This article is part of a series on ways to support Palestine. The first part can be found here!

As the war in the Middle East continues, many people in the West have continued business as usual. However, many people online are trying to mobilize groups, protest, and raise money for the people in Gaza. Raising money through online donations or petitions has been determined to not be as effective, as the Israeli government controls what flows in and out of Gaza.

Due to this, community leaders have asked for the general public’s activism to pivot. One of the main things people are calling for right now is the boycott of certain goods and services offered by organizations that support Israel or have ties with Israel. While this includes companies such as Starbucks or McDonald’s, many are forgetting a very unique part of our economy– the beauty sector.

Beauty and self-care items are a huge part of our everyday consumption, but it has flown under the radar of many young activists. While there are beauty essentials that cannot be cut out, finding alternatives and supporting brands that support Palestine is definitely a way to make an impact.

Now, it is important establish a difference between brands and their parent companies. While many beloved cosmetics brands have not made an official statement speaking for or against Palestine, their parent companies and the parent companies’ top executives have.

The main issue that many shoppers are finding is that a large portion of affordable brands are owned by these parent companies that go against Palestine. According to Insider.com, about 182 beauty companies are owned by only 7 major leaders. Some of these conglomerates are L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, and Unilever– which own brads such as NYX Professional Makeup, Smashbox, Clinique, MAC, and Bobbi Brown.

This leaves consumers participating in this boycott with very limited options. With so many brands now seemingly out of the window– What can people buy?

Fortunately, there are a lot of  brands that support Palestine and that you can feel good shopping from, and their products tend to be just as good or even better!

Some of these brands are L.A Girl, Milani,  Colourpop, and Juvia’s Place

L.A Girl

Since 1985, L.A Girl has been known for its affordability and quality. Found in Walmart, Ulta, and Target, it is a pretty accessible brand for the general public. Although they do have a lot of complexion products such as blush, concealer, and foundation, they are most known for their lip products.  The L.A Girl lip-glosses and lip-liners are some of the best you can get for under 5 dollars. I have personally tried their precision lip-liners in the colors “blushing” and “cafe,” and it has become a staple in my makeup routine ever since!

Milani’s website showing some of their most popular products!

Milani

Founded in 2001, Milani has been regarded as a luxury drugstore brand. Available at Walmart, CVS, Target, and more, it is perfect for the makeup lovers looking for high quality products. It is slightly more expensive for drugstore products, with the costs ranging between $10-$16. I have personally never tried anything from Milani, but it has been all the rage on BeautyTok, where many people praise their setting sprays and their lip & cheek products.

Colourpop

Founded in 2014, Colourpop has established itself as a brand for the creatives. The main thing that sets it apart from other brands is its variety of glittery products. This glitter is found in eyeshadow, eyeliner, highlighter, and many other products. I have one of their glittery eyeshadows but I use a fan brush to apply it as highlighter and it is great, 10/10 would recommend! It can be found at Target and Ulta, as well as their official website.

Juvia’s Place

Founded in 2016, Juvia’s Place has recently been popular on TikTok due to its intensely pigmented liquid blushes. Videos of people using one dot of this product and being surprised by how pigmented they are have flooded the ForYou Page. This brand offers a variety of products such as highlighter, contour, eyeshadow palettes. It is also Black-Owned and Cruelty-Free. This brand is sold at Ulta and their own official website, and they are mostly pretty affordable.

Hopefully these recommendations show makeup lovers that boycotting certain brands and supporting Palestine does not have to mean the end of playing around with makeup. Makeup is an incredible tool to enhance our own beauty and also have fun with our self-expression, I encourage everyone to do this in an ethical way.