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NEW ERA Brands owned by inspiring women of color are redefining inclusivity within the beauty industry – and it’s about time WORDS AMERLEY OLLENNU
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recently discovered some old high school photos, and couldn’t help but cringe at the ashiness of my complexion. Back in 1999, at the age of 15, my budget didn’t allow for purchases from the few prestige brands that catered for a diverse range of skin tones like Nars, Bobbi Brown and Mac. While a relatively small number of brands solely dedicated to women of color did exist – namely Zuri, Black Opal, Black Radiance, Iman Cosmetics and Fashion Fair – they weren’t available everywhere, and when they were, stock was often limited. I was stuck with what the mass market had to offer, and it fell short in every way. Ranges were also limited when it came to bases, and even if a foundation looked like it resembled my warm skin tone, on application it never did. Lipsticks
were frosty and lacked pigment, as did the limited shades of blushers. When you finally found a passable formula, darker shades were constantly being discontinued, or sold in only a few locations, and overall there was a distinct lack of understanding of the types of undertones brown, black, Latina and Asian skins require. Even supermodels like Naomi, Tyra and Iman weren’t immune. On the launch of Iman Cosmetics, the model revealed that she and the few black models working at that time had to take their own mix of foundation to shoots and shows, to ensure they had an adequate base to wear. Unfathomable, when according to market researchers Mintel, black women in the US alone will spend $2.25 billion on beauty products between 2016 and 2021. As a teen, this marginalization of women of color left me feeling
unworthy, unattractive and somewhat ashamed of the color of my skin. However, fast-forward 20 years and the future of inclusive beauty looks bright. There’s a new cohort of supermodels now gracing the pages of national glossy magazines, such as Halima Aden, Adut Akech, Slick Woods, Winnie Harlow, Duckie Thot, Imaan Hammam, and, of course, Adwoa Aboah, who appeared on Edward Enninful’s first cover after he became editor of British Vogue. ‘It's gotten a lot better over the last few years, but it's nowhere near where it needs to be,’ says MDMflow founder, Florence Adepoju. ‘If we can't solve seemingly simple issues, like foundations for a diverse range of skin tones being made widely available, how do we deal with more nuanced problems, like diversity in advertising and unrealistic beauty ideals? It's important for brands like mine to exist and give a different point of view.’ Just like supermodel Iman’s trailblazing cosmetics line, which debunked the ludicrous excuses (made by predominantly white men in suits) such as there is ‘no market for shade extensions’, MDMflow is one of several ‘for women of color’ indie brands helping to wake the industry up. In 2016, cosmetic scientist founder Florence Adepoju went from making lipsticks in her parents’ garden shed, to being stocked in the likes of Topshop and Anthropologie within a matter of months. Her award-winning mascara has become a beauty editor staple, but her lipsticks are particularly formulated with women of color in mind. ‘I would never say that a white woman couldn’t wear my lipstick – of course they can. But when I’m working, I think “I am formulating a product so that a black woman can wear it”, so that the color shows up. With my lipsticks, the darker your skin, the better it looks,’ says Adepoju. Brooklyn-based Hi Wildflower’s range of polishes, shadows and lipsticks are designed in a similar way by novelist and perfumer Tanwi Nandini Islam. Understanding that finding the right shades can be a ‘traumatic struggle’ for brown-
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