13 Black-Owned Beauty Brands You’re About To See Everywhere

When it comes to innovative, authentically inclusive products, Black-owned beauty brands have always led the pack — partially because they had to. For far too long, mainstream makeup brands didn’t serve the needs of Black customers. Skin-care products weren't formulated with melanated tones in mind, and curl- and coil-care was limited to a selection of generic gels. While Black women outspend the personal care market by nearly 19%, Forbes reported that only 0.27% of total venture capital investment between 2018 and 2019 went to Black female-founded brands. While progress has been made in this space — with mainstream retailers like Sephora pledging to allocate at least 15% of shelf space to Black-owned beauty imprints and Black-helmed businesses gaining organic traction on social media — there's still a long way to go in terms of elevating Black entrepreneurs. Today, we’re rounding up a new guard of Black-owned brands redefining modern beauty luxury one drop at a time. Ahead, scope out 13 current personal favorites that are on the cusp of blowing up — and receiving the long-overdue recognition that they rightly deserve.

Cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson (who formerly worked at the Clinique labs back in the '90s) founded his own high-performance skin-care brand BeautyStat in 2019. Years later, the company has caught the attention of major retailers like Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, and Violet Grey to name a few, in addition to celebrity fans like Hailey Bieber and Christina Milian.

Shani Darden's own gleaming complexion is the ultimate proof that the woman knows skin. The sought-after celebrity aesthetician has prepped famous faces like Shay Mitchell and Jessica Alba and, in 2013, released her own range of effective skin-care products, which now lines the shelves at Sephora and Violet Grey.

Forvr Mood has entered the bougie candle chat. Founded by beauty and lifestyle content creator Jackie Aina, the range of whimsical scents (with even more whimsical names like Cuffing Season and Thirst Trap) has something for every — you guessed it — mood.

Eadem launched in 2020 with a mission to bring hyper-curated solutions for skin of color. Marie Kouadio Amouzame and Alice Lin Glover’s inaugural product, the Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum, quickly amassed a legion of fans, and we expect the same for their sophomore drop, the Cloud Cushion Airy Brightening Moisturizer.

Topicals' skin-positive messaging and retro-inspired packaging unsurprisingly struck a chord with people wanting to feel empowered, not frustrated with beauty campaigns and brand messaging. Enter: founder Olamide Olowe’s effective, ultra-hydrating formulas that are an absolute must-try for anyone dealing with dry, dull skin.

Juicy lip oils, barely there skin tints, a dewy highlighter balm — need we say more? Ami Colé's lineup of clean makeup must-haves has caught the attention of beauty editors and minimalists alike — and for very good reason. Founder Diarrha N’Diaye filled a noticeable void in the market with a slew of “no-makeup” products formulated for darker skin tones. (Oh, and NBD, but the brand is now stocked at Sephora and Violet Grey, FYI.)

Love working out but hate how it messes with your wash routine? Beauty industry veteran and Sunday II Sunday founder Keenan Beasley gets it. His curated brand of hair-care essentials for on-the-go folks offers products that counteract the sweat, build-up, and environmental damage that can accumulate between sud sessions.

Model-turned-fragrance mogul Chris Collins brings his globetrotting style savvy to a range of fine colognes, which take inspiration from New York, Paris, Tokyo, and everywhere in between.

Founder Desiree Verdejo calls Hyper a "modern clinical brand," rooted in skin-care products made with Black and brown skin in mind but suitable for all skin types. The brand’s stylish dot-com is replete with before-and-after images depicting reduced scarring and texture on a variety of skin tones. Come for the brightly colored bottles, stay for the brightening, glow-boosting benefits.

In 2015, Karen Young launched Oui the People (formerly known as OUI Shave) with a mission to empower all folks to love their bodies, with or without hair. Its hero product is a game-changing single-blade razor that Young created after learning that disposable multi-blade razors were exacerbating her chronic ingrown hairs and razor burn.

Not all red lipstick is created equal — and no shade works on every skin tone. Such was the concept behind Pound Cake, which Camille Bell and Johnny Velazquez launched in 2020 with a lineup of six velvety matte liquid lipsticks in varying hues of crimson, cherry, and burgundy.

Shea butter is the hero ingredient in Hanahana Beauty's natural body products, which are made in partnership with the Katariga Women's Shea Cooperative in Ghana. Growing up, founder Abena Boamah-Acheampong’s mother swore by the powerhouse nut butter to cure a host of ailments, from sore muscles to headaches.

Look no further for luxe, intensely nourishing products that make your curls pop. From a bestselling repairing mask to hair serums galore, Julian Addo’s Adwoa Beauty is empowering you to take your texture to new, amplified heights.