The Indie Shelf, with locations in Grays Ferry and Malvern, is at the forefront of the Philadelphia region’s homegrown beauty boom, writes Sara Radin for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sabeen Zia, a cosmetic scientist and the shop’s founder, helps customers understand and navigate the often confusing clean-beauty landscape.
“Clean beauty goes beyond ingredient lists,” she said. “It’s how a product is developed, packaged, and the values behind it.”
Zia steers clear of the common trap of creating fear-based “toxic ingredient” lists and instead emphasizes science-backed safety standards alongside direct communication with product founders.
“People come in because they want to support small businesses, but they stay because they’re stunned by the changes in their skin,” she said.
Zia developed her own makeup line, Muskaan Beauty, before opening her shop in 2019. The products were cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, and halal, but she struggled to gain visibility, an issue shared by many indie founders.
“Philly didn’t have many clean beauty shops at the time,” she said. “It felt like a real gap in the market.”
Now, she aims to bridge that gap with Indie Shelf, along with other local founders who are also committed to a community-first ethos.
Read more about The Indie Shelf and Sabeen Zia’s journey to bring clean beauty to more people in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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