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Beauty, Makeup, Shopping

Makeup Made in the USA

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I recently watched an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver about Fashion that focused on where fast fashion aka inexpensive and trendy clothes are made, who makes them, and what kind of conditions they are made in (spoiler alert: they’re mostly made by children in developing countries in terrible and unsafe conditions for little pay). This inspired me to do a post about makeup and beauty products that are made in the USA. It was SO hard to find information about this!!

The best way to find out where a product is made is to look at the packaging which usually has the country of origin or where the products was made. The problem comes when you don’t have the packaging yet or are seeking out American made products and then the research becomes a bit more difficult. Lucky for you all I went through my makeup collection and I emailed a ton of these companies to find out where they manufacture their makeup to help you out! Here’s a few companies that make their cosmetics in the USA that you should check out:

Makeup Made in the USA

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1. ColourPop – (CF)

(Source) Great news, there are some makeup products that are high quality, affordable, and made not only in the US, but right here in Los Angeles! If you haven’t heard about ColourPop yet they have fantastically pigmented lipsticks (called “lippies”), coordinating lip pencils, and eyeshadows that are all $5 each! They come in tons of amazing colors and I really feel that this brand comes up with some of the most interesting, trendy shades on the market. Plus, at $5 a pop you can afford to experiment! This company is also cruelty free and they always post swatches on different skin tones which is also awesome! Their products are currently only available online.

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2. theBalm – (CF)

(Source) LOVE this brand. I’m actually going to do a post about my favorite products from theBalm at some point because I recently realized I use a decent amount of their products on a regular basis/it’s one of my most used makeup brands! Kyle Richards is a big fan of their blush.

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3. Makeup Geek – (CF)

(Source) I love this company! Affordable, high quality products made by a company lead by a kick ass woman who is passionate about what she does. If you haven’t heard of Makeup Geek yet, their eyeshadow quality is very similar to MACs at a fraction of the cost (only $5.99 each). I also love their pigments and glitters and I’m dying to try their new foiled eyeshadows which have been getting great reviews.

4. LA Splash Cosmetics – (CF)

(Source; Source) This company is all over Instagram with their Smitten Liptint Mousse which is a a velvet matte liquid lipstick that is waterproof, smudge-proof, and won’t transfer or fade. They also come in cool colors like blue and green. These get awesome reviews, yet another product I need to try ASAP!

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5. Paula’s Choice – (CF)

(Source) I recently mentioned that I’ve been using a Paula’s Choice Resist Youth-Extending Daily Fluid SPF 50 and it’s been wonderful. I also really love Paula’s website Beautypedia for reviews that use evidence based research instead of opinions when discussing products.

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More makeup made in the USA:

Companies that make most of their makeup in the USA

  • Ben Nye – (CF) “Nearly all are manufactured in Los Angeles” (source)
  • Gabriel Cosmetics – (CF) Made in the USA except pencils are made in Europe. (source: email with CS 9/9/18)
  • Gerard Cosmetics – (CF) “Yes, our products are made in the USA with the exception of our lip liners and our eye liner which are made in Germany.”
  • Girlactik – (CF) All product is created and manufactured in the US except their mechanical eyeliner (source: email with CS 3/22/16)
  • Glo Skin Beauty – (CF) “The majority of products are made in the USA (California, Colorado and Arizona). One exception here, some of our lip products are manufactured in Germany.” (source: email with CS 5/17/18)
  • Hynt Beauty – (CF) Most made in the USA (NJ) except eye pencils which are made in Italy. (source: email with CS 9/10/18)
  • Ilia Beauty – (CF) “Yes! Our new Mascara is made in Italy. Packaging is in China, but all goods are from the good ol’ US of A.” (source: IG DM 5/20/18)
  • Jane Iredale – (CF)Most made in USA except their eye and lip pencils are made in the Czech Republic (source; email with CS 6/4/15)
  • Josie Maran – (CF) “Our products are manufactured in the United States, and our Argan Oil is fair trade” (source: email with CS 8/16/17)
  • Jouer – (CF) Most made in USA, some made in Europe and Canada (source: email with CS 8/7/17)
  • L’Oreal – All of the L’Oreal I own says made in the USA
  • Mary Kay – Most made in USA, some made by third-party manufacturers to supplement production (email with CS 3/27/17)
  • Maybelline – “Most products sold in the US are manufactured here”
  • Philosophy – “Most of our products are manufactured in the US” (source: email with CS 3/28/16)
  • Prestige Cosmetics –  (CF) “Most of our makeup is made in the USA & Czech Republic. We manufacturer in NY & distribute out of Florida. (source: email with CS 9/10/18)
  • Revlon – Most products made in USA (at flagship manufacturing facility in NC)

Makeup Not Entirely Made in the USA

Here’s a list of companies whose makeup is not solely made in the USA. For this list I was trying to just figure out where they were made if it’s not the USA and it’s not an exhaustive list of every country the company makes products in. If you want to find out where a specific product you want to buy is made and don’t have access to the packaging to check, I recommend contacting the company directly. Here are where cosmetics from some other companies are made:

Update: As of 8/16/17 I’ve started to add (CF) to the list to signify Cruelty Free brands. I’m in the process of going through all of the brands I already have listed and updating whether they are cruelty free or not 🙂

More on makeup made in the USA

“On January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act will go into effect in California. This act requires retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state to disclose the efforts they are making to ensure their supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking in effort to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from product supply chains.”

  • I wouldn’t say the manufacturers are totally transparent at this point, but because of this if you contact them they should be able to tell you where your products are made. I’m not saying you should only buy makeup made in the USA, but it’s good to be a conscientious consumer.
  • Procter & Gamble let me know that “Please note, there is no federal or state requirement to label “Made in USA” for products that are made in the USA (except for automobiles, textile, wool, and fur products.) It is strictly optional for manufacturing companies to include this on their label. “
  • Another hint- manufacturing in the USA is now more important to consumers so if a company makes their products solely in the USA, it’s usually a lot easier to find that out because they put it in big, bold letters.
  • “PRC” means Made in China (People’s Republic of China)
  • Breakdown of Asian Cosmetics Standards
  • Why “Made in USA” labeling is so complicated by Heesun Wee on CNBC

One way to find deals on products made in the USA is you can search for Made in USA makeup on Overstock. Happy shopping!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more about what that means and how it works on my Disclosure page.