Key Takeaways:
The beauty industry runs on plastic. More than 120 billion units of cosmetic packaging are produced annually, and most end up in landfills due to the complexity of materials and inadequate recycling infrastructure. Aora Mexico was founded on the refusal to accept that as inevitable.
The plastic-free color cosmetics brand made its official US retail debut this week with a full omnichannel launch at Credo Beauty, including online, in-app, and across all 15 brick-and-mortar boutique locations nationwide. Aora has been plastic-free since day one, and for co-founder Nour Tayara, a Credo Beauty partnership was always part of the plan.
“Aora Mexico formulas are colorful yet still ‘clean,’ and everything we’re doing—from plastic-free packaging to pushing for disruption in the premium beauty market—made Credo Beauty the right partner,” Tayara told BeautyMatter. “For a small brand like ours, it was an ideal way to enter retail with a partner that has a proven track record of propelling brands forward.”
The retail launch introduces something that, to the brand’s knowledge, has never been done in prestige retail before: a 100% aluminum, zero-plastic in-store display. Produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in partnership with The Bernard Group, the manufacturer behind merchandising installations at retailers including Credo Beauty, Sephora, and Target, the displays cost roughly twice as much as traditional plastic, but it’s a price the brand was willing to pay.
"When you touch it, feel it, and see the shine, it immediately conveys a sense of quality," Tayara said. "It was a big challenge, but it was worth it, because at the end of the day, people want to do something new. Designers, manufacturers, suppliers—they get bored doing the same plastic displays. When a brand comes along and gives them a sustainability challenge, it's exciting. It's up to us to ask for it."
Aora’s sustainability strategy extends well beyond packaging. Through its certification with rePurpose Global, every Aora product sold funds the removal of 9x its weight in plastic waste. To date, that has translated into more than 2,000 kilograms of plastic removed from the environment—the equivalent of millions of single-use items diverted from oceans and ecosystems.
“We are in a plastic epidemic right now, and we're never going to be able to fully remove all the plastic, but I think everyone should be striving to find better solutions and clean up what's already out there,” said Tayara.
Bringing Color to Clean Beauty
Aora was founded in Mexico City in 2022 by Tayara, a former L’Oréal executive, and co-founder Rodrigo Peñafiel. The name comes from the Spanish word “ahora,” which translates to “now” in English, signaling an urgency around sustainability that underpins the brand’s mission.
“Unfortunately, the beauty industry doesn’t care about sustainability, and I think it's super important that we say it out loud,” Tayara said plainly. “If it did, more than 90% of what’s produced wouldn’t be designed to become trash. The reality is, most of what the industry puts out isn’t recyclable, so it ends up in the trash.”
From the very beginning, Aora positioned itself at the intersection of sustainability, performance, and cultural identity. Its formulas incorporate Mexican-origin ingredients such as native chiles, tepezcohuite, and cactus flower—all housed in plastic-free packaging that Tayara describes as a deliberate rejection of what he calls the industry's "sea of sameness."
"Everyone has the same tubes, the same nozzle, the same pencils, the same palette, the same shapes of everything," he said. "I find it a bit lazy, to be honest—especially when we know the problem we are facing with plastic."
Aora stands out in other ways, particularly within the clean beauty category. In contrast to the minimalist, muted aesthetic that has long defined the space, the brand leans into bold, saturated color, drawing inspiration from Mexican art and culture and reframing what “clean” can look like on the shelf.
That distinct point of view has translated into early momentum for the Mexican beauty brand, which grew 4x year over year. Following a soft US launch in March 2025, the brand quickly gained online traction, fueled by a widely shared video from beauty creator Charlotte Palermino and a viral moment with The Lipstick Lesbians. Breakout products like the Acaríciame Más Spicy Lip Serum and the pyramid-shaped Mírame Eyeshadow Palette have been key drivers of that growth.
In 2025, Aora Mexico was named to BeautyMatter's NEXT50 list, which Tayara credits with accelerating conversations with suppliers and partners.
"After Aora was named a BeautyMatter NEXT50 brand, a lot of suppliers reached out," he said. "People have more willingness to push the envelope with us, because we have that seal of approval from an industry leader. Innovation is a lot of hard work, and you need suppliers to believe in you and really take a leap of faith with you."
Cultural momentum has been an equally important accelerant for the brand. Aora was the official makeup brand behind Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, and makeup artist Katey Denno used the brand’s products on Palestinian actress Clara Khoury at the 2026 Academy Awards. These high-visibility moments helped reinforce the brand’s positioning at the intersection of beauty and culture.
Aora Enters Credo Beauty
Given Aora’s combination of clean formulations, plastic-free packaging, bold color, and strong cultural identity, the path to retail required careful alignment, and Credo Beauty offered exactly that. The retailer has built its reputation as a launchpad for clean beauty brands, including Ilia, RMS Beauty, Kosas, and Tower 28. Its curated assortment and education-first approach have made it a go-to destination for conscious consumers seeking "clean" beauty, with an emphasis on ingredient safety, sustainability, and efficacy.
“To partner with Credo Beauty, a true authority in clean and sustainable beauty, is incredibly meaningful,” said Tayara. “Their standards have shaped this category, and their belief in Aora is a powerful validation of what we’ve built.”
From Credo Beauty’s perspective, Aora fills a distinct gap, bringing vibrancy and bold colors to the cosmetics category. Many “clean” brands share a similar aesthetic, offering muted, natural makeup tones, a sheer wash of color, and formulas that often prioritize subtlety over strong pigmentation.
“Aora is an incredible addition to our very selective color lineup, bringing a vibrant shot of color and their elevated and impressive plastic-free packaging to our guests,” said Annie Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Credo Beauty.
Initial conversations between the brand and retailer began in mid-2025, and they made it official in early January, with the intention of launching in April during Earth Month. Credo Beauty was fully on board with Aora’s plastic-free retail display.
"I got zero pushback when I told them I wanted to do the display in metal," Tayara said. "They told me, 'If you can do it, do it.'"
For now, Credo Beauty’s 15-store footprint makes the investment manageable. Tayara is candid that the math changes considerably at a larger scale, and that the real solution is collective.
"It’s expensive to create a display like this when I'm the only one doing it," he said. "It's the equivalent of going on vacation alone and wanting to go on a boat tour—it’s going to cost you. The more people move to better, more recyclable technologies, the better the price gets for everyone. The next step for the brand is to bring the industry with us."
Beyond sustainability, Aora is also pushing the industry to rethink what clean beauty looks like and who it’s for. The brand incorporates Spanish-language packaging across its assortment, a deliberate decision that reflects both its Mexican heritage and the reality of a shifting US consumer base. By 2030, the US Hispanic population is projected to reach approximately 71 million, accounting for roughly a quarter of the total US population.
“Spanish is widely spoken in the US, and we’re in a moment where that culture is being embraced in a much bigger way,” Tayara said. “It's a beautiful moment to showcase Spanish-speaking brands and brands with Spanish on the packaging, and we’re really proud to bring that to Credo Beauty, because it really doesn't exist right now.”
What’s Next for Aora
Aora’s launch at Credo Beauty is the brand’s first major step into physical retail, but Tayara hinted this is only the beginning for the brand’s US growth. The brand’s roadmap extends several years ahead, centered on advancing material innovation while scaling distribution channels. Already, Aora is developing its next wave of products, including a fully plastic-free mascara. As the brand grows, maintaining its sustainability commitments becomes increasingly complex.
“Yes, it’s getting harder,” Tayara said. “But now we have a community and partners who believe in what we’re building. Before, we were doing this without a feedback loop—it felt like singing in the shower alone, not knowing how it would be received.”
For the first time, US consumers can experience the vibrant, color cosmetics brand in person—interacting with products, exploring the aluminum display, and engaging with a vision of beauty that challenges the typical American “clean” beauty norms. Aora is a breath of fresh air for consumers who love color but don’t want to compromise on their values of sustainability and efficacy.
“It’s still mind-blowing,” Tayara said. “We built this community online, and now it’s translating into real-world retail. That’s a huge validation.”
True to its name, Aora is moving quickly in the US beauty industry landscape, landing a coveted spot in one of the top beauty specialty stores within a year of launching in the States. The brand that refuses to blend in is finding its footing—and its audience—by challenging conventions at every turn, proving there’s room for a more disruptive, colorful vision of “clean” beauty.
“We're feeling a lot of love right now, and a lot of excitement for where we are going,” said Tayara. “I think the best is yet to come.”