Black Owned Makeup Brands to Shop

Black Owned Makeup Brands

to Shop

Highlighting and celebrating black artists, entrepreneurs, creators, professionals, and black people, in general, is not something that we should leave to a particular period of the year. While it's awesome to set a month aside to help the general society understand the gift that is Black people and their creations, it's absolutely important to ensure that we are acknowledging people of color all year long.

To do this effectively, we need to purchase art from black people, hire black people at our organizations, and patronize black businesses, whether they are small businesses or they've grown to become corporations.

We’re highlighting a few black-owned makeup brands for you to shop, and why not? Black people have been setting trends for a while. The industry has come a long way from black people not finding a powder that matches their skin tone to several beauty brands popping up that cater to the black audience. Don't you just love to see it?

1. FENTY BEAUTY

Fenty Beauty, owned by Rihanna, broke a lot of barriers when it came on the scene. With 40 shades of foundation, this brand understands what it truly means to create makeup for a diverse audience. No matter what shade you are, light-skinned, dark-skinned, you would find a shade that fits you. And that's what we're talking about! We're tired of having to mix several shades of foundation just to get a fitting shade, so this is definitely welcome.

The best part of Fenty Beauty bringing true inclusion to the table is that it caused many established beauty brands to reconsider their offerings. Now, more brands that aren't even black-owned have started expanding their offerings to cater to a more diverse customer base. In case we weren't clear the first time, we love to see it! 2. BLACK OPAL

Despite its name, Black Opal only transferred ownership to actual black women in 2019 when Desiree Rogers took over as CFO and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack as president.

However, the brand has consistently provided beauty and makeup products for women of color for the past 25 years. Over the years, the company has continued evolving and expanding its offering to cater to even more women of color. It's great that the products are also quite affordable too.

3. HYPER SKIN

Owned by Desiree Verdejo, Hyper Skin is a beauty brand that caters to women of color. This brand has an interesting history. Desiree had owned a beauty boutique in Harlem, Vibrant Beauty.

Her beauty boutique carried a variety of premium skin-care products. As she ran this establishment, she got great insight into what black women needed, so she set out to do something about it. She decided to create

Hyper Skin's first product, the Hyper Clear Brightening Clearing Vitamin C Serum. This product combines vitamin C and Vitamin E to clear away hyperpigmentation and dark spots.

4. EPARA SKINCARE

It doesn't get more diverse than make-up products created by a Nigerian woman for women of color. The brand name, Epara, is said to mean "to cocoon one's self" in Ebira, the dialect of the brand's owner.

Ozohu Adoh, Epara Skincare's Founder, earned her MBA at Oxford University and worked with a U.K lab to develop skincare formulas using organic ingredients from Africa. At first, the aim was to find treatment for her own dry, uneven skin, but that quickly transitioned into looking for solutions for women of color’s skincare issues. Epara Skincare products help solve skincare issues such as discoloration, hyperpigmentation. Some products also help with makeup removal.

5. MENTED COSMETICS If you have ever wondered why it's so hard to find nude lipstick that matches the skin tone of black women, Mented Cosmetics presents a solution for you.

The two founders of the brand, KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson, set out to create Mented Cosmetics rising on the back of nude lipstick scarcity for women of color. As they progressed, they created some of the most appropriate nude lipsticks for deep brown skin. One of their lipsticks even won a Best of Beauty Award.

They now created lip liners, eye shadows, blushes, and foundation sticks to expand their products line.

6. IMAN COSMETICS Iman is one beauty brand that has stood the test of time. Created by supermodel Iman in 1994, this brand is meant for every skin tone and color. Finding a product that matches your skin shouldn't be much of a problem when you use Iman. Many of Iman's products are shadeinclusive, ensuring that women of color have enough options for their skin.

With more black-owned makeup brands coming on board, the beauty and skincare market is expanding, and women of color cater to it now more than ever. You should patronize these brands and get your friends and family to do the same. This way, you’d be encouraging inclusion and diversity in the beauty industry.