On a recent wintry evening at Queen Village’s Moon and Arrow, a group of 10 women poured essential oils into beakers, mixing them with carrier oils.
They’d gathered for a workshop led by Tasha Gear, founder of local brand Linear Beauty, who instructed as they created a formula for body oils.
The 10 women took a whiff of each other’s potions, commented on their notes, and took in the smells.
Here was a perfect picture of Philadelphia’s beauty scene, which is having a moment — not the glossy, influencer-backed boom of coastal cities, but something scrappier, smarter, and deeply local.
Across the city, indie founders are hand-batching serums, mixing skincare in one-kilogram beakers, and designing products meant to withstand SEPTA, summer humidity, and long work shifts.
They are united by a commitment to science, transparency, and community,
At the center of this shift is Indie Shelf in Grays Ferry and Malvern, where cosmetic scientist Sabeen Zia helps customers navigate an often confusing clean-beauty landscape.
“Clean beauty goes beyond ingredient lists,” the Main Line resident said. “It’s how a product is developed, packaged, and the values behind it.” Zia doesn’t draw up fear-based “toxic ingredient” lists. Instead, she relies on science-backed safety standards and direct conversations with product founders.
“People come in because they want to support small businesses, but they stay because they’re stunned by the changes in their skin,” she said.
Before opening the shop in 2019, Zia ran her own makeup line, Muskaan Beauty, which was cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, and halal. It struggled to get visibility — a challenge she realized many indie founders shared. “Philly didn’t have many clean beauty shops at the time,” she said. “It felt like a real gap in the market.”
A gap that Indie Shelf aims to fill.
Other local founders, too, swear by that community-first ethos.
A former professor of English at Stockton University, Adeline Koh of Sabbatical Beauty, hand-batches high-concentration, K-beauty–inspired products, often using ingredients from neighborhood businesses, like Câphe Roasters and Baba’s Brew.
“I wanted formulas that actually deliver what they promise,” she said. “Philly has so much pride in Philly-owned businesses. That made me feel this would be a really good market to build in. People here show up for their community.” She’s based in the Bok building.
As for what feels uniquely “Philly” in Sabbatical Beauty’s identity, she doesn’t hesitate when asked.
“We’re unapologetic about who we are, and that shows up in our emphasis on diversity: skin tones, body sizes, age. We want to expand what beauty means, not narrow it.”
The brand is sold at local shops and spas.
Sabbatical Beauty also pours back into the city’s maker ecosystem — donating masks and sanitizer during COVID, hosting holiday toy drives, running small-business markets, and partnering with the Equitable Skincare Project to fund donation facials for the trans community.
It’s a similar story with brow artist Tara Giorgio.
When the Lancaster native grew frustrated by the discontinuation of her favored brow beauty products, she created Brow Gang — her line of high-pigment brow mousse and powders that are, as she says, made “for real life.”
Her products are sold in her two salons — in West Chester and Northern Liberties — and online.
Philly’s beauty customers, she said, are unique because this city is “a true melting pot — all cultures, all backgrounds, all brow textures, all lifestyles. We don’t like fluff in Philly and we want things that work and are priced reasonably.”
People here are busy and “they want products that make their lives easier — fast routines, long-lasting wear, and formulas that hold up through humidity, work shifts, SEPTA, the gym, real everyday life.”
Cosmetic chemist Tina D. Williams feels “there’s still a real lack of handmade, natural skincare” in the local market to feed that need.
Her Center City-based DVINITI Skincare crafts small-batch, food-grade blends of natural oils like argan, jojoba, and almond, which are designed for customization. Her philosophy, too, is rooted in the city: “The first ingredient in every DVINITI product is love — and this City of Brotherly Love is the perfect home for a brand built on self-care.”
Williams, who grew up in the Olney area and graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls, is all too familiar with the city’s cold winters and hot summers. “I grew up here, so I understand the kind of skincare [Philly] people need,” she said. She also sees the city’s scientific backbone as a natural fit for a chemistry-driven brand. “Philly is a tech hub and a leader in research and development. DVINITI is positioned well to scale and grow with the local resources here to support our clients’ needs.”
Another brand shaping the city’s beauty identity is Haiama Beauty, a Black woman–owned haircare line built in Philadelphia “because I love this city wholeheartedly,” said founder Allison Shimamoto.
Haiama’s Grow & Strengthen Elixir takes four months to make and uses premium, organic argan oil — not because it’s the most profitable, but because it’s the right way to make it.
Small-batch production allows the brand to source intentionally from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and women-owned suppliers and to design products that work across all curl patterns— from the Leona red-light scalp stimulator to the multipurpose Everything Cream.
What resonates with her Philly consumers, Shimamoto said, is connection. “People here want to know who’s behind the brand.”
Markets like Made@Bok and Art Star have helped Haiama meet customers face-to-face, build community, and grow within the city’s tight-knit maker ecosystem.
Philadelphia’s indie founders agree that the city’s beauty identity is defined by three traits: creative, authentic, community driven.
“The passion for high-quality products and supporting small business truly sets Philly brands apart,” said Zia. Even small details — easy drop-offs, quick restocks, face-to-face conversations with founder-formulators — become part of the city’s distinctive customer experience.
Local customers meet founders in person, pick up their products, return for refills, and show up at pop-ups and farmers markets.
Despite challenges like tariffs, supply-chain delays, and seasonal slowdowns, Zia remains hopeful. Her dream? “For Philly to be known as the city for indie beauty — a place where founders can scale without losing their authenticity.”
Gear, who moved to Philadelphia in 2019 after spending a decade working in New York City’s Package Free Shop, agrees.
“Philly is a pretty no-B.S. city,” she said. “That shows up in everything I make.”
