"Most people have a nail polish shoebox, and after you use a color, you put it away and you forget about it," says Julianna Dahbura, founder of @deco.miami. Julia started her nail brand in 2015 with that shoebox in mind. 💅 Her mission was to make nail polish less wasteful. The genius concept? Chic polish in smaller bottles that were pieces of art themselves—inspiring you to display them, not put them away. (The brand name is a reference to the colorful Art Deco district in Miami.) — ✨ Julianna expanded her line in the fall of 2020 (after months of at-home manicure experimentation during the pandemic) to add cute, punchy stickers that took off like wildfire. "I have a lot of customers who will just put one sticker on their thumb, and they love it," says Julianna. "There's no wrong way to do it."
When Vivian Nguyen decided to share her coffee-making videos on her Finsta account, she never expected to go viral—and she *definitely* didn’t think it would lead to her own coffee brand, @shopcoffeebae. It was early in the Covid pandemic, all the coffee shops had closed their doors, and “I just wanted to create coffee ASMR videos,” remembers Vivian. “But then that led to making my own recipes.” And whether she made a cereal-milk latte or a lemonade coffee, one question always popped up in her comments section: “What coffee beans are you using?” ☕ “I wanted [to create] a brand that is very women-oriented, supportive and caring about its community,” Vivian says. Enter Coffee Bae, which offers a seasonal rotation of coffee blends, all locally roasted in Cohasset, Massachusetts and sustainably sourced. 😎
@olette.co is like founder Carolyn Compres-Diaz’s second child — and, in fact, the clothing brand’s name is one she had saved in case she had another daughter. (“But Olette is my baby too,” she says. 💕) It’s also Carolyn’s attempt at bridging her life in New York and her upbringing in the Dominican Republic. “Here in New York, I want to dress well, but I don't want to overdo it,” she says. “Caribbean style is more airy and free; it gives you that feeling of the beach and warm weather.” The combination shines through in oversize button-downs, breezy dresses and slouchy, high-waisted pants, all sustainably and ethically made with cotton, linen and accents like buttons made from coconuts! 🥥🌴
@habitskin founder Tai Adaya thinks it’s sunscreen’s time to shine. “Sunscreen is an 80-year-old category,” says Tai. “I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make it more appealing and more functional.” ☀️ Realizing that SPF is far and away the star in any anti-aging skin-care show, she started Habit two years ago to encourage consumers to make using it, well, a habit with an easy-to-use formula. The brand’s ultrafine mists have UV filters to shield skin from damaging rays and feature luxe scents that go beyond basic banana and coconut—No. 41 is a blend of geranium, rosemary and lavender, and No. 38 is for folks who like a fruity cucumber combo. 🌺 #ShopAPI
Two years ago, @me.est.me creator Shana Rehwald's life was in flux. Amid a career transition and a divorce, she took to journaling to reconnect with herself. ✍️ "It was through some of these self-help prompts that I tuned in to my 'me-est me' and figured out what I wanted to do," says Shana. And what she wanted to do was to bring her journaling practice to anyone and everyone who might benefit from it as much as she did. 📔 Enter the @me.est.me illustrated workbook, which features guided prompts. "Doing inner work can be tough," she says, "and I wanted to make [these journals] a place where it didn’t feel so heavy all the time." #ShopWithPride
As the only boy in a family with five older sisters, @phlemuns founder James Flemons never got the TV remote as a kid—and that ended up being a good thing. His sisters’ programming of choice was music videos, and watching them informed James’s eventual style career. 📺 🎶 “My love for music videos and drawing came together, and I would sketch outfits I saw,” he says. After stints in retail, James launched his line of eclectic, androgynous basics in 2013. Since then — in true full-circle fashion—his designs have been worn by the likes of musicians like Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish and Tinashe. #ShopWithPride
Get faux freckles in seconds with @freck's Freck OG! ☀️ Pro tip: For a softer look, tap the product right away. For more defined freckles, let the product sit longer! #ShopWithPride
Music by: @bakergracemusic 🎶
For @freck founder Remi Brixton, freckles are more than skin deep. “I’ve always been obsessed with freckles—they’re so emotional and personal,” she says. “As a kid, I looked up to people who embraced them. I would cook my face in the sun hoping that I could get freckles, but I never could.” ✨Remi eventually decided to make her own, launching Freck’s original freckle pen in 2017. “Everybody thought I was crazy,” says Remi of the brand’s early days. Despite the skeptics, Freck's collection has since expanded to encompass multiple shades of freckle pens, makeup, skin care and more. ✨ “The most amazing part about Freck for me is our community,” says Remi. “We have a huge queer community, and almost half the team is queer as well, me included. It’s this wonderful group of badass chameleons who wake up and choose to wear their mood and their identity on their face every day.” #ShopWithPride