Founder Amy Liu spent 15+ years in the beauty industry while managing chronic eczema. The products she was selling often triggered her skin; the “gentle” alternatives were either medicinal in feel or premium in price. Tower 28 was built to occupy the space between: formulas that meet strict clinical safety standards, at a masstige price point, with a visual language that does not read as a pharmacy aisle.
Tower 28 was the first color cosmetics brand to fully adhere to the National Eczema Association’s ingredient guidelines across both skincare and makeup — no fragrance, no essential oils, no known irritants. That commitment earned the NEA Seal of Acceptance and became a structural barrier competitors could not quickly replicate.
Formulas are guided by board-certified dermatologists and a double board-certified plastic surgeon, including Dr. Joyce Park (Stanford / NYU-trained) and Dr. Kelly Killeen (Cedars-Sinai-trained). The brand describes sensitive skin as its starting point, not an afterthought.
The brand’s operating philosophy is “Good. Clean. Fun.” — efficacy first, safety without compromise, and an experience that feels playful rather than prescriptive. Packaging is made from at least 50% post-consumer resin, and the tone stays deliberately warm.
Tower 28’s advantage is not a single hero SKU. It is a coherent cross-category system: rescue skincare, complexion, lip, and cheek products that share the same safety standard and the same wearable finish.
Hypochlorous acid — a substance the immune system produces to calm bacteria and inflammation. Used for post-flight redness, mask friction, workout flush, and barrier-compromised days.
$28 / 120ml2-in-1 tinted mineral sunscreen with 17 flexible shades and a dewy finish. One of the tinted SPFs dermatologists actively recommend for visible-light protection and pigmentation-prone skin.
$32A serum-textured, non-comedogenic concealer. In third-party clinical testing, 97% agreed it visibly concealed dark circles and 100% agreed it did not crease after application.
$22The hydration of a lip mask with a sheer, sweet tint. Eight flavors, a soft shine finish, and a texture that layers under or over lipstick without dragging.
$16Tower 28 is not positioned as a special-occasion brand. Its products are built around the friction points of everyday wear — especially for skin that reacts to friction.
Cabin air, recycled ventilation, and mask friction often leave reactive skin red and tight. The SOS Rescue Spray is sized for a carry-on and used as a reset step before makeup or at the end of a travel day.
SunnyDays sits in the tinted-SPF category dermatologists recommend for visible-light protection. For melasma-prone or post-inflammatory pigmentation, it replaces the “sunscreen-under-foundation” layering step with one product.
Under-eyes are one of the first places sensitive skin reacts. Swipe Serum Concealer is formulated to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic, with a serum texture that does not pull or emphasize dryness.
LipSoftie and BeachPlease blush are built for a sheer, lit-from-within finish that reads as skin rather than product. The textures are forgiving and buildable — useful when full-coverage formulas feel like too much.
The clean / prestige color market is crowded, but the audiences are not interchangeable. Glossier sells effortlessness. Rare Beauty sells emotional inclusion at scale. ILIA sells clean performance with SPF. Merit sells a five-minute routine. Tower 28’s lane is narrower: certified safety for reactive skin, without a clinical aesthetic.
| Brand | Core audience | Lens / positioning | Price band | Where it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower 28 | Sensitive, reactive, eczema- and rosacea-prone skin; makeup users who read ingredient lists.Certification-first | NEA-guided formulas + medical advisory board; “Good. Clean. Fun.” | Budget–mid ($16–$32) | Daily complexion and rescue care for skin that reacts easily. |
| Glossier | Effortless minimalists; skin-first makeup loyalists.Aesthetic-first | Boy Brow, Balm Dotcom; “skin first, makeup second.” | Mid | Signature no-fuss routine and community identity. |
| Rare Beauty | Broad, inclusivity-driven; strong Gen Z and millennial reach.Scale + mission | Soft Pinch Blush; natural finish + mental-health mission. | Mid | Mass reach, shade range, category-leading blush. |
| ILIA | Clean-beauty buyers who want performance + SPF.Clean premium | Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40; skin-like finish. | Mid–premium | SPF complexion with a clean positioning. |
| Merit | Five-minute, curated-routine minimalists.Minimalist | Flush Balm; small, tight edit of essentials. | Mid–premium | Speed and a tightly edited routine. |
Audience positioning drawn from DTC and prestige-market analyses. Tower 28’s price band is deliberately lower than ILIA and Merit, and its clinical certification depth exceeds all four comparators. The trade-off is that it does not compete on the same cultural-belonging axis as Glossier or Rare Beauty — its case rests on ingredient safety and certified tolerability.
Tower 28’s growth is visible in the least glamorous metric available: productivity per point of distribution.
In 2024, the brand’s sales at Sephora doubled by 100%. Founder Amy Liu described Tower 28 as “the highest productivity brand at Sephora” and noted a 17-rank jump that year.
Swipe Serum Concealer became a top-3 concealer across Sephora North America. The SOS Rescue Spray is one of Sephora’s top-performing toners — evidence the brand can scale beyond a single hero.
Shelf space doubled from four to eight shelves across 500 Sephora stores in North America and Canada. Two-bay locations immediately outperformed one-bay locations.
“Built around hypochlorous acid and designed for reactive skin, these dermatologist-tested products have quietly become the most reliable items in my skincare routine.”GQ · Beauty editor review On the SOS line; individual experience may vary.
“Loved by Kate Bosworth and Mandy Moore… an ultra-creamy formula that melts into skin for a flattering flush that lasts.”Stylist · BeachPlease Cream Blush review Celebrity usage is not a clinical claim.
“Tower 28’s expansion is less about incremental growth and more about capacity catching up with demand.”BeautyMatter · Retail analysis On doubling Sephora shelf space in 2026.
Tower 28 is not the universal choice, and it does not need to be. If cultural belonging and aesthetic identity drive the purchase, Glossier and Rare Beauty make a more immediate case. If clean performance with SPF is the priority, ILIA is the natural comparator. If the routine itself must stay small, Merit is built for that.
But for the US buyer whose skin reacts — eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, post-procedure sensitivity, or simply a history of stinging after foundation — Tower 28’s combination of third-party medical seals, clinical testing, masstige pricing, and a non-clinical visual language is a coherent, defensible choice. The certification investment is the moat, and the shelf data suggests the market is responding to it.