The beauty in black business

15 black owned beauty brands on our radar

Black women have been setting trends for decades with their creative nail art, natural hairstyles perfecting each coil, kink and gelled down baby hair and weaves. We’ve even seen other cultures adopting our styles. They love our black culture but not what comes with it…ironic right?

The recent death of George Floyd in America has triggered global demonstrations of outrage. Whilst some gathered to protest police brutality and systematic racism, others used their social media platforms to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Many black owned businesses have supported this movement and in return, we need to support them.

We see the influence of black culture everyday. Black men and women have taken pride in their appearance and innovated themselves over the years but have never received the business opportunities or recognition they deserve.

Black owned businesses globally, have received the least amount of economic support over the years. This has led to the owners being susceptible to an unsuccessful business and deteriorating revenue. It is pivotal to support black businesses! Black women and men spend roughly £6 on hair and beauty for every £1 the white community spends. Imagine putting that money into the pockets of the underrated yet deserving beauty companies.

These 15 companies portray diversity with each shade and style created proving there is something for everyone, they illustrate the true meaning of black culture. It’s time to buy black!

London based entrepreneur Nadine Bryan launched Brysocrema and the B:Undeniable make-up brand in 2015. The diverse brand was created to empower individuals of melanin-rich skin tones to be creative with colour…PERFECT for summer! Voted best luxury brand of 2019 as well as winning best nude lipstick and best blue eyeshadow, B:Undeniable celebrates and embraces individuality. The products offer a crease free, lightweight and flawless finish as well as leaving your skin moisturised with elements of vitamin E and anti-oxidants. They are dermatological tested, paraben and animal cruelty –free.

Somalian model, actress and entrepreneur Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, founded the beauty company Iman Cosmetics. This was the first cosmetics and skincare collection for women of all shades. Iman’s philosophy behind this concept was that women with skin of colour represent many races, cultures and ethnicities and, should not be subjected to the bare minimum. Since launching in 1994, this brand has attracted African American, Asian, Latina and multi-cultural women with diverse skin tones. The brand offers skin care and cosmetics with 16 varying foundation shades.

 IMAN can be purchased in Morleys – Brixton, Ridgeway Pharmacy – Walworth Road, Your Hair and Beauty Supplies – Stratford and Sabina Cosmetics – Croydon and Mitcham.
Best Sellers: Luxury Concealing Foundation (11 shades), Luxury Matt Lipstick (new – 8 shades), Luxury Pressed Powder (6 shades), Sheer Finish Bronzing Powder (2 shades), Luxury Blushing Powder (4 shades)

Having previously worked as a make-up advisor and technical consultant, Doris Michaels noticed a gap for make-up aimed towards women of colour. In 2006 Doris Michaels Cosmetics was launched with the purpose to ‘match, compliment and enhance the beauty of women of colour.’ The brand is well known for providing shades for a variety of tones and, allows customers to match their skin tone from the comfort of their own homes via the website. We love this concept as you won’t have to worry about buying the wrong shade and looking completely wrong! The foundations are comparable to MAC’s Studio Fix colours with but at a more affordable price… amazing! Doris states ‘You don’t have to be rich to look beautiful.’
The products can be purchased in Afro Beauty Centre – Deptford, Afro Cosmetics – Walthamstow, Beauty World – Brixton, Fas Hair & Cosmetics – Peckham.
Best sellers: Black Skin Colour Match Palettes, Crème to Powder, Liquid Foundation, Pro Setting Powder.

Having created her own cruelty and toxic free nail lacquers, Roxanne Campbell from Hackney North London has become a multi-award-winning celebrity manicurist. The fun and unique styles have landed her the role of lead manicurist and nail artist London, New York and Paris fashion week, with an impressive clientele including the likes of Alicia Keys and Adele. The Roxanne Campbell brand provides long lasting nail perfection as the polishes are free from formaldehyde, toluene and camphor.
Best sellers: Expensive Taste, Stormy Weather, Kiss Me, Sitting Pretty, Violets are Blue and Clean & Classy

Pat McGrath Labs was launched in 2016 by British make-up artist Pat McGrath, AKA ‘Mother’ to her fans. The brand is well known for offering 50 formulated lipsticks, a dozen eyeliners, five lip pencils as well as eyeshadows with warm undertones and sparkling metallic finishes. Catering for women of colour, Pat’s inspiration and obsession with make-up has led her to being named as the most influential make-up artist in the world by Vogue magazine and, has given her a place on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list.
Best Sellers: Lavish LuxeTrance Lipstick, Sorry Not Sorry lipstick, Gold Standard Eye Shadow, Purple Reign Eye Shadow.

Beauty Bakerie was founded in 2011 by Cashmere Nicole. Being a young mum and battling with breast cancer, Cashmere was inspired to create her unique cosmetics brand. The brand is inspired by baking and the product names and cute packaging reflect this.
Best Sellers: The Flour Setting Powder and Blending Eggs are current favourites, along with the Breakfast in Bed Eye Shadow Palette.
Beauty Bakerie can be found at Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic and Boots.

Offering cosmetics that encourage self-expression and diversity, Coloured Raine was founded by Loraine R. Dowdy in 2013. Spreading awareness of diversity in beauty and embracing all aspects of colour through unity, Coloured Raine is not only a black owned company but employs black women and men: 75% women, 25% men to be exact. This brand really is one for the culture.
Cherry Blossom, $17 (a red liquid lipstick that dries matte) is their real hero product. The blue undertones make it perfect for any and every skin tone. It’s also available in a Lip Lacquer format. Look out for highly pigmented eyeshadows and more in an array of unparalleled hues.

Best Sellers: Book of Shades Eyeshadow Organiser, Bossy Lash, Cherry Blossom, Boudoir Satin Lipstick

Whilst playing Linda Metcalf on the NBC TV show Another World, Vera Moore noticed a void in the beauty community for quality products for women of colour. Specifically, natural foundation that doesn’t rub off. (I’m sure we’ve all experienced this). In 1982 Vera broke the colour barrier when her company Vera Moore Cosmetics became the first black owned business to sell from Green Acres Mall in Long Island, NY. Vera has one of the most progressive cosmetics and skincare lines which includes products for men.
Best sellers for men: Glycolic Scrub, Oil Controlling Skin Conditioner, Plant Nutrient Masque
Best sellers for women: 10 shades of Liquid Foundation, 10 shades of Pressed Powder and 20 shades of Lipstick

BE BRIGHT AND BOLD are the words of MDM Flow founder Florence Adepoju. The pharmacist turned cosmetics creator launched her business in 2013, combining her love for 90’s hip hop, beauty, fashion and science. Florence is well known for creating liquid matte lipsticks for darker skin tones. Blue, orange and black are just a few of the stand-out colours. As well as lipsticks, Florence is also said to have the decade’s greatest mascara by beauty experts. Available from mdmflow.com
Best Sellers: MDMFlow Liquid Matte Lipstick – Billionaire,  Empire State, Retro, NinetyFour, Power, New Nude

Founded in 2017 by none other than Barbados’ own Rihanna! Fenty Beauty has taken the world by storm with their inclusivity across skin tones and genders. Offering a whopping 50 shades of foundation, including the Pro Filt’R foundation, Fenty has proven to be one of the favourites for this generation. The lightweight, buildable coverage makes ‘skin look like skin.’ Speaking of skin, Fenty Beauty is now moving onto skincare…bigger things are definitely coming.
Fenty Beauty can be found in Harvey Nichols and selected Boots stores.
Best Sellers: Pro Filt’R Soft Matte Long Wear Foundation, Gloss Goalz Universal Lip Luminizer, Full Frontal Volume Lift and Curl Mascara, Killawat Freestyle Highlighter (Rihanna’s favourite)

Launched in 2019, Good Mela sets about to allow women of all shades to look snatched without compromising their health. Having found inspiration from studying biochemistry and neuroscience, Ruth found a link between the aetiology of neurodegenerative diseases to the presence and volume of aluminium in the body – it is unfortunately present in some makeup.  As a result of this, Ruth created a make-up brand which isn’t harmful to the body and is aimed at women who look like her. This has also provided a way for her to donate to the research of reproductive dysfunctions in women. Good Mela embraces all shades that the world has to offer, whether you have an abundance of pheomelanin, eumelanin or a sprinkling of both – ‘it’s all good mela!’
Best Sellers: Lipglaze, Melabeam Loose Highlights and VAY-K Bronzer
All products are available at www.goodmela.com

‘Women of colour deserve a place to go and be reassured that finding YOUR shade is hassle-free.’ These are the words of the late self-taught make-up artist Carron Enwright-Richardson who sadly passed away in 2018, a year after she launched her brand in the UK. Carron would practice her make-up skills on her dolls, sister and friends, perfecting her styles and techniques. Through the years she found work for various make-up brands whilst freelancing for TV, magazines, weddings etc. Carron always struggled to work with women with a warmer undertone with the products available. ‘The yellows were always too yellow, the reds too red and oranges too orange.’
Carron Cosmetics was founded to provide a cruelty-free natural brand for women of colour. Using ingredients such as jojoba butter/oil, shea butter, castor oil and corn starch, Carron caters for sensitive, oily and dry skin.
All products can be purchased at The Mall 159 – Wood Green

New British brand Emolyne has been founded by Ugandan-born Emolyne Ramlov. Raised in Denmark and based in London, Emolyne has created a lip and nail wardrobing make-up brand, empowered by the belief beauty is for everyone. Celebrating every ethnicity, gender, age and lifestyle, Emolyne has birthed 30 new shades of lipsticks, lip liners and nail lacquers all made to match. Each shade has been named after a country, city or landmark in Africa to pay homage to her roots.
All products can be purchased at www.emolyne.com

What’s better than pop of colour on skin full of rich melanin? Founder Chi Chi Eburu has created a brand offering just that. Juvia’s Place is a cosmetic brand providing rich, vibrant highly pigmented colours to make you feel like you’re on holiday even on the gloomiest days. The intent behind the brand was to create eyeshadows pigmented enough to show on darker skin tones.
Best Sellers: I Am Magic Concealer, I Am Magic Velvety Matte Foundation, The Nubian Eye Shadow Palette, The Zulu Eye Shadow Palette.

We all know the feeling of being frustrated with the lack of inclusion in most of the ‘popular’ make-up brands. having experienced this herself, Nigeran/Australian business-woman Sharon Chuter created Uoma Beauty. Being an advocate for self-love and representation, Sharon has made ‘make-up with meaning’ formulated to suit a vast number of skin tones and skin needs. The Fitzpatrick Scale is just one of the revolutionary aspects of the brand. The shade identifier measures the skins reaction to the sun helping you to find the best make up and skin care to protect you as well as leave you looking flawless!
Best sellers:Double Take Sculpt and Strobe Stick,  Stay Woke Luminous Brightening Concealer, Black Magic Colour Palette

Article by Rebecca-Mae Fairman-Campbell

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