From lines created with dermatologists, to executives who already built, ran and sold multi-million dollar brands before, to home chemists formulating small batches of products in their kitchens, the Indie Pavilion at NYSCC’s Suppliers’ Day was a microcosm of the indie beauty industry at large. 
 

It is a category space that’s more diverse and more competitive than ever before, and brand founders entering the space are coming to market with products that are labors of love. They’ve invested sweat equity (and plenty of money, too), and made purposeful decisions about ingredients and final packaging.
 
The indie pavilion was organized by Daniela Ciocan of Access Beauty Insiders. NYSCC Suppliers’ Day attendees were asked to vote for their favorite brand over the course of the two-day show.
 
The winner was announced with champagne toast at 3pm on Nov. 11. Taking home top honors was Skin Moderne, a brand that offers clean, bio-compatible, bio-active, skin care products and skin treatment modalities such as patented “NanoFusion” technology. All of the brand’s products are 100% vegan and cruelty free. 
 


Skin Moderne CEO Richard Purvis, who accepted the honor on stage at the show, topped a list that included some well-known names in the beauty space, namely Dr. Robb Akridge (formerly of Clarisonic), who has developed Opulus Beauty Labs, and Mike Indursky, who has launched Hear Me Raw, a sustainable skin care brand. Indursky had been a key executive for both Burt’s Bees and Bliss.
 
The runner up in the People’s Choice competition was Dr. J’s Naturals, a nutraceutical and cosmeceutical company founded in 2009. The California-based brand’s hero ingredient is protocatechuic acid (PCA)

 
The pavilion also was host to Bossing Up brands like Brooklyn-based Bree and Milly; Chemist Confessions; Immunocologie; Organic Apoteke; Urban Hydration; and premium hair care brand Masami.