New Era

Brands owned by inspiring women of color are redefining inclusivity within the beauty industry – and it’s about time

Words AMERLEY OLLENNU

I recently discovered some old high school photos, and couldn’t help but cringe at the ashiness of my complexion. Back in 1999, at the age of 15, my budget didn’t allow for purchases from the few prestige brands that catered for a diverse range of skin tones like Nars, Bobbi Brown and Mac. While a relatively small number of brands solely dedicated to women of color did exist – namely Zuri, Black Opal, Black Radiance, Iman Cosmetics and Fashion Fair – they weren’t available everywhere, and when they were, stock was often limited. I was stuck with what the mass market had to offer, and it fell short in every way. Ranges were also limited when it came to bases, and even if a foundation looked like it resembled my warm skin tone, on application it never did. Lipsticks were frosty and lacked pigment, as did the limited shades of blushers.

When you finally found a passable formula, darker shades were constantly being discontinued, or sold in only a few locations, and overall there was a distinct lack of understanding of the types of undertones brown, black, Latina and Asian skins require. Even supermodels like Naomi, Tyra and Iman weren’t immune. On the launch of Iman Cosmetics, the model revealed that she and the few black models working at that time had to take their own mix of foundation to shoots and shows, to ensure they had an adequate base to wear. Unfathomable, when according to market researchers Mintel, black women in the US alone will spend $2.25 billion on beauty products between 2016 and 2021.

As a teen, this marginalization of women of color left me feeling unworthy, unattractive and somewhat ashamed of the color of my skin. However, fast-forward 20 years and the future of inclusive beauty looks bright. There’s a new cohort of supermodels now gracing the pages of national glossy magazines, such as Halima Aden, Adut Akech, Slick Woods, Winnie Harlow, Duckie Thot, Imaan Hammam, and, of course, Adwoa Aboah, who appeared on Edward Enninful’s first cover after he became editor of British Vogue.

‘It's gotten a lot better over the last few years, but it's nowhere near where it needs to be,’ says MDMflow founder, Florence Adepoju. ‘If we can't solve seemingly simple issues, like foundations for a diverse range of skin tones being made widely available, how do we deal with more nuanced problems, like diversity in advertising and unrealistic beauty ideals? It's important for brands like mine to exist and give a different point of view.’

Just like supermodel Iman’s trailblazing cosmetics line, which debunked the ludicrous excuses (made by predominantly white men in suits) such as there is ‘no market for shade extensions’, MDMflow is one of several ‘for women of color’ indie brands helping to wake the industry up. In 2016, cosmetic scientist founder Florence Adepoju went from making lipsticks in her parents’ garden shed, to being stocked in the likes of Topshop and Anthropologie within a matter of months. Her award-winning mascara has become a beauty editor staple, but her lipsticks are particularly formulated with women of color in mind. ‘I would never say that a white woman couldn’t wear my lipstick – of course they can. But when I’m working, I think “I am formulating a product so that a black woman can wear it”, so that the color shows up. With my lipsticks, the darker your skin, the better it looks,’ says Adepoju. Brooklyn-based Hi Wildflower’s range of polishes, shadows and lipsticks are designed in a similar way by novelist and perfumer Tanwi Nandini Islam. Understanding that finding the right shades can be a ‘traumatic struggle’ for brown-skinned women like herself, Islam set out to provide the antidote.

However, it’s brands with the ‘Fenty effect’ that are creating substantial ripples of change within the market. Some pre-date Fenty, like Beauty Bakerie, a black-owned cosmetics company founded by Cashmere Nicole. Counting popular YouTubers like Jackie Aina and Tatty Westbroke, as well as the likes of Beyoncé and Cardi B as fans, this is a brand that takes diversity and inclusivity seriously.

‘My goal is to make sure I get every voice at the table,’ says Nicole. This has translated into her tirelessly working to manufacture products that cater to all skin tones, but that have also been traditionally hard to find for women of colour, like highlighters and bronzers.

For over two years, singer Rihanna has also worked diligently on her line, creating products with formulators who have a real understanding of the nuances of darker skin and lighter skin alike. Fenty Beauty launched in September 2017 with a whopping 40 shades of foundation, providing not only women of color with wearable bases, but women across the color spectrum. Teamed with an advertising campaign and ethos that unapologetically champions inclusivity and celebrates diversity, the brand is helping to shift society's definitions of beauty – and forcing established make-up lines to do better, or be left behind.

Maybelline, Cover Girl, Dior and more all now offer 40 shades of foundation in a bid to stay relevant, finally understanding that the demand for inclusivity won’t be hushed by simply hiring a diverse celebrity face to front a campaign, only to provide unconsidered products on the counters. Influencers and emerging beauty journalists of color are demanding more, and other brands like Fenty and similarly loud-and-proud Afropolitan Uoma Beauty are giving women all over the world the confidence to challenge the status quo, by way of their wallets.

What’s more, these new companies aren’t just redefining color cosmetics, they are having a direct impact on inclusivity in other areas of personal care. Take haircare, for example – there’s no better time to shop for lines that cater to women with waves, curls and coils. Luxury brand Oribe recently launched a collection for highly textured type 4 hair, recognizing that although there are more drugstore options for women of color, the prestige market is far from saturated with products for afro textured hair. Setting their sights on being ‘one of the first to offer this upgrade,’ Oribe have understood that fobbing women of color off with a general curly hair line won’t cut it. One other notable brand ushering in this new era of true inclusivity is Briogeo, a clean beauty line that ditches segregation of the consumer, targeting customers by hair texture rather than ethnicity. Founded by ex-Goldman Sachs Vice President, Nancy Twine, the black-owned brand has been profitable every year of its five-year existence, and brings in more than $10 million in annual revenue from sales at Sephora, Nordstrom, Forever 21’s Riley Rose, Birchbox and Ipsy.

It seems that mainstream brands are finally taking women of colour and their spending power seriously. Long may this new-found commitment to bringing well-formulated products that consider women of color as much as non-women of color to the market continue.