2020 Beacon Award nominees have been made public

Just last month Beauty Independent (BI; the news site owned and operated by IBMG) announced the launch of the Beacon Awards to honor indie beauty innovation and excellence​, as Cosmetics Design reported.  

Now this month, the online publication has shared news of the 75 people, retailers, products, and brands across 15 categories that are in the running for the inaugural Beacon Awards.

Indie Beauty isn’t new, but the Beacon Awards are

Cosmetics Design Editor Deanna Utroske has been covering news of the current indie beauty movement for the past 6 years​. And awards programs recognizing the leaders in this exciting space have been few and far between in that time. In fact, the Beauty Industry Awards (produced by William Reed Business media, the company that publishes Cosmetics Design), which recognized a handful of indie brands alongside conventional ingredient suppliers each year, ran for only 3 years (2017 – 2019).

Now, Beauty Independent has stepped up to fill the gap. “I applaud Beauty Independent and the IBMG team for coming together during what has been a challenging time to celebrate the community bringing change to the beauty industry,” ​says Kelly St. John, Founder of the KSJ Collective, in her remarks to Claire McCormack (who penned the announcement for Beauty Independent​).  

“Having dedicated most of my professional career to the discovery, development and growth of indie beauty brands who have grown over the years into today’s industry icons,” ​says St. John, who goes on to add that, “I’ve witnessed firsthand the unrelenting spirit of innovation and perseverance required to achieve success. The passion and respect I have for the continued innovation in the independent beauty space is what inspired me to start my own business working directly with brand founders to scale their businesses.”​

75 indie brands, products, retailers, and people are in the running for the 2020 Beacon Awards

The full roster of nominated personal care, cosmetics, and fragrance products; entrepreneurs and investors; as well as retailers can be seen here on the BI site​.

Perhaps of particular interest to the audience here on Cosmetics Design are the 5 “Inspiring Brands” are in the running for this year’s Beacon Award in the Product Launch category: Hellen, Esker, Guide Beauty, Olive & June, and Camille Rose.

Hellen has been nominated for its aromatherapy inhalers, which, according to the BI awards page, “provide zen on the go.” ​

Esker was nominated for a beauty tool called the Body Plane “inspired by rituals form ancient Greek and roman bath houses.” ​ The wood and metal device (shaped something like a crescent moon) is meant to both clean and exfoliate.

Guide is in the running with its Eyeliner Duo, designed to make simplify application for everyday makeup wearers who only aspire to MUA-level skill and for differently abled people alike.

The Olive & June nomination is all about DIY manicures. And, Camille Rose is being considered for the award thanks to a limited-edition product called The Hair Grower “inspired by an original CJ Walker product,” ​as the BI site notes.

Award winners will be announced at the end of next month, when IBMG will also celebrate the 3-year anniversary of Beauty Independent.