A little background: So, to start off, I am not black myself. I am simply someone with a huge passion for makeup. Makeup can have such an empowering effect on women and everyone deserves to feel beautiful but one thing I've noticed in the beauty world is the lack of options for women of color. Realistically, I understand the limitations on brands regarding the products they make. Business is about making money so if they don't feel like they have the consumer base to buy their products, then they may not consider it an essential product to make. Here's the thing though, how can black women purchase products that aren't being made?
Most brands focus on the largest skin tone group, which would exclude people on either far side of the shade spectrum, and fall somewhere in the middle. That being said, I feel like if you aren't even trying, then how can you ever expand your consumer base? Black women enjoy and value makeup just as much as anyone else.
I went to Sephora recently with one of my friends who happens to have a very deep complexion. As we were browsing the shelves, I couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment on her face when finding a product that she REALLY wanted to try, only to see that they don't carry a shade deep enough for her skin tone. To me, that is not okay so I wanted to do a bit of research to find companies and products that DO invest the time and money to cater to deeper skin tones. I didn't do it for charity or "pity" (I say that because I have been accused of that before, some people have asked me "you're so pale, why do you care about options for darker women?" which is just silly in my opinion. As a human being, I simply care about all women having options and feeling included in the beauty community). I just wanted to expand my own knowledge of beauty brands and show my support for brands that are more inclusive and maybe underrated
The brands I found that seemed to offer the most selection for women of color were mainly black owned companies, no surprise there. So I felt I should share that information to possibly help anyone who may feel discouraged about the options for women of color in the mainstream beauty world. You may have heard of some of these brands or not but I feel like they are worth your time to try out! Even if you aren't a person of color, they still offer awesome products that anyone can use! So why not support them?
1. Beauty Bakerie
Owner: Cashmere Nicole. She is a 30 year old makeup artist, breast cancer survivor, and mother of two.
Beauty Bakerie is completely cruelty-free and offers awesome products with a unique "sweet" theme. Try their Flour Setting Powder. It comes in 4 shades: Translucent, Brown, Pink, and Yellow.
2. Juvia's Place
Owner: Chichi Eburu. She is a Nigeria-born wife and mother of two. She launched her cosmetic company a little over two years ago in order to give women of color more options. She has a passion for African cultures and tailors her products around them. Juvia’s Place is known for their highly pigmented eyeshadow palettes that feature images of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.
3. AJ Crimson Beauty
Owner: AJ Crimson. AJ is a very popular makeup artist for celebrities and is now an entrepreneur when he launched his own brand, AJ Crimson Beauty. According to the bio on his website, "I wanted to create a product inclusive of women of all ethnicities, a product all women could find ownership in and believe in. So often, makeup has been designed with a one size fits all mentality, and with black women and women of color my cosmetic line contains shades for women of every ethnic background and skin tone."
4. Sacha Cosmetics
Owner: Kama Maharaj. Kama started Sacha Cosmetics in 1979 in Trinidad and Tobago. This brand prides itself on offering great products that have been developed for multicultural women – Asian, Hispanic, African, Indian and other women of color.
Sacha Cosmetics is especially known for their Buttercup Powder that was developed for deeper skin tones in order to avoid looking ashy, having a white cast, or flashback.
5. IMAN Cosmetics
Owner: Iman. Iman was born in Somalia and is a model and mother of two. IMAN Cosmetics launched in 1994 and is designed for women of color with skin tones in a wide variety of shades. The brand offers skincare and cosmetics, including 16 foundation shades.
6. Danessa Myricks Beauty
Owner: Danessa Myricks. Danessa is a makeup artist with a passion for artistry. She noted the highest opportunities were to alleviate the issues of cosmetic marketing for ethnic skin tones coloring the world. From fair to deep complexions, Danessa aimed to touch all faces equally. Thus, she launched her brand, Danessa Myricks Beauty.
7. Coloured Raine
Owner: Loraine Roberts Dowdy. Loraine launched Coloured Raine in 2013 because she longed for a cosmetic line that encouraged self-expression and diversity. Coloured Raine provides bold, colorful, cruelty-free cosmetics for women of all skin tones. Unfortunately, I could not find an image of her but the brands most notable product is the Queen of Hearts palette which offers both matte and shimmer shades that are gorgeous and will look amazing on any skin tone, but especially deeper complexions.
These brands are all good quality and can provide options for women of any race or ethnicity. Have you tried any of them before? If not, what are you waiting for? :)
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