A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated Apr. 15, 2024
If these companies aren’t on your radar, you are seriously missing out. Try our top picks from each brand and you’ll be an instant fan.
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Black-owned makeup brands are finally getting the star treatment. While some of the new attention may have stemmed from far from glamorous reasons over the past year, it’s still about time and a distinct sign of progress. These Black-owned businesses and many others could use your support all year long—something that even Amazon has realized by creating a new shopping section called Buy Black. Overdue recognition aside, the beauty companies on this list should be on your radar because they are amazing. Many Black-owned beauty products were created to satisfy the neglected needs of women of color, and therefore, a lot of thought, care, and detailed attention went into their creation, so they address a variety of concerns and produce serious results.
With their stellar ingredients and extensive color palettes, these companies create top-notch products that will help you look instantly put together. But their true beauty lies in the fact that they treat women as individuals and, in the process, deliver the gift of gorgeous to faces of all shades. Try them once and you’ll be a fan for life.
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After years of struggling to find suitable nude lip shades that complemented their own skin tones, Mented founders KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson decided to take matters into their own hands. The result was Mented, which launched in 2017. Though the brand was developed to serve the needs of women of color, Miller wants “women of every hue to be able to achieve the clean, natural look, which celebrates—and does not conceal—our true beauty.” The line’s moisturizing semi-matte lipstick will become your new go-to product for any occasion and help you look effortlessly gorgeous.
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When it comes to makeup, there shouldn’t be one standard. But that’s what the beauty industry seemed to be pushing until very recently—and that’s what motivated Melissa Butler to cook up The Lip Bar in her kitchen in 2012. “Everywhere I looked, the media was telling women that beauty had to look a certain way,” she says. Determined to build a brand that was “inclusive at its core,” Butler began The Lip Bar with lip products that complemented various skin tones but has since expanded it into a full beauty collection.
Infused with all natural, vegan ingredients and created through cruelty-free methods, this Black-owned makeup brand’s products are beloved for being as good for the skin as they are for the environment. The wide-ranging line truly features something for everyone, including 26 foundation shades that work for “light skin tones like Nicole Kidman’s to very dark complexions like Lupita Nyong’o’s.” Finding the best foundation for your skin tone is an important beauty duty, as is protecting skin from the sun’s harmful rays. The Lip Bar’s newly launched Just a Tint 3-in-1 Tinted Skin Conditioner is a multitasking complexion perfector, sun protector, and skin moisturizer all rolled into one.
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Looking for rich, deeply pigmented products? You’re in the right place. When Juvia’s Place founder Chichi Eburu realized that she couldn’t find bold, vibrant cosmetics that actually complemented her darker skin tone, she decided to create her own line. Driven by both “necessity and inspiration,” the Nigerian-born Eburu developed products that paid homage to African culture and the beauty trends that originated on the continent.
Juvia’s Place is revered for its boundary-pushing approach to everyday makeup, and beauty novices and professionals alike appreciate its approachability. Makeup artist Nyssa Green, founder of the Green Room Agency and a longtime fan of the brand, particularly loves the affordability of the line, which is priced similarly to many of the drugstore lipstick brands celebrities use. Green, who’s worked with celebrities of all skin tones including Jane Fonda and Sheryl Underwood, also applauds the brand for its “depth and quality” and highly recommends the eye shadow palettes for women of all complexions. The Warrior Eyeshadow Palette offers up deep earth tones with its shimmery golds, bronzes, and browns.
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When a makeup artist as accomplished as Pat McGrath creates a cosmetics line, there’s an obvious expectation that the products will be top-notch. Pat McGrath Labs not only meets that expectation but surpasses it. Guided by McGrath’s decades-long reign as one of the fashion world’s most influential beauty figures, the line is loaded with innovative colors for the eyes, lips, and face.
Though consumers and experts love the entire range, they particularly adore the highly pigmented eye shadow palettes. Considered “pure gold” by beauty pros like celebrity makeup artist Felicia Graham, the innovative shades and “silky-smooth consistency” make them must-haves for all women.
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Pop star Rihanna’s makeup line Fenty beauty is equal parts enticing, provocative, and inclusive. The breakthrough brand—highly regarded for, among other things, its broad range foundation shades—is designed to give women of all complexions and skin tones boundless options for seamless, silky coverage. Offering a whopping 50 different foundation hues for the palest to the darkest skin tones, not to mention a plethora of complementary products for the eyes, lips, and cheeks, Fenty’s products should be in every makeup lover’s bag of tricks. The Pro Filt’r foundation, in particular, is a standout product adored by makeup pros and everyday beauty junkies alike for its lightweight, photo-ready finish.
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Former actress turned beauty entrepreneur Vera Moore created her eponymous brand to fill a gaping hole in the industry for products that serve women of color—something she understood all too well as one of the first Black actresses contracted on a soap opera. Breaking ground as the first Black-owned brand to open an outpost at New York’s Green Acres Mall in 1982, Vera Moore is an OG in the world of Black-owned makeup and continues to be a leader in the field today. The brand’s Sheer Beginning foundation (available in a variety of shades from light to dark) is a long-wear, water-based blend designed to complement underlying skin tones. Your makeup isn’t the only thing that you need to keep in mind, of course. Here’s how to find the best hair color for your skin tone.
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One of the most recognizable drugstore makeup brands, Black Opal Cosmetics was created in 1994 by chemist Niko Mouyiaris as a solution to his wife Carol’s difficulty finding beauty products for Black women. Fast-forward 25 years and the brand, which was acquired in 2019 by entrepreneurs Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, is officially Black-owned and still going strong.
Chock-full of glow-enhancing essentials like primers, powders, and concealers that work with many different skin tones, the brand is also known for its accessibility and affordability. The True Color Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation SPF 15—the brand’s top-selling foundation—is available in 19 shades, protects against sun damage, and leaves behind a “velvety silk finish,” which is why it’s a constant in Green’s makeup bag. Bonus: The under-$15 price point is a blessing for just about every budget.
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If supermodel-worthy makeup is what you crave, your wish is Iman’s command. The iconic model’s eponymous cosmetics collection has been a mainstay on the Black beauty scene since 1994, and it’s still a staple for beauty connoisseurs. Green, who’s used Iman cosmetics on clients of all skin tones and textures, is a longtime fan of the brand and considers these pressed powders a great score. When it comes to pressed powder, Green looks “for it to be finely milled and light in texture [because] that’s key to minimizing the appearance of pores and fine lines”—and exactly what she finds so appealing about this particular product. Applying foundation correctly is another way to keep your skin looking its very best.
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Anyone looking to up their brow game should check out Lamik Beauty. Founder Kim Roxie, who got her start in the beauty business as a makeup artist at a local shopping mall, launched her first makeup shop in Houston in 2004 as a destination for women to have their brows shaped and their faces perfectly painted. What started out as a physical venue morphed into a brand once Roxie began selling her handmade cosmetics to clients. Today, Lamik Beauty is a complete makeup line that offers a wide array of makeup, but the brow-care products are the brand’s best sellers. Try one and you’ll see why. Lamik’s eyebrow gel is a fantastic product that instantly smooths and sets brows and lasts all day.
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Drawing on the insight gained while developing products for major beauty players like Kiss and Benefit cosmetics, self-taught makeup artist Danessa Myricks set out to create multifunctional cosmetic products that work well on all faces. And her innovative Enlight Halo loose powders, which are formulated with crystallized pigments, add instant illumination to skin. Luxurious and blendable, they come in five sparkling shades and provide a sophisticated glow for any skin tone.
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When Destiny Jones launched Lipmatic in 2014, the four-shade lip gloss line was created with a distinct nod to her father, the rapper Nas, and his musical career—the product names all paid homage to his iconic song titles. Over the past seven years, however, the brand has evolved into a broader range of products.
Since attributes like “high shine” and “rich, long-lasting pigments” are prerequisites for professional makeup artists, Lipmatic’s cream lipsticks are often an essential part of their beauty arsenal. In addition to giving off the perfect amount of gleam, the lipsticks also nurture stressed lips with their moisturizing and healing formulation of shea butter, avocado oil, and vitamins A and E. The Grand Central Station hue is a soft, gilded shade of nude that goes with nearly every complexion.
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Founded by Afro-Latina and Dominican-American sisters Mabel and Shaira Frías, Luna Magic delivers bold, high-performance, and their eye shadow palettes especially are made for drama—and created with diversity in mind. This best-selling Uno eye shadow palette offers 12 shades of rich color that spans from neutral to nearly neon. If you wear glasses, special rules apply: Don’t miss these clever tips for wearing makeup with glasses.
Originally Published: February 12, 2021
