Amy Liu's Tower 28 Warms Your Face Like a Sunscreened Day at Santa Monica Beach
By Kelli Luu | 10 May, 2025

Drawing on her beauty industry experience, Liu has built a line that exceeds expectations with clean, durable, buildable coverage in a wide array of shades.

The other day my eyes became irresistibly drawn to the Tower 28 section at my local Sephora.  The juicy lip glosses and tinted sunscreen were showcased in the kind of colorful packaging that makes you think, “Maybe I do need this”. 

Tower 28 is formulated for sensitive skin but without affecting the products’ performance. What clinched my interest was the line’s creator: Taiwanese-American Amy Liu. 

Her 15 years in the beauty business, including stints as VP of Marketing at Josie Maran and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing (FIDM), prepared Liu to redefine clean makeup with the launch of Tower 28 in 2019 in Santa Monica, drawing the name from an actual lifeguard tower at the beach.

Makeup formulated as “clean” often do so at the expense of the pigments, with shades that are often too sheer or fade by noon.  Tower 28 is a different story. 

The brand’s products, made in the U.S. and Canada, are vegan, non toxic, and dermatologist tested, all without sacrificing coverage and color.  You can layer the products beautifully as they’re designed to be buildable, which is perfect for any makeup look. 

That means we get clean formulas from affordable products that actually show up and stay put. 

Tower 28 delivers not only quality, but also a bit of fun, with product names like BeachPlease Blush.  The ocean themes and eye-catching boxing makes the brand a breath of fresh air in the beauty industry. 

Liu has built Tower 28 on a foundation of inclusivity, no pun intended.  A problem consumers have with brands is finding their matching foundation.  Tower 28 offers a wider spectrum of skin tones. 

The Swipe Serum Concealer comes in numerous shades, all with flexible undertones, making it easy for anyone to avoid that orange concealer look. So we have inclusive shade matching, buildable coverage, and calming our blemishes?  How often can you say that about a concealer?

Liu understands that beauty has never been one-size-fits-all and collaborate with makeup artists and influencers to show off the brand’s diversity.

Tower 28 is more than cute packaging and a viral TikTok moment. It’s a brand built with a purpose.  

The next time you’re at Sephora and you see that bright, beachy display, remember that Tower 28 is making beauty fun.  Trust me when I say your makeup bag will thank you.