-15 washes. Read our in-depth review about the brand here, with testimonials from influencers and models. Oh, BOP's aftercare conditioner is just as if not even more popular than the dyes itself and they have a safe bleach in the making. 

Recommended: Cormii Purple, Superba Aqua and Colour Care Conditioner

Another LBB Crew favourite, Boss Lady Cosmetics' Hug All Day Waterproof Eye Flick is my go-to liner! What we love most about this up-and-coming, certified cruelty-free beauty label is how easy their products are to use and that they are multi-purpose. After the life-saving eyeliner, it's their newest launch, the Playstix that we like most. These matte and metallic shades can be used on the eyes, face, lips, and body. The texture? Non-chunky, creamy, highly pigmented yet smooth! Beauty influencers are taken by the versatility of this product and have put together some super cool looks, check out MUA Nikitah and Anurag Arya's creations on Boss Lady's IG page. Creamy, long-lasting lipsticks are part of the collection here too. You can also #sendbackyourempties with Boss Lady Cosmetics, with the brand practicing eco-friendly methods of disposal, you can send back your empty Boss Lady Products and they will recycle them for you. Prices start at INR 675 and stay under INR 1,000. Read more here.

Recommended: Playstix, Hug All Day Eyeliner and Late Night Sins Poplighter

LBB's content lead, Aakanksha discovered The Sassy Thing, used their awesome products, wrote a glowing recommendation here and rightly so! This women-led sexual and menstrual wellness brand is breaking away from the stigmas around period and sex care with natural and tested products like pH-balanced, non-sticky and all natural sexual lube, pubic hair oil (that you can use everywhere) and our favourite, the period cramp care roll on. Aakanksha calls it magic! Apart from these stellar reviews what should also make you invest in The Sassy Thing today is the fact that this a brand built by women for women, so you know everything on here works! You can shop for them on LBB. 

Recommended: Period Cramp Care Roll On, DTF Water-based Sexual Lube and Neat Body Wash

Before you get to checking out House of Makeup, head to their "Happy Customer" and "Blogger Says" IG highlights for first hand reviews of their products. Fair warning, you'll have to go through a lot of reviews but good news is they are all dependable and speak only good things about the brand! Naturally so, because House of Makeup makes all of their products in-house, using clean, vegan formulas. Their products are also rigorously tested but not on animals, (totally, cruelty-free, we love!) to make sure they deliver on what they promise. And since this is a house of makeup, it has everything from nail paints, liquid lippies, kajals and more. Read more here.

Recommended: Good Vibes Only Liquid Lipstick, Double Duty Kohl + Liner and Strawberry Bark Matte Nail Lacquer

Secret Alchemist came recommended by our co-founder and CEO, so we had to check out the brand. After some digging, we discovered that this aromatherapy brand's products are "true miracle workers" (not our words, but those of happy customers) and in short, a formula of alchemy and therapy. Their relief essential oils, are potent, smell divine and boast ingredients that actually target and heal. Aromatherapy is proven to soothe headaches and relieve stress, Secret Alchemist takes this philosophy a step further with oils for targeted concerns -- everything from joint pains to back aches. We love the packaging too, straightforward, luxe with fine print that one can understand. The also posts about clinical aromatherapy and its rising benefits in many of their posts, so definitely check that out to educate yourself before investing in them. Secret Alchemist also crafts a super popular pore reducing gel called Refine. Many beauty bloggers have said good things about this product.

Recommended: Balance, Relief, Clear Essentials Oils