Taking charge:

1. Emily Weiss
Founder and CEO of Glossier

After a brief stint on The Hills, Weiss founded the beauty blog Into the Gloss, working on it in the wee hours before her office job. Just a few years later, she launched a cult-favorite beauty brand using nothing but Instagram. Now she’s the CEO of Glossier, a multimillion-dollar company that’s going nowhere but up.

How does someone so successful stay grounded? Weiss reports that regular meditation is key to keeping relaxed and turning into the powerful leader she is.

3. Kylie Jenner
Founder and CEO of Kylie Cosmetics

Getting her start on reality TV, this little Kardashian sis has made a big splash in the beauty world, carving out a brand that’s projected to earn a neat $1 billion by 2022. The youngest entrepreneur on the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2017, she plans to keep building her burgeoning empire. Even though it can feel like others don’t take her seriously because of her age and celebrity, Jenner says she likes “to prove people wrong.”

5. Tata Harper
Founder and co-CEO of Tata Harper Skincare

After her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer, Harper became concerned about the toxicity of ingredients we’re exposed to every day. She channeled that concern into creating a safe, toxin-free skincare line that still feels luxurious. She says her Colombian roots taught her a valuable lesson about the philosophy of beauty that all businesswomen would do well to remember: Beauty shouldn’t be “a chore or a luxury, but something you [do] to make yourself happy.”

7. Rose-Marie Swift
Founder of RMS Beauty

Not many makeup artists can say their work has been featured in Vogue, but even fewer can say their work has been featured in Vogue in six countries. Swift got her start with the most exquisite brands and models in the world before starting her own line, RMS Beauty, after becoming wary of the toxic chemicals in typical cosmetics.

This makeup queen’s advice? If you don’t like what you see on the market, change it. “I started studying what was out there, got pissed off, then started my own brand,” Swift explains in a recent Coveteur interview.

10. Sara Blakely
Founder of Spanx

Sometimes inspiration comes to you the hard way — like when you’re in the middle of getting ready for a night out and can’t find underwear that doesn’t make your outfit look frumpy. That’s exactly what happened to Sara Blakely before she invested $5,000 into creating an undergarment that could be worn under white slacks.

It was a brilliant idea: Blakley is now a billionaire and one of the most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes. She believes in failing big, but also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to fully develop their ideas before sharing them with the world. Today, the Spanx brand includes trendy options for younger women through the Assets line.

12. Sophia Amoruso
Founder of Nasty Gal and Girlboss

This artsy, young urbanite created her own online clothing store after eBay allegedly suspended her account in 2008. Boohoo purchased her smashing success, Nasty Gal, in mid 2017. Amoruso then founded Girlboss Media, a newsource meant to inspire and motivate women and help them redefine success for themselves. Naming her new brand after the book she wrote in 2014, Amoruso is helping to change the way women in the beauty and lifestyle writing industry are treated by offering all of her employees — including interns — benefits like unlimited paid time off, paid maternity leave, fully paid healthcare and more.

15. Susanne Kaufmann
Founder and owner of Susanne Kaufmann

Designing a beauty brand good enough for Nordstrom and Net-a-Porter is no small feat. But Kaufmann has managed to do just that with her winning combination of science-proven results and nature-friendly formulas.

This fierce woman runs her brand alongside her family’s hotel in Austria’s Bergen forest, the beautiful natural area that inspired her collection in the first place. Her advice for running a small business empire while still having time to be a great mom and wife? “It is important to hand over some of the responsibility to other people,” Kaufmann told W Magazine, delegating what she can to those she trusts.