August 24, 2011

the Muse’s 5 Fav Indie Shops

Do you shop Indie?

Indie shops are a celebration in creativity. Most of them are owned by a single person who basically puts their heart into creating either makeup, bath and body products, or skincare just for the joy of doing so, this would be the thing that makes Indie shops so very special. But let’s not forget in many cases Indie products are extremely unique and inexpensive!

Here’s Five of my Fav Indie Shops.

Jump!

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab aka BPAL aka the Lab blackphoenixalchemylab.com
A celebration for your nose! Beth and her husband (and a few other folks) create an amazing catalog of hand blended, fragrance oils (and a few other products and accessories from time to time). The best part? The limited edition collections particularly ones for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day! And let’s not forget amazing collaborations with the likes of Neil Gaiman and the constant references to Mr Lovecraft’s works. If you’re seeking unique smellies, this is your place to start.

Villainess www.villainess.net
Home of the best soaps on the Internet. Brooke makes these amazing hand crafted soaps in a variety of interesting blends plus you can take advantage of Smooch, the perfect combination of soap and “smooch” aka scrub to get legs, arms, and other rough areas smooth.

Margarita Bloom www.margarita-bloom.com
An ode to Vintage Beauty! An array of various bath and body products as well as skincare, makeup, and perfume offerings all hand made and packaged in the best vintage packaging ever, Dita Von Teese would approve!

The Soap Box Company thesoapboxco.com
Indie beauty at its best! A selection of your favorite Indie brands, all in one place! Arcana, Super Bad, Bunny Butt, and more…Soap Box carries a huge variety of Indie brands and is constantly bringing in new ones. It’s nice to be able to shop for all my fav brands under one house.

Ella Dean’s Natural Products www.elladeansnaturalproducts.com
When a vegan creates lip and bath and body products plus cleaning products you should take note!

Hope you enjoyed my five favorite Indie brands…! I have a ton more so I might do a follow up soon.

Happy Shopping!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with these shops, these are my own personal picks and places I’ve personally shopped from before.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Luna

    I’m really glad to see this here. I love shopping Indie–it’s not only a great way to support other beauty addicts and the creative community, but you’re also getting a lot of really unique products that might not have made it in a mainstream market. The Indie companies are able to cater to “fringe” consumer groups–you want a green lipstick or a metallic red eyeshadow? You’ll find it in Indie. And almost certainly at a lower price point than specialty brands that cater to makeup professionals. Not to mention the amazing individuals who run these companies: this is their creative vision come to life and they want to make sure you’re just as thrilled with their products.

  • Eve

    For year I’ve visited the BPAL site but never bought anything. There’s so much stuff it really overwhelms me!

  • Barbara

    Strange. I’ve read some pretty underwhelming things about BPAL and Villainess on various blogs reviewing their products. Since I’ve already discovered two great indie companies in their fields (The Morbid the Merrier and Haus of Gloi) I haven’t made the risk at trying their products.

    I love looking around the Soap Box, though. Haven’t bought anything (yet), but I love that it has a collection of indie companies so it makes it a one-stop-shop.

    • the Muse

      to each his/her own barbara 🙂 i personally love bpal, collect it, and have hundreds of bottles. their LE fragrances are fab ;-D but I guess it depends who is reviewing it. Some folks will likey some won’t ;-D depends! morbid merrier I’m not so interested in trying since she randomly closed shop without shipping products, etc…that kinda makes me wary of trying it. Haven’t tried Haus of Gloi, will have to look that up!

  • Melissa

    I have ordered from bpal a few times. Thank for the suggestions. I’m checking out the rest right now!

  • Stephanye

    I’m surprised you didn’t list One Hand Washes the Other. Her Black Magic face wash is the BEST! I helped clear up my skin better than anything I have bought in major stores. I also have samples of her perfumes including solid scents which are long lasting and better than the solid scents I have tired at Sephora. Finally I have an absinthe lip balm which is SO moisturizing. Hooray for indie companies!

    I still have my eye on the Good Omens BPAL scents which I will get as soon as I get my first paycheck.

  • Quinctia

    I pretty much only wear BPAL perfume and mostly only use Villainess soap (for non-facial stuff).

    I’m not 100% sold on some of the stuff that Villainess has branched out into (the perfume oils seem a bit weak, I can never get mud the right consistency), but I have never been without a tub of either Smooch or Smack for YEARS.

    • the Muse

      quinctia agreed on her fragrance oils and on some of her skincare bits…she should stick to soap ;-D and smooch!

  • Tracy

    Ooh I love these types of boutique/indie shops. They always carry products that are unique and you feel like you’ve made a secret discovery! Oddly enough, I was wearing my BPAL Hellcat the day you posted this, ha ha! I am definitely going to get myself some Villainess soaps, I looove some handmade, scented soap!

    For boutique-style, hand-blended perfume I would recommend:
    http://www.ava-luxe.com/ Divine scents! I layer several of her gourmand scents (vanilla/apricot/milk), and someone always asks, “what are you wearing?” I think she has some scents you would love, Muse!

    You can purchase samples of Ava Luxe perfumes, and lots of other rare/unusual perfumes, at http://theperfumedcourt.com/

  • Mags

    bookmarked! Thanks for this–my friends loooovve indie stuff and these look like great places to start shopping. I look forward to the follow-up! =)

  • Phyrra

    Yay! You know I love indie! It makes me happy to see what you love 😉 You gotta check out One Hand Washes the Other. I love their black magic facial soap.

  • Nikki

    I’m loving all these sites! Great natural products, and It’s always nice knowing your supporting a small business.

  • Jo

    Thanks for the mention! We work hard to curate vendors with care so we can offer a selection people will love (plus, we’re pretty eco-conscious). It’s lovely to be recognized for that 😉