9 New Luxury Beauty Brands On Their Way To Icon Status

There was a time when no one knew the name Coco Chanel, the word “MAC” was more commonly followed by “truck” than “cosmetics,” and La Mer was just French for “the sea.” Today, that level of obscurity is almost incomprehensible: Chanel, MAC, and La Mer are household names and beauty industry icons — a fate that almost certainly awaits the nine new luxury beauty brands below.

Take, for instance, BYNACHT. The German skincare line recently launched on Net-a-Porter with nighttime skincare products engineered by dermatologists, aromatherapists, and “sleep scientists” (yes, that’s a thing) to deliver better skin while you snooze. “Dozens of intercontinental flights per year resulted in me being almost constantly jet lagged and sleep-deprived — a condition that soon took a toll on my skin, too,” Jessica Hoyer, the brand’s founder, tells The Zoe Report. “I decided to combine sleep- and skin-perfecting products to create the most effective skincare regimen ever.” Products that do the hard work while you rest easy? That’s true luxury.

Ahead, discover nine indulgent new beauty brands that launched in the past year — from high fashion makeup (the just-released, 100 percent clean Victoria Beckham Beauty) to skincare superstars (like BeautyStat, newly developed by a cosmetic chemist and already a cult-favorite) to the best neck-to-toe body care (the hottest beauty category of 2019).

1. Costa Brazil

Skincare brand Costa Brazil is the latest project from Francisco Costa, the longtime Creative Director at Calvin Klein. As the brand name suggests, the Brazilian designer pays homage to his roots with natural ingredients sourced from the Amazon rainforest — like breu, an anti-inflammatory, energy-clearing resin used in indigenous ceremonies and kaya, a new-to-market antioxidant. What’s better than the minimalist packaging (a very Costa touch)? The fact that Costa Brazil’s products boost the Amazon’s local economy and support land conservation efforts. The brand has helped plant more than 6,000 trees since its launch.

2. BYNACHT

“If you ask me for my current favorite product, I’d name the Hypercharged Glass Skin Serum,” Hoyer says of BYNACHT’s soon-to-launch creation. “To get the most out of the body's nocturnal skin renewal program, I had to create a formula that reaches and penetrates all skin layers equally, is deeply hydrating, eliminates free radicals, performs antibacterial effects and refines pores — depending on the respective function of each skin layer. They key to achieve this is a combination of eight hyaluronic acids of different molecular weights and structure, with each of them performing in a different layer of the skin.” It’s basically morning dew in a bottle.

3. Victoria Beckham Beauty

When Victoria Beckham first announced her plan to launch a makeup brand, beauty fans collectively asked... Does the world need another celebrity line? But as soon as Victoria Beckham Beauty brought its clean, Posh-inspired products to market, the answer was obvious: Yes. Yes, it does. The product to try? Lid Lustre Crystal Infused Eyeshadow, which nods to today's glitter makeup trend with natural, eco-friendly mica rather than microplastic particles.

4. Act+Acre

“At Act+Acre we know how important a healthy scalp is, and thus, we created our three-step process: Detox, Cleanse, and Condition,” Helen Reavey, a celebrity hairstylist and the line’s co-founder, tells The Zoe Report. Since launching almost a year ago, Act+Acre has quickly become one of Instagram’s favorite haircare brands — if not because of its beautiful bottles, then because of its top-notch ingredients. “All our products are created using the Cold Process Method, which uses ice cold water at high pressure to combine our essential oils and ingredients,” Reavey explains. “This ensures the active ingredients remain fresh and highly potent, just as nature intended.”

5. Nécessaire

“It’s face-grade skincare for your body,” Randi Christiansen and Nick Axelrod, the co-founders of Necessaire, tell TZR of their body care line, which is only months old and already shaking up the category. The range includes a tight edit of core products featuring clean, science-backed ingredients, like the Body Wash and the Sex Gel. But the product that’ll have you hooked? The Body Lotion. “Someone on Instagram said to us, ‘You really cracked the lotion code,’ and we love that,” the co-founders say. “Body lotion is a tough one to crack. Most formulas we have tried are highly fragranced or ultra greasy. However, Necessaire's The Body Lotion absorbs almost instantly, yet leaves you feeling moisturized and soothed all day.”

6. Tom Ford Research

If luxury beauty is what you’re after, look no further than Tom Ford Research, the brand-new and very buzzy skincare line from the iconic fashion designer. Ford’s Crème Concentrate, packed with silicone and lab-isolated tea extracts, will set you back $450 — but according to early fans, it’s worth every penny.

7. natureofthings

“We believe that it is right to feel good,” proclaims new natural beauty brand natureofthings in a press release. “But fast answers and quick fixes won’t get us there. Taking care of oneself is a daily practice.” The luxe line turns everyday acts into mindful rituals — from bathing (care of the Restorative Floral Bath) to supplements (via the nootropic-infused Lucidity Powder) to skincare (with the Superlative Body Balm, packed with full-spectrum hemp extract).

8. BeautyStat

The Zoe Report regularly features input from cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, so when Robinson launched BeautyStat skincare, I knew it would be good. BeautyStat’s initial offering, a stabilized vitamin C serum, sold out on Violet Grey almost immediately — and then sold out again. Its latest product, the probiotic- and ceramide-filled Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream, only launched a few weeks ago and is destined for a similar fate. (In other words: Add to cart while you can.)

9. Esker

Body care brand Esker proves that “all-natural” and “luxury” aren’t mutually exclusive concepts. Its functional, aromatherapeutic cleansers and oils are beloved by Goop, Net-a-Porter, and Jenni Kayne alike. “A lot of wonderful retailers have really believed in us from the beginning and that’s been immensely helpful,” Shannon Davenport, the brand’s founder, tells TZR. “We also designed our packaging to promote transparency: Each color on the box coordinates with the botanical actives and their strength in the formula. People love learning about the formulas and respond to the idea of using color to better understand the plant ingredients in a really natural, intuitive way.”