Recap: Black-Owned (and Founded) Beauty
What's the Blackest part of your beauty routine? 👀
Merry Black History Month 🖤
For the shortest month of the year, I was not expecting February to have hands like this. Polls were delayed while I was back in New York for 10 days on business (I’m still in active recovery from that trip 😅) Once I eventually made it home + back into my routine, I got right to a vibe check!
Note: I use both Black-owned and Black-founded throughout intentionally. It’s important to me to highlight Black entrepreneurship overall, regardless of the current ownership status. What these founders have achieved - whether they retained ownership or not - is something to be admired! (Because the way I would love to come up with a billion dollar idea, sell, and retire?!) Great related read if you need: Are Black-Owned Brands Selling Out or Scaling Up?
Ok, back to my research ➡️ First finding was that the blackest part of the people’s routines is: ✨MAKEUP✨
Important honorable mention to Black service providers and small business owners!
Top voted brands by category:
Makeup: Fenty Beauty
Hair: Briogeo
Skincare: Topicals
Write in responses (across categories): Oui the People, Antonia Burrell, Doux, Mielle Organics, Camille Rose
My quick thoughts + disclaimers:
The makeup category was STACKED - no wrong answer there - which makes me so happy. It wasn’t like this back in my MAC NC50 day! 👵🏾
The way Briogeo stormed the hair category makes me proud (I am also biased here)
Shani Darden put up a fierce fight right up until the end. I need to try her things - send recs!
The people’s favorite Black-owned / Black-founded beauty products include:
Topicals Faded Under Eye Masks (LOVE!) // Topicals Faded Serum // Forvr Mood Candles // Topicals Like Butter Mist // Buttah Cocoashea Revitalizing Cream // Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Rice Water Protein + Moisture Strengthening Treatment // BLK/OPL Soft Velvet Finishing Powder // Plantmade Wash Day Duo // Fenty Gloss Bomb OG + Heat // Cay Skin Isle Lip Balm SPF 30
Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Serum Skin Tint, which I’ve decided I need:
And Pat McGrath Labs’ legendary eyeshadows and blushes:
It’s become one of my signatures to bully the people into giving me written responses in real time (I’ve learned we like clicking buttons more than anything), but I took the week off 😂 So here are some more of my Black faves to fill in where the people left off:
Topicals Slather Body Serum // Ami Cole Lip Oil (Telfar of Lip Gloss story HERE) // Briogeo Destined for Density Density Serum // Fenty Beauty NEW! We’re Even Concealer (also co-signed by a working MUA follower) // Fenty Beauty Match Stix & Sun Stalk’r Powder Bronzer (I’ve hit pan!) // Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30
Hope this inspires a few Black-owned beauty buys this month! ✊🏾 While I’m here, a few other related Black things so far this month I want to mention:
Beyoncé: Texas Hold ‘Em, 16 Carriages, Cécred - buying the brand for research while I learn whatever the easiest spin + clap square dance sequence is for the Act II tour (she’s up to something) 🤠
Usher: I know the Super Bowl is for the masses, but he could’ve hit a few chords from Daddy’s Home for the culture 😤 Also loved this story about a tribute to his late drummer + the Danessa Myricks placement. Otherwise, this was a great, nostalgic halftime show and I regret not going to the Vegas residency while I had the chance…
SZA: SOS was robbed of album of the year - I said what I said. I also need to know about her lip liner. Is it a line? A collab?
As always, thanks for being here! You may have missed being added to this round of ✨data✨ but if you’d like to play Makeup the Majority in real time, check me out on Instagram at @nikkicroney.
xx