OUR MISSION
Creative artistry is in the DNA of Lemonhead LA.
Our mission is to create products that excite, inspire and empower makeup artists to freely express themselves without limitations.
ABOUT THE BRAND
LEMONHEAD Los Angeles was created by makeup artist Megan Dugan, who sought high-impact, avant-garde makeup products to inspire creativity. When she couldn't find what she needed, she began blending good-for-skin ingredients with ultra-reflective glitter to create the first ultra-luxe glitter balms. These innovative glitters were gentle, mess-free, long-lasting, and easy to use, quickly gaining recognition among other makeup artists.
LEMONHEAD LA soon developed a cult following, with A-listers like Beyoncé, Margot Robbie, and Lady Gaga wearing LHLA glitter. Featured in top beauty publications like Allure and Harper's Bazaar, LHLA glitter also made waves on "Euphoria," including Zendaya's iconic lavender glitter tears.
In 2019, LHLA collaborated with Lady Gaga's beauty brand, Haus Laboratories, showcasing Melrosé Spacejam and Silverlake Spacepaste in their holiday collection. Despite the buzz, LHLA remains true to its roots, handcrafting products in small batches in Los Angeles. Whether you're a professional makeup artist or a beauty enthusiast, LEMONHEAD LA is here to spark your creativity. Open the glitter and let the magic happen.
OUR FEARLESS FOUNDER
Lemonhead LA isn't your average beauty brand. As a professional makeup artist. I was always so frustrated with how intimidating and overly complicated creative makeup was– specifically glitter. My professional background in beauty, marketing and sales inspired me to solve this problem.
In 2015, I experimented non-stop until I achieved the perfect alternative to loose glitter. The thick metallic paste was an entirely new medium. It was able to be sculpted into different shapes which was never before possible with loose glitter (or those watery gels and rollerballs from the 90's). Most importantly, my glitter pastes could be removed instantly and left no mess behind! For the first 2 years I was on my own in a converted garage until I met Eden, who has become the other half of LHLA and scored the (very fitting) job title of "human disco ball".
Although we may do things a bit unconventional at times, we have grown LHLA the only way we know how- with transparency, integrity and by listening to feedback from our fans and customers Today, many LHLA-inspired products may exist on the market, but our glitter formulas remain the top choice of celebrity artists and beauty editors because of our high quality and craftsmanship and comfortable wear. Our products continue to be proudly handcrafted in Los Angeles, CA and we remain 100% women owned and operated.
-Megan Dugan, Creator + CEO
2015
LEMONHEAD LOS ANGELES
It started with a dream and a chance. Our founder, Megan Dugan, had relocated to Los Angeles just 2 years prior to pursue her dream of becoming a celebrity makeup artist while working behind the scenes for top beauty brands such as MAC, NARS, Trish McEvoy, Caudalie, Tata Harper and more. Her success in bridal makeup artistry prompted the need to update her makeup portfolio and encouraged her to explore editorial looks beyond her usual repertoire. The fear and intimidation of using glitter mixed with her creativity and tenacity converged, propelling her towards her goal of “uncomplicating complicated makeup”. From this fusion emerged 'Spacejam' – a pioneering line of ultra-luxe glitter balms, comprising five bespoke designs, each with its own distinct style and vibe. Thus, Megan embarked on her journey to revolutionize glitter in the makeup industry.
2016
SPACEPASTE EN VOGUE
Just a few short months following the debut of Spacejam, Spacepaste was created in response to editorial makeup artists personally requesting simplified single shades (fun fact- Roosevelt was created when Wall Group artist Vincent Oquendo requested a red glitter paste for Alessandra Ambrosio). On her days off, Megan dedicated her time to personally visiting top Hollywood hair salons, where she generously gifted products to the stylists. Her aim was simple: to encourage them to use the products on their clients and help spread the word about her brand. A major salon was obsessed and brought the glitters with them to a certain infamous music festival in the desert and a week later we were featured in Teen Vogue giving Megan the confidence to leave her career, secure our first retail partners and devote herself fully to Lemonhead LA (or LHLA for short) full time.
2017
WE'VE GONE VIRAL...
2017 marked a pivotal year for LHLA. Transitioning from crafting our initial products in a kitchen to a dedicated garage space marked a significant milestone. Our presence at major makeup shows generated substantial buzz among professional artists; it was during this time that Megan crossed paths with Eden, who has been an integral part of our journey ever since. Moreover, our brand soared to viral fame for the first time with our widely acclaimed 'glitter squeeze' videos amassing over 50 million views on Facebook. Notably, even Jeffrey Star ordered and lent his seal of approval, affirming our glitters as 'Jeffrey Star approved'. We continued building our brand and sharing our journey on Instagram where we used fan feedback and requests when choosing new shades and color names making us one of the first "crowd-sourced" interactive beauty brands.
2018
Houdini + Beychella
As time sped by, our growth outpaced our expectations. We realized we hadn't even crafted an official brand launch strategy, chosen colors, or settled on a logo – all we knew was how to make exceptional glitters.
In 2018, we hit our stride and became known as the leading glitter brand in cosmetics. We revamped our packaging with a proper logo (goodbye, random watercolor of Stella– Megan’s beloved Brussels Griffon) and partnered with a top lab in California to refine our adhesive formula. An accidental mistake in a glitter order led us to creating Houdini Spacepaste®- the most viral and bestselling glitter in history.
We moved into our first official office and studio, where we continued handcrafting each glitter alongside a team of talented freelance artists we hired to support them between gigs.
By spring, we celebrated our first major collaboration with country music star Kacey Musgraves. And when Beyoncé's makeup artist, Sir John, chose our Spacepaste shades for her Coachella performances, it was the ultimate validation of our success.LHLA HISTORY: Beyoncés artist Sir John trusted our Spacepaste® Glitter Concentrate in shades Houdini + Dirty Penny for her weekend 1 performance and Houdini + Mulholland for weekend 2
2018
BY ARTISTS, FOR ARTISTS
By the end of 2018 we had collaborated with over a dozen artists such as legendary makeup artist Ve Neill (pictured creating "Rockstar" Spacejam) who had designed their own unique Spacejam glitter blends in our home studio, each as a limited edition release with proceeds going to the charity of their choice. Looking back, 2018 was one of the most magical times and the connections and friendships we made that year were unparalleled.
Artist collaborations included:
Ve Neill - Rockstar
Robin Black - 54
Lipstick Queers - Queerdo
Tonya Brewer - Godfather
Beau Nelson - Prism
John Lieckfelt - Lieckminded
Debra Macki - Goodwitch
Fidel - Sedexxtria
Rachel Goodwin - Scorpio Rising
Lottie - Lotstar
Jamie Greenberg - Ruthberry
Sir John - Caviar Noir + Prohibition
Monique Heart - Happy Ending
Merch Collaborations:
Kacey Musgraves
Chvrches
Rydel Lynch
The Driver Era
The Struts
2019
ROME, GAGA & PURE EUPHORIA
As an indie brand, one of our most defining moments was the realization that our glitters took on a starring role in the groundbreaking HBO series, EUPHORIA. The mesmerizing makeup looks showcased in the first season not only made glitter, gems, and innovative makeup techniques trendy but also embraced by a wide audience, encouraging individuals of all ages to embrace creativity in their everyday makeup routines. We are deeply thankful to Doniella Davy and Kirsten Rider for placing their trust in our products to amplify the narratives of the show's characters. One of our bestselling products is our Euphoric Glitter Pro-Squad which features 6 shades used on and inspired by the show!
We also made our first brand trip overseas to Rome, Italy to participate in a makeup masterclass taught by none other than Roshar and Alex Box. As artists that inspired our founder to become a makeup artist a decade earlier, it was truly a full circle moment.While in Rome, Megan received an exciting call from Lady Gaga's team asking if we would be interested in partnering with her to feature Melrosé Spacejam® and Silverlake Spacepaste® in a capsule collection for the holiday launch of her new beauty brand, Haus Laboratories!
2020
THE FIRST GLITTER PRO-PALETTE
By 2020, we had built a dedicated following, with many of our customers returning to purchase different shades. However, the large, heavyweight jars of our products posed a challenge for professional artists, who found them cumbersome for their kits. Many tried creating their own palettes, but the products dried out due to lack of airtight seals.
A close friend introduced us to a professional silicone palette originally designed for acrylic paints, which we repurposed by special request. The idea caught on quickly, leading to an overwhelming number of custom orders. In response, we decided to launch these palettes as an official product offering, with a built-in pro discount.
Spacecase® is the original glitter pro palette. Four years later, it has inspired dozens of imitations, but no formula compares to ours. Each palette is handcrafted with unparalleled attention to detail, making it a unique work of art.
We currently offer two permanent 24-color palettes and one mini 16-color palette, with plans to release more limited edition series and custom special orders in the future.
2022 and beyond
Room to grow
Limited space was hindering our ability to grow as a small-batch manufacturer. By 2022, we knew it was time to expand. We relocated our headquarters to a spacious 2,000 square foot warehouse in Los Angeles, allowing us to flourish.
This move gave us a top-notch production space and an in-house content studio, making us completely vertically integrated. We can now dream up new products and glitter blends, test for quality, produce thousands of jars weekly, and shoot all our content – all under one roof!
Our founder Megan became a mother in summer 2023 and glittered at events nearly to the day she gave birth. She considers Maddox her greatest work of art yet.
On a normal day at Lemon HQ (as we call it), you can find us engaging with our customers, keeping crawling babies away from the production room, creating social media content, packing our traveling glitter bar for private events, and, of course, continuing to handcraft the world’s best glitter! Total girl power!
OUR BRAND VALUES
ADVOCATING FOR LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
Lemonhead LA is proud to be a brand that celebrates, promotes, sponsors and firmly supports artists in the LGBTQ+ community every day of the year. Our efforts have raised thousands of dollars for various organizations that provide a spectrum of care such as housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth and most importantly suicide prevention.
Makeup by Megan Dugan
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
Lemonhead LA 's success has been entirely "crowd-sourced." Our brand was built through the many voices and talent of our incredibly diverse community of artists and fans of all different races, genders, cultures and beliefs. We strive to make everyone feel welcome, seen and celebrated and believe the face of our brand is every one of you.
Makeup by Alexa N Hernandez
SUPPORTING WOMEN
Women are an unstoppable force when we support one another. LHLA strongly stands against bullying and we will never be a brand that participates in tearing others down. I hope my brand can help ALL women feel more confident, take a chance on themselves and maybe even become entrepreneurs themselves.
Makeup by Claudiu Burca
CELEBRATING PRO ARTISTS
LHLA is unique because our DNA is PRO artistry. For far too long, The PRO Makeup Artist community has been neglected by brands that only pursue relationships with influencers with large followers. Our focus remains on creating industry staples that will transcend trends. We are the biggest supporters of pro artists, educators and beauty lovers everywhere.
Makeup by Alex Box
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS
All too often the hard work and creativity of artists and innovators is shamelessly copied by large corporations and competitors without credit. Our ideas, products and even our website images and ingredient lists have been copied by other brands with zero repercussions. I have always advocated for small business owners and I will never give up the fight for stronger IP protections.
I also make it a personal choice to source our ingredients, packaging and shipping materials not only from the USA but from small local businesses whenever possible. This makes our products more expensive to produce but it's the right way to do business.
-Megan Dugan, Creator & CEO
GIVING BACK
We were taught to measure success by the way we make others feel. Since our conception, giving back to our community has been second nature. Whether it's our annual fundraising for LGBTQ+, Celebrity Artist collaborations for charity or making/distributing thousands of hand sanitizers around Los Angeles to those in need during Covid, we are grateful to be able to make a difference. We are always looking for new ways to make positive change in the world.
Makeup by Claudiu Burca
SPREADING LOVE AND UNITY
It's hard to explain but our glitters have the extraordinary ability to cultivate joy, friendship and new connections. Want proof? Bring some LHLA with you next time you go out and watch what happens!
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