Alima Pure

Alima Pure was an American mineral makeup brand based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 2004 by Kate O'Brien, then a mother and kindergarten teacher, who began mixing cosmetics in her attic [2]. The company built its identity around clean, minimalist mineral makeup and a set of environmental and ethical commitments, operating as a woman-founded, family-run business until it ceased trading in 2026.

The brand is now defunct. Its website carries a closure notice — "ALIMA PURE IS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS. THANK YOU FOR 21 AMAZING YEARS OF SUPPORT!" [1] — and the closure was announced for March 30, 2026 [4].

Kate O'Brien started Alima Pure in 2004 out of a wish for cleaner, pared-back mineral makeup, working from her attic in Portland [2]. The company described its founding idea simply: makeup, in its words, "should enhance what you love most about yourself without hiding who you are." As a woman-founded and woman-run business, it framed its products as tools of self-expression and said that empowering and connecting with others was central to its work.

Founder Kate O'Brien died in October 2019 from complications of ALS. After her death, her daughter Sara took over leadership and continued the brand's operations until its closure [4]. No parent company or acquisition is recorded; the business remained independent and family-run throughout its life.

Alima Pure positioned itself as clean mineral makeup. The company said its products were free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, dimethicone, petroleum, talc, bismuth oxychloride and nanoparticles, and were never tested on animals. Its stated mission was to empower and connect with people through high-performance makeup made with clean ingredients.

The line centred on mineral makeup, with foundations as its signature category. Named products included a Pressed Foundation, a Satin Matte Foundation and Smooth Prime, and the company offered refillable compacts with magnetic pans meant to reduce waste.

Environmental commitments were a defining part of the brand's public identity. It reported becoming carbon neutral in 2008 by offsetting all of its corporate emissions [2], drew power through a renewable-energy program, and was a member of 1% for the Planet, donating one percent of gross revenue to environmental causes. The company also pledged to contribute one million trees by 2025. Alima Pure described itself as the first color cosmetics company to become a Certified B Corporation [2].

Alima Pure is defunct. The brand announced it would close on March 30, 2026, and its site now shows only a farewell message [4]. Sources differ slightly on its lifespan: the company's own closure notice thanks supporters for "21 amazing years" [1], while editorial coverage describes it as operating for 22 years in total [4]. Both agree on the 2004 founding, and the difference reflects rounding rather than a dispute over dates.