8 Crowdfunded Beauty Innovations You Need to Know

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have become popular ways for small businesses to get funding for, well, pretty much anything. But for every pillow infused with divine energy (pass) there is a chic compact that doubles as a travel charger (yes, please). Here are eight of our favorites.

By Amber Angelle

Unique
Using Unique’s online fragrance tool at uniquefragrance.com, you can create your own perfume for under $100. (Donate to their ongoing Indiegogo campaign and you could get an even better deal.) Here’s how it works: Choose up to six notes and a bottle design; one of Unique’s experienced perfumers then combines the notes in a lab using essences and oils from the same areas of Europe—such as Provence—that traditional perfume houses source their ingredients from. If you don’t know your ambergris from your fougère, opt for the company’s bespoke service. You won’t be able to sample your concoctions, but the company will issue a refund for any perfume you find subpar.
Bottom line: Your parents always said you were special.

ClickStick
You have a smartphone and a smart watch, but do you have a smart deodorant? Yeah, we didn’t think so. The ClickStick deodorant applicator dispenses a precise amount of deodorant each time you push a button. And the device is refillable, so the idea is you’re wasting less. After a successful Kickstarter campaign by two doctoral students in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, the applicators and refills are now available for preorder at getclickstick.com. There’s an accompanying app coming soon, which, among other things, will remind you when to order those refills and even when to swipe (if personal hygiene is low on your priority list).
Bottom line: It’s a deodorant applicator…made by rocket scientists.

Related: The Prettiest Date-Night Makeup Looks 

Pearl
This sleek compact mirror lives a double life as a USB charger with enough juice to charge an iPhone up to two times. Honestly, this product is so simple yet so clever, we can’t believe we didn’t already have one. And apparently we weren’t the only ones to think this: The Pearl was successfully funded on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. It’s now available in red, gold, and silver shades at hypershop.com.
Bottom line: This is the perfect marriage of beauty and brains.

Sweat
Who better to create a line of sweatproof beauty products than Olympians and professional athletes? Sweat’s cosmetics are free of all the stuff you don’t want, like silicone and talc, and tested to ensure that they don’t irritate skin. Although Sweat didn’t reach its funding goal on Indiegogo, we think the brand’s translucent mineral powder and foundation are worth checking out (they’re available at sweatcosmetics.com). Sweat also plans to add more products to the line in the future.
Bottom line: Makeup that won’t melt down your face mid-workout (or worse, mid-Olympic trial).

Tio
When industrial designers focus on everyday objects, the results are little wonders like Tio’s eco-friendly toothbrush. The sleek brush is made from bioplastic materials, which have a better carbon footprint than regular plastics. The brush’s packaging doubles as a travel case, and it has a replaceable head, both of which significantly reduce the amount of waste.
Bottom line: You can fight cavities and save the planet.

Related: 10 Best Dry Shampoos Under $20

The WellBe
Sensors in the WellBe bracelet monitor heart rate hourly and communicate with an app on your phone to alert you when you’re feeling stressed (in case pulling your hair out wasn’t clueing you in.) Kidding aside, this bracelet has already raked in six figures on Indiegogo—so far. WellBe’s founders, the author of a self-help book and the director of a website that offers online meditation programs who also happen to work in the tech industry, plan to use the funding to get the bracelets on wrists by the end of this year. We like that the app suggests meditation and breathing exercises to help you relax, and the cork bracelet looks like something you’d find at a cool design store.
Bottom line: It’s not often you find an accessory that’s looking out for your best interests.

Thomas Clipper
The steel-and-chrome-zinc razors of this men’s grooming brand were a hit on Kickstarter last year. Now they’ve had success a second time with a shaving bowl and brush made from the reclaimed wood of a three-century-old chestnut tree. Additions like the laser-etched GPS coordinates of the tree’s location on the underside of the bowl and handmade juniper-scented shaving soap make this gift-worthy.
Bottom line: Christmas will be here before you know it.

Ayo
Worn for 20 minutes at a time, Ayo’s blue-light glasses are designed to help boost your energy levels and make your next red-eye less painful. And there’s even science to back them up: Studies have shown that blue light affects the circadian rhythm, the body’s natural pattern of sleep and wakefulness. The glasses (which were successfully funded on Indiegogo) sync via Bluetooth to an app on your phone; punch in the details of your flight itinerary and the app directs you when to wear them.
Bottom line: These are far from a fashion statement, but we’re willing to try anything to fight jet lag.

Photos: Courtesy of brands

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