Eight Aussie beauty and skincare brands that won over shoppers in 2023

Despite the cost of living pressures and the constantly evolving economy, this year has shaped up to be a big one for many of Australia’s beauty and skincare brands.

As we approach the end of the year, SmartCompany has put together a wrap-up of some of the beauty and skincare brands that won shoppers over in 2023.

Tribe Skincare

Tribe Skincare founder Kayla Houlihan. Source: Supplied

From skincare for sensitive skin to mineral makeup, Tribe Skincare offers customers a range of products that have been made in Australia, are vegan-friendly, and are all-natural.

The founder of Tribe Skincare Kayla Houlihan revealed in August 2023 the beauty brand had been acquired by Australian consumer brands company Vitality Brands.

At the time, Houlihan confirmed that she and the Tribe team would be staying on to continue to help people who wanted skincare for sensitive skin that was both gentle and results-driven.

After five years of running her own skincare clinic in Geelong in regional Victoria, Houlihan founded Tribe Skincare in 2017 and invested $40,000, which was originally saved for a house deposit, into the Torquay-based beauty brand, which has had a turnover of $8 million to date.

Houlihan told SmartCompany in August the Tribe brand will reach more people under the stewardship of Vitality Brands, which will fast-track its reach.

“Vitality Brands are the ideal company to acquire Tribe Skincare as they value high-quality, Australian-made products across their portfolio of brands and they have strong retail relationships with their products available in over 15,000 stores,” she said at the time. 

“With Vitality Brand’s innovations team and retail partnerships, they will be able to offer more amazing skincare solutions for people with sensitive skin and have the range more readily available through retail stores.”

The Quick Flick

The Quick Flick founder Iris Smit. Source: Supplied

Perth startup and $15 million beauty empire The Quick Flick has been using the power of social media and viral TikTok content to help influence retailers and drive retail sales as part of their product launch strategy this year.

It all started with The Quick Flick engaging with customers and brand fans via TikTok, asking them if the business should create travel minis.

Customers then started asking for a travel pack and a lip balm.

With the launch of its Quick Screen Lip Balm SPF 50+, which has since rolled out in Coles stores Australia-wide, The Quick Flick revealed to customers in July 2023 that it had taken their manifestation to a whole new level.

In late July, The Quick Flick mentioned the team had thousands of bags to pack, with its Quick Screen SPF Travel Packs landing on Coles shelves that week.

The Quick Flick was founded by Iris Smit in 2017 and has more than 213,000 followers on Instagram. On TikTok, the beauty brand has over 45,000 followers and 1.8 million likes.

Its product range is now available in 250 Priceline stores, 850 Coles supermarkets, and 450 Terry White Chemmarts across Australia.

Smit told SmartCompany that as a product-based business, The Quick Flick uses TikTok to prove a customer’s desire for their product and a want for it to be stocked in retail for accessibility/convenience to the mass market.

“We know that the priority of retail buyers is to range products that customers will purchase, so we find having the opportunity to prove customer desire helps build buyer confidence,” she said.

Tbh skincare

Tbh Skincare founder Rachael Wilde. Source: Supplied

From record-breaking Black Friday sales to its hot pink ultimate Barbie prank and rolling out its entire range of products in Coles nationally, 2023 has shaped up to be a massive year for Tbh skincare.

Three months ago, the Australian acne-positive skincare brand announced its entire range of products would roll out into 857 Coles stores nationally from the end of October.

The launch of tbh Skincare’s range in Coles is the skincare brand’s biggest retailer launch to date and the second stockist announcement for the business this year after it secured Priceline as a stockist in March 2023.

Tbh Skincare, which was founded by Rachael Wilde and Bridget Mitchell, also announced this year that it would be merging with fellow beauty powerhouse Boost Lab under a new banner — York St Brands.

While actress Margot Robbie was in Australia completing the Down Under leg of her Barbie promotional tour this year, Wilde also took to the streets of Sydney dressed in pink for a hot pink ‘marketing masterclass’.

With many people on the streets of Sydney mistaking Wilde for Robbie, the TikTok videos of the stunt also went viral, with one video racking up more than 2.6 million views.

Wilde also spoke with SmartCompany earlier this month about its Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales, with the co-founder saying that she doesn’t see the popularity of the Black Friday shopping period slowing down for Australians.

Tbh Skincare’s website was placed behind a password for the first 24 hours of Black Friday, so only its subscribers could get in, with its launch day this year 62% up on last year’s record day of sales.

Wilde said the serum-based brand BOOST LAB launch of Black Friday was up 1600% on last year. 

“A huge record day for the brand doing over six figures in one day,” she said.

Roccoco Botanicals

Jacine Greenwood. Source: Supplied. Taken by Novasoma Photography.

Queensland-based business Roccoco Botanicals has also had an exciting year, with its founder Jacine Greenwood named as the winner of two categories in the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

Greenwood was awarded the 2023 Small Business Champion Influential Woman and the Australian Small Business Champion Award for Best Beauty Product.

Roccoco Botanicals was created by Greenwood out of the desire and belief that there must be a better way to treat acne and sensitive skin.

Greenwood said she cried when she found out she had won.

“I was overwhelmed with such joy and surprise. It is such an incredible honour to be recognised for your achievements,” she said.

“Winning the Australian Small Business Champion Awards for Best Beauty Product was a dream come true. I have put my heart and soul into developing my brand Roccoco Botanicals.”

Boring Without You

Boring Without You founder Davey Rooney. Source: Supplied

Earlier this year the founder of Aussie skincare brand Boring Without You Davey Rooney came face-to-face with five brand new powerhouse sharks for the fifth season of Shark Tank Australia.

The sharks included Oodie founder Davie Fogarty, online fashion boutique Showpo CEO and founder Jane Lu, Shark Tank US regular Robert Herjavec, and marketing agency King Kong founder Sabri Suby.

Rooney told the panel that he was seeking $36,000 for a 20% stake in Boring Without You, with Oodie shark Davie Fogarty initially offering $36,000 for 30% equity as offers from the other sharks rolled in.

Fogarty then offered $50,000 for 20% equity “if Rooney said yes right now”, which Rooney instantly snapped up.

Rooney said Boring Without You is the only skincare brand dedicated to people with combination skin.

Naked Sundays

Naked Sundays founder Samantha Brett. Source: Supplied

Product launches, keeping an eye out for more opportunities to expand her business even further on the global map while ensuring everyone wears sunscreen — it’s definitely been a big year of growth for the founder of Australian SPF skincare business Naked Sundays.

Naked Sundays was launched in January 2021 by former news reporter Samantha Brett with two products; the SPF50+ Mist, and the Collagen Creme SPF50 Moisturiser.

Three years later, Naked Sundays now has over 20 products and is stocked in multiple countries and some of the biggest retailers in the world, including Mecca, Sephora UK, Revolve, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters in the US.

This year it also launched its latest product, after 18 months in the making, CabanaGlows — three illuminating and bronze glow serum drops designed to mix and match — to an initial waitlist of over 150,000 people.

Brett said Naked Sundays have grown 1133% since the first year.

“In the US we saw similar growth in the past six months — over 1000% growth,” she said. 

“This has proven to us that there is a huge gap in the market for what we do, which is to be at the forefront of SPF innovation and launch world-first products or Australian-first products utilising our SPF innovation.”

Bangn Body

Bangn Body founder Priscilla Hajiantoni. Source: Supplied

There was plenty of exciting news for Australian skincare brand Bangn Body, with the brand announcing earlier this year that it would launch into Sephora stores and online nationally across Australia and New Zealand.

In early April, Bangn Body rolled into 26 Sephora stores, with the brand’s face and body products unveiled under Sephora’s Clean Beauty Category.

The brand was founded four years ago in March 2019 by Priscilla Hajiantoni with the cult product, the Yellow Tube of Goodness. Bangn Body’s all-Australian, natural, clean, and vegan-friendly beauty range has expanded to include a variety of multipurpose skincare essentials.

In just four years, it has become an eight-figure business with a team of approximately twenty people from staff to contracts to agencies it works with. 

Bangn Body’s range of products are formulated to treat everything from sensitive, dry and problematic skin types with its scientifically formulated properties coveted by skin care fanatics globally.

Saf Organics

Saf Organics founder Tegiye Mimi-Ozalp with her kids. Source: Supplied

This award-winning skincare brand has just celebrated its fourth year in business this year.

Saf Organics founder Tegiye Mimi-Ozalp started her brand in 2019 — with only $1,500 — by saving every $5 note she received as a change in a jar to make her vision a reality.

Not bad at all for a side hustle that began in Tegiye’s kitchen.

The Australian-owned and manufactured natural skincare brand, which sells hair, skincare, body and bath, and health and hygiene products, is now a six-figure business being manufactured and distributed across the country.

Saf Organics is a low-tox alternative with 100% organic and cruelty-free ingredients and its products are formulated to nourish the skin with clean Australian ingredients.