Rihanna turned the beauty industry on its heels with the debut of Fenty Beauty. According to Forbes, the Bajan mogul has racked in over $570 million in revenue since its launch. With an array of 40 shades to complement a range of complexions for women of color who are often underserved in the market, Fenty was something refreshingly new that the makeup industry desperately needed. Black women spend an estimated $7.5 billion every year on beauty products; 80% is spent on cosmetics and black shoppers spend twice as much on skincare than non-black shoppers.
With Fenty encouraging the industry to recognize the needs of black women, more and more black-owned beauty entrepreneurs have hit the ground running with various ventures that focus on our beauty needs from nails, lips, and hair. Here are a couple of fabulous black-owned companies to help complete your flawless look.
Nails: Pear Nova
Blending fashion-forward hues fresh off the runway with a vegan, five-free formulation, Pear Nova’s colorful line of polishes quickly gained devoted fans with nude tones to complete darker complexions and colorful shades. Founder Rachel James, one of the stars of VH1’s Black Ink Chicago, used her background in fashion merchandising to launch the brand in 2012 with the aim of uniting her diverse expertise in beauty and fashion.
Lips: The Lip Bar
The perfect pout can highlight any outfit. In 2012, Melissa Butler wanted to help black women find their perfect lip color, so she opened Lip Bar, a cruelty-free, vegan lipstick brand to work with their skin tones. Her colorful lipsticks were featured on black Muslim model Ashley Blevins in the #ThisIsBeauty campaign, where consumers on Instagram were encouraged to take photos wearing their favorite Lip Bar product.
Just for Men: Bevel
Women aren’t the only ones driving the beauty industry. Men’s skincare is also on the rise and Bevel caters to black men who are looking to upgrade their daily look.
Hair: Taliah Waajid
New York-based Taliah Waajid wanted to create a collection of hair products that would help manage her kinky coils. After years of making hair formulas in her home, she decided to open her own natural hair business. It is now sold in stores across the country.
Skincare: Base Butter
Base Butter was a company She’Neil Johnson created for women who wanted simple, natural remedies for better skin. Today, her company sells a wide variety of skincare products with organic ingredients for perfectly healthy, smooth skin.