5 Beauty Brands Founded By The People Who've Tried Everything

Unlike some of the other experts we interact with on a daily basis, being a beauty editor does not require a dermatology degree, a loyal celebrity clientele, or a certification in cosmetic chemistry. What you do need — and these are absolute non-negotiables — is a keen eye for trends, an ability to connect with readers and shoppers, a solid sense of what works and what's just a fad or filler, and a highly sensitive bullshit radar, cranked up to 11.

Conveniently, those same qualities also make beauty editors uniquely equipped to launch brands of their own. When you think about it, who better to dream up beauty products than those who have seen everything on the market, who've tested the best and the worst and the extremely mediocre, sifted through years of data and studies, met with the founders of the biggest brands in the business, and talked to countless dermatologists and makeup artists and hairstylists and estheticians all in the name of speaking their beauty truth to the masses?

Nobody, that's who. Which explains why these five brands, all founded by beauty writers and editors past and present, are as good as it gets in a highly competitive, often fickle industry. You've read their words in magazines and on the internet; now it's time to put the sum total of everything they've learned onto your face.