Fragrance house

Standard Beauty

Standard Beauty is a South African skincare brand founded in June 2020 by Ann-Kathrin Joos during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joos created it after identifying a gap in South Africa’s affordable skincare market, seeking to combine quality, aesthetics, and accessibility. Its identity centers on attainable beauty, science-backed formulations, authenticity, transparency, affordability, and inclusivity, while challenging unrealistic expectations of perfection. From 2020 to 2022, the business developed from a one-woman, home-based startup into a larger skincare company, expanding its product offering along the way. In 2022, it improved existing formulas and introduced color-coded packaging; a February 2023 rebrand further refreshed its look, packaging, and formulations, alongside a dermatological-approval claim. Standard Beauty entered fragrance with Aria Eau de Parfum in 2025. Aria, characterized as a vanilla-gourmand scent, was followed by Lira Eau de Parfum in April 2026, described as the brand’s second fragrance and a floral scent.