The beauty industry is home to countless brilliant black-founded beauty brands that have often been overlooked and underrepresented in a market that historically predominantly caters to Caucasian hair and skin types.
Whilst progress has been made with the conversation widening around diversity and representation, there is still much more that needs to be done.
From the award winning Pat McGrath and superstar Rihanna's Fenty Beauty to the good enough to eat Beauty Bakerie and vegan, natural Soapsmith, there are countless black-owned beauty brands for you to check out.
Read on to discover some of the best, black-owned beauty brands that we should learn from, invest in and shop from now, and forever more.
Beauty Bakerie
With a name as sweet as Cashmere Nicole, what else was she to do other than create a confectionary inspired cosmetics company?
We are not joking when we say Beauty Bakerie offers up products good enough to eat; obviously we do NOT recommend this.
From the matte lip whip and lollypop liner to delectable eyeshadow palettes and sprinkle and spices body glitter, it’s a range of mouthwatering make up products that are also vegan and cruelty free.
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beauty bakeriewww.beautybakerie.com
The pigment on this deep red lipstick is phenomenal but every shade in the lip whip is a hit.
Juvia’s Place
Easily one of the most glamorous beauty brands around, Juvia’s Place is inspired by creator Chichi Eburu’s African heritage. Chichi decided to start her own make up company after struggling to find products that matched her deep skin tone and aren’t we damn glad she did.
She began by selling make up tools from her small two-bedroom apartment with just, ‘$2000 and a dream,’ before saving enough money to officially launch Juvia’s Place.
The cosmetics powerhouse is all about jewel tones, rich colours and products fit for a queen. In fact, Chichi cites the likes of Queens like Nefertiti and Cleopatra and ‘rebels and rulers of Africa,’ as inspiration for her collection with the first Juvia’s Place item being an eyeshadow palette aptly named, ‘The Nubian.’
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Juvia's Placewww.juviasplace.com
It was ALWAYS going to be an eyeshadow palette when it comes to picking the best that Juvia's Place has on offer. The rainbow shades on the culture palette are unmatched.
Soapsmith
Founder of Soapsmith, Samantha Jameson was just 24 when she set up her first business supplying goods to events company.
Although successful, her real passion lied in scent and so Samantha sold her business and used the funds to turn her passion into Soapsmith; a scent centric personal care business that uses high quality, natural ingredients.
The luxury products are wrapped up in beautiful, vibrant packaging that span from lotions, to soaps, to bath soaks, and are stocked at iconic London retailers including Selfridges, Liberty and Fortnum & Mason.
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soapsmithsoapsmith.com
It may be one of their new products but is there anything more delicious than something coffee scented? Soapsmith has partnered up with Perky Blenders to create this 'invigorating,' product that is, 'inspired by rich allure of Amber Gemstones.' YUM
Fenty Beauty
There is no denying that when Rihanna created Fenty Beauty back in 2017 it changed the cosmetics industry forever.
The global sensation claims that she launched her make-up line ‘so that people everywhere would be included,’ and boy did she succeed.
The Fenty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation has become a staple in countless peoples make up bags and with 50 different shades Rihanna showed just how easy it was to be inclusive.
After the wild success of her foundation, which has a formula suitable for all skin types, it forced other make-up moguls to take note and take note they did, with countless brands creating a much more inclusive range of products and so ‘the Fenty effect,’ was born.
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Fenty beautyfentybeauty.co.uk
A predictable choice? Perhaps. But one of the best lip glosses around? Yes. There is a reason the lipgloss is so popular with literally everyone who uses it, from smelling divine to being just the right amount sticky, the lip luminizer is always a hit.
Pat McGrath Labs
Hailed as one of the world’s most influential make-up artists, Pat McGrath, otherwise known as ‘the mother of make-up’, launched her eponymous beauty brand back in 2016.
Gold 001 was the first product to launch, and it sold out in a matter of seconds, crashing the website.
‘I was obsessed with gold, but it was so difficult to work with which is why I created Gold 001,’ she confessed, ‘We had the pigment, a spatula and liquid so that when we created a gold eye, we’re making it wet and packing the eyeshadow on for an exquisite result.’
Since Gold 001, Pat McGrath has released an impressive collection of lipsticks, glosses, eyeshadow palettes, as well as foundation and base products – that cater to everyone.
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pat Mcgrath labs www.patmcgrath.com
The packaging alone is a showstopper but available in nearly 40 shades this foundation is worth every penny.
Danessa Myricks
Danessa started out in the medical field but decided to put her focus on the beauty industry and never looked back.
From balms, serums, tints and foundations to chrome liner, foil and liquid pigments, Danessa Myricks beauty is an innovations cosmetics company with industry changing products.
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Danessa Myricks Beautywww.cultbeauty.co.uk
Have you ever seen such a magical make up product? The chrome flakes come in a few different tones and shades for a whimsical iridescent look and give instant glam.
Dizziak
Loretta De Feo was a beauty contributor for Stylist magazine before she went ahead and created Dizziak, after years of frustration trying to find hydrating, hair products that actually worked on her thick, half Nigerian, half Italian hair.
'I would say I have around five different textures to my hair and I found conditioners either too weak or too heavy,' she admitted.
The scalp-friendly, PH balanced formulas are packed full of naturally derived moisturising ingredients including quinoa protein and babassu, coconut and argan oils.
‘Anyone can use it, any gender, no matter what their hair type – it’s totally democratic.’
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DIZZIAK www.boots.com
The conditioner is loved for its rich, nourishing formula that leaves hair shiny and detangled without weighing it down. Use as a daily/weekly/bi-weekly conditioner or leave on for 5-10 minutes as a repairing treatment mask.