11 Designer Makeup Brands and the Best Products From Each

Even beauty editors get industry fatigue, and while the ever-evolving influx of new brands, technology, and products is most certainly exciting, it can be easy to become jaded and overstimulated. (We’d guess even the most die-hard beauty junkies feel the same.) Every week, month, season, and year, there’s a new It label, a new hero product, a new beauty anomaly everyone is saying is the absolute “best.” While it’s not our intention to throw shade at our favorite new beauty brands, there’s something inherently relaxing about the classic and dependable formulas that are so good that they’ve been (and likely will remain) en vogue for years. Enter, designer makeup brands. 

Just like a quilted Chanel handbag or printed Gucci scarf will never fall out of style, neither will Dior’s beloved Diorshow Volume Mascara or YSL’s Touche Éclat All-Over Brightening Pen. Suffice to say, we love mixing new, ultra-buzzy staples into our makeup routine, but they’ll always, always intermingle with certain designer makeup products that have, slowly but surely, gained a certain degree of icon status. To celebrate said icons, we’ve rounded up 11 top designer makeup brands and the two must-try products from each—the first being a holy-grail Hall of Famer and the second being a favorite we also highly recommend. Keep scrolling! A treasure trove of well-vetted designer makeup gems awaits just below.