There’s never been a better time to learn from and invest in brands like Dizziak, R&R Luxury, Bouclème and Uoma Beauty.
The number of independent ranges owned by Black and ethnic minority women is on the rise, with many prestige, homemade offerings standing out in a sea of mass-produced products.
And the conversation around inclusive beauty brands is one that’s been gaining momentum for some time now; the much-celebrated launch of Fenty Beauty in 2017 brought it to the fore. No longer do we, as consumers, have to settle for brands that think tagging a few darker shades onto a line of generally beige foundations is acceptable.
Instead, we’re fighting for true equality in the beauty industry, and demanding more from the brands that we choose to spend money on. A huge part of that includes supporting black-owned beauty brands.
And that’s where the Stylist beauty team can help. We’ve rounded up what we hope becomes a long-list of brilliant black-owned beauty businesses we think you’ll love. While there’s some you’ll no doubt be more than aware of (Pat McGrath, known and loved the world over), there’s also an abundance of smaller, independent brands that create award-winning products that absolutely should be on everybody’s radar.
We apologise in advance to your bank balance.
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Coloured Raine
Known for its power pigment lip products, Coloured Raine was founded in 2013 by Loraine R. Dowdy after years of dreaming about a line of cosmetics that was not only inclusive but also encourage self-expression and diversity. With a 100% black team that’s 75% women, Coloured Raine has an impressive range of bold and bright products that promise to bring you joy. The brand’s matte liquid lipsticks will be among the best you try, we promise.
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Beauty Bakerie
Next year, Beauty Bakerie will celebrate its 10th anniversary, and in that decade founder Cashmere Nicole has teamed incredible products that deliver with adorable packaging and names to match. From eyeshadow palettes packed with pigment, blush and highlighting kits inspired by our favourite sweet treats (Neapolitan ice cream, anybody?), Nicole has even created a comprehensive tool to help you find your perfect foundation shade no matter what your skin tone.
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Bouclème
Founded by Michele Scott-Lynch while she was on a personal natural hair journey, Bouclème is loved by the curly hair community – and for good reason. With products that cleanse, condition, style and treat all curl types and textures, Bouclème is a must-purchase brand for all curly-haired people.
shop Bouclème
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Lash Magnifique
Founded by Stacey Nathaniel, who still works as a master lash technician in her west London-based studio, Lash Magnifique counts Chrissy Teigan’s make-up artist Patrick Ta as a fan. With numerous different false lash styles available you can choose to go au natural or all-out bold depending on your mood.
shop lash magnifique
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Dizziak
Dizziak was borne after creator Loretta de Feo couldn’t find any products available that suited her hair’s combination of textures. Now it’s a multi-award winning line that’s featured regularly by Stylist and is stocked everywhere from Selfridges to Cult Beauty. Its hero product, Deep Conditioner, is rich, creamy and packed with aloe vera, coconut oil, shea butter and quinoa protein for hydrated, healthy hair.
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Fenty Beauty
The brand that made the beauty industry sit up and listen. Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty exploded into our lives almost four years ago and it’s stayed at the forefront ever since. With it’s 60+ shades of foundation and cult highlighters and lipsticks, just when we think its products can’t get any better, they do. Fenty Beauty is the epitome of leading by example and extends its diverse and inclusive ethos into its advertising campaigns which feature trans and disabled models as well as models of all shapes, sizes and skin colours.
shop fenty beauty
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Charlotte Mensah
Created by award-winning stylist Charlotte Mensah, her eponymous haircare line has also won countless awards. It features products including shampoo, conditioner, hair oil and a finishing mist, all of which are bursting with sustainably sourced manketti nut and ximenia oils that work to condition and nourish hair.
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Pat McGrath Labs
The launch the world was waiting for; Pat McGrath is a true make-up legend. She’s painted the world’s most famous faces – Naomi Campbell has recently been announced as the brand’s first global face. McGrath has been creating iconic looks backstage at fashion week for years so it’s no wonder the launch of her debut range was to rapturous applause. Pat’s eyeshadows may be expensive but they’re among some of the best we’ve ever tried, and don’t even get us started on that Star Wars collaboration.
shop pat mcgrath labs
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Uoma Beauty
Launched in 2019, Uoma Beauty is the brainchild of Nigerian-born Sharon Chuter, a former beauty executive. Dubbed as the first ‘Afropolitan’ make-up brand, Uoma caters to everybody and uses the Fitzpatrick scale – a tool that measures skin’s reaction to the sun – to identify six beauty categories depending on undertone, skin chemistry and any common issues that can be associated with different skin types.
shop uoma beauty
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R&R Luxury
An entirely natural and plant-based brand from Africa, R&R Luxury harnesses the hydrating properties of Ghanaian shea butter. Founded in 2010 by Valerie Obaze, the brand has won multiple awards and features everything from body butters to lip balms and liquid soaps. It’s also one of the few companies that sources, manufactures and sells in Africa.
shop R&R Luxury
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Flora & Curl
After discovering that many products for textured hair were made with damaging ingredients, founder Rose created a range of haircare free from artificial fragrances and full of plant-derived goodness.
shop flora & curl
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The Afro Hair & Skin Co
Ibi Meier-Oruitemeka’s range specialises in all things green and organic, and her celebrated facial oil is packed with healing blackberry seeds, hazelnuts and frankincense.
shop The Afro Hair & Skin Co
Main image: Getty
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