12 AAPI-Founded Beauty Products Our Editors Can’t Get Enough Of

Take a peek inside any R29 editor’s makeup bag or bathroom cabinet, and you’re likely to find an abundance of beauty products by Asian brands. While most of us have long been card-carrying fans of Korean beauty specifically, it’s the Asian American-founded beauty brands — ones which have gone from emerging startups to bonafide industry leaders — that have captured our attention of late.

From Tatcha to Kulfi, the AAPI founders behind these brands have managed to carve out a niche in the competitive beauty space by combining traditional wisdom (often stemming from rituals in their respective cultures) with Western product innovation.
The result? Cult favorite makeup, skincare and haircare that is not only efficacious, but inspires and educates, too. Even better, some brands make it their core mission to give back to their communities. Take Tower 28 Beauty, for example. The brand has pledged past donations to the Asian Pacific Fund and Heart of Dinner, which delivers free meals and caring notes to Asian American elders in NYC.

So to honor Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, we tapped a handful of Refinery29 editors to share their favorite products from AAPI-owned beauty brands — with glowing reviews. You’re bound to want to add some of them to your beauty rotation, too.