Black-Owned Beauty Brands to Support Now and in the Future

With so many beauty brands and products to choose from it’s almost impossible to imagine that there could still be an overlooked section of the population whose needs still haven’t been met but that is the very real reality for many. While many of the major brands boast about their wide variety of inclusive shades the reality is the selection can be very limited with just a few color options to represent a wide rainbow of skin tones and those on the darker complexion side of that scale are often left with only a few choices to try and make it work. The good news is that this void has made way for a wave of new brands that are not only catering to people of color but truly ensuring their products represent the idea of inclusion for all people with products customers want and need. Here are nine black-owned brands that did just that, so check out what inspired them to create their own lines and what they are doing to set themselves apart as the brands you need to start incorporating into your routine now.

Mented Cosmetics

While chatting over cocktails these two women were inspired by their struggle to find the perfect nude lipstick. "We created Mented Cosmetics because we believe every woman should be able to find herself in the world of beauty, no matter her skin tone. We want all women, from light to tan to dark skin tones, to feel like they have makeup that actually works for their complexions, so we've created the shades to help accomplish that."

Mented Semi-Matte Lipstick in Peach Please, $16.50 mentedcosmetics.com

Tired of trying to find the perfect nude lip for your skin tone without any luck? This moisturizing, semi-matte lipstick is vegan, paraben-free, non-toxic and cruelty-free and comes in a variety of colors so you can easily find the shade that is right for you.

Black Girl Sunscreen

In sunny Miami, Florida back in 2016 Shontay Lundy launched Black Girl Sunscreen. “I was underwhelmed by the options for skin protection for women of color. As a woman of the sun with a darker complexion, healthy skin has always been a priority for me, and I knew there had to be a solution to the lack of options. With this motivation, the journey began to find a solution eliminating white residue and making women of color feel great and look great in the sun.”

Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30, $18.99 blackgirlsunscreen.com

Free from oxybenzone and octinoxate this sunscreen is packed with natural ingredients like avocados, jojoba, cacao, carrot juice and sunflower oil which makes protecting your skin and the environment easy. This cruelty-free, vegan, and reef-safe sunscreen dries completely clear making it great for everyday use.

Fenty Beauty

With a life in the spotlight she has had access to the best makeup in the industry yet Rhianna still saw a void in products that worked for all skin tones so she decided to create her own. With the launch of Fenty Beauty, she was inspired to design a line, “so that women everywhere would be included.” Her line offers a wide range of shades that work for all skin types. She wants to remind women, “Makeup is there for you to have fun with. It should never feel like pressure.”

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 400, $35 fentybeauty.com

Give your skin a smooth, filtered finish with this light-weight, oil-free formula that offers buildable, long-lasting coverage that’s sweat-resistant and won’t clog your pores. With an extensive array of hard-to-find shades, you are sure to find the perfect color for you.

The Lip Bar

In her Brooklyn kitchen in 2012 Melissa found herself frustrated by the lack of options in the beauty industry for her dark skin. Since it began the Lip Bar’s message has been, “One of inclusivity and positivity, quality and affordability. By featuring models of all shapes, sizes, races and genders, it is The Lip Bar’s mission to remind women that they are enough! Makeup should be easy and enhance the beauty that is already there.”

The Lip Bar Liquid Matte in Savage, $13 thelipbar.com

Available in a wide selection of bold, vibrant colors and picture-perfect nudes this long-lasting, liquid matte lipstick goes on like a gloss and dries with a matte finish. Shea butter, avocado oil and jojoba oil work to nourish lips to leave them soft without drying out.

BeautyStat Cosmetics

Ron Robinson is a veteran cosmetic chemist who has developed beauty products for brands such as Clinique, Estee Lauder, Revlon, Avon and L’Oreal. In 2019 he launched his own skincare brand BeautyStat Cosmetics which features the Universal C Skin Refiner, Universal C Eye Perfector, Universal Moisture Essence, and a Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream. “I had no intention of launching a beauty brand. I had a meeting with Jules Zecchino, a former Estée Lauder colleague and now Chief Science Officer of BeautyStat Cosmetics, where he shared a new, groundbreaking technology. I knew at that moment that this was something special that needed to be brought to the consumer… and so BeautyStat Cosmetics was born.”

BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner, $80 beautystat.com

This is the first product to launch for the brand. It is made of 20% pure Vitamin C and packaged in a patented encapsulated delivery system to ensure long-lasting efficacy with no degradation or color change while you use it. It also has squalane which provides moisture to the skin while pure EGCG, an active component in green tea, works to protect against signs of aging.

Unsun

“I have worn sunscreen diligently since my twenties,” says Katonya Breaux. “Initially it was to prevent the little black moles on my face that were so prevalent with the women in my family. However, as I matured and became more health-conscious, I realized that even someone with my complexion could get skin cancer. The idea of ‘sunscreen’ was no longer just about vanity. Protecting my skin meant protecting my lift.” Katonya worked to create a brand that could offer a natural sunscreen that also didn’t leave a white residue, which is a common issue facing women of color. “Everyone should be able to look their best while protecting themselves from the harmful effects of the sun.”

Unsun Mineral Tinted Face Sunscreen, $29 unsuncosmetics.com

A tinted facial sunscreen that uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, a physical protection from the sun, while still blending easily on the skin without leaving any visible residue. It’s available in two shades, light-medium and medium-dark to help you get the best coverage for your shade.

Vernon François

As a celebrity hairstylist, Vernon’s clients have included A-listers such as Lupita Nyong’o and Kerry Washington and his work has graced the covers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and many others. He decided to create his own line to, “help your kinks, coils, curls and waves look and feel amazing.” He also works to educate people on how to, “embrace their true texture and erase any fear of managing hair at home.”

Vernon François Styling Cream, $15 vernonfrancois.com

Perfect for all hair textures. This rich styling cream is packed with coconut oil, shea butter, argan oil and olive oil to help leave your hair feeling smooth and soft with added moisture and shine while working to hold your style and enhance your natural curls and kinks.

Pat McGrath Labs

As an internationally known makeup artist Pat McGrath has worked on some of the world’s biggest celebrities, runway shows, advertising campaigns, and magazines. She took her years of experience in the industry and decided to launch her own line. “When I launched my first seven collections, I focused on creating limited editions devoted to a singular, seductive beauty ideal, ranging from the gilded brilliance of Gold 001 to the lethal luxury of LUST: MatteTrance™. I was thrilled when they sold out within minutes and inspired hundreds of millions of shares on social media by a community that is just as obsessed by beauty and makeup as I am. How could I respond to this nearly incalculable cult-cosmetic craving except by designing the ultimate cosmetic collection?”

Mothership V: Bronze Seduction Palette, $125 patmcgrath.com

Let your eyes shine with this highly-pigmented matte palette which features ten shadows ranging from glistening golds to fiery reds. “This legendary eye palette allows you to transcend the spectrum and accentuate the natural beauty of the face with a collection of highly-advanced formulations that work together to highlight, sculpt, shape and transform the eyes with supernatural effects,” says McGrath.

Epara

Epara, meaning to cocoon oneself in the Nigerian dialect of Ebira, launched In 2017. Ozohu Adoh, an Oxford graduate, had struggled with severe skin sensitivity, uneven skin tone and hyper-pigmentation and was unable to find any products that worked for her as a woman of color so she decided to create her own line. Ozohu started by, “Looking to Mother Nature for what was best suited to African skins, and in doing so supported local communities and fair trade practices.” She worked with a lab in the UK to combine scientific formulas and natural ingredients such as moringa oil and shea butter to create a line of 95-100% natural products.

Epara Cleansing Lotion, $56 eparaskincare.com

This daily cleanser uses moringa oil, marula oil, frankincense oil and plankton extract to cleanse and remove impurities while protecting and nourishing the skin. The result is clean, bright looking skin without irritation.

Leah Goldblatt is a beauty and fashion writer with a passion for photography and travel. Follow along her journey traveling with her husband in an RV @lifemoretraveled.

Style & BeautyLeah GoldblattNovember 26, 2020Comment