Tarte

Tarte was founded in 2000 by Maureen Kelly out of her New York City apartment, with one product — the Multipl/y cheek stain — and a thesis around high-performance natural ingredients that broke the assumption that clean meant low-payoff. The brand grew through Sephora distribution and built its reputation on the Amazonian Clay franchise, a heavy-pigment matte powder system extracted from Amazon Basin clay deposits that became the technology platform for the Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Foundation, blush, and bronzer.

KAO Corporation acquired Tarte in 2014, and the brand exploded into mainstream awareness with the launch of Shape Tape Concealer in 2016 — a high-coverage, long-wear concealer that became the No. 1 prestige concealer at Sephora and remains one of the most-duped products in drugstore comparison content. Tarte has since drawn significant attention (and criticism) for its lavish all-expenses-paid influencer trips — but the product franchise around Shape Tape, Amazonian Clay, and the Maracuja Lip line has remained durable through every cycle.