Want to support the Black Lives Matter initiative? One way is to check out and shop these 11 Black owned beauty and fashion brands! It’s been a heavy week, with lots of learnings about things I didn’t realize before. There are many strong voices fighting racism and helping bring justice to George Floyd and too many innocent Black people’s murders. It’s very sad that it’s taken these occurrences for us to pay attention. In light of this, I’m excited to share with you some Black owned brands to know. While there are some I have discovered this week, others I’ve known and loved for a while.
This post is focused on Black owned beauty and fashion brands, if you’d like more information on organizations fighting police brutality, see here. For resources for children and books helping foster a discussion on races, racism and more, see here. And finally, for an impressive list of Black owned businesses to support or partner with, see Black Wall Street App here.
Black Owned Beauty Brands
For these black owned beauty brands I focused on products I would use myelf because they align with my clean beauty standards. Although it’s in no way an exhaustive list, I wanted to highlight a few that I will buying!
Pholk Beauty
A native Georgia girl, founder Niambi Cacchioli, fell in love with apothecaries. She would visit local apothecaries and load her shopping cart up with all kinds of butters, oils, plant waters, and clays, and experiment with the simple beauty recipes that her Nana taught her. I was blown away by the ingredients this academic turned beauty activist utilizes. Naturally, on my list of things to try is this moisturizing Werkacita Beauty Balm for moisturizing with key ingredient Mango Butter.
Golde
Trinity Mouzon Wofford co-founded Brooklyn-based Golde in 2017. The beauty brand is centered in making superfood-boosted essentials for health and beauty. Products are always natural, easy, and (most importantly) fun. Admirably, Golde is carried at Sephora! One of the items I have my eyes on is this Tumeric Tonic Sachets for Glow & Debloat , and I also hear great things about the Clean Greens anti-pollution mask!
Aba Love Apothecary
Beautiful founder Aba is an east coast native with first generation roots stemming from Ghana. I love that much like myself, she grew up inspired by her mothers elaborate beauty rituals. Eventually, Aba went on to study fashion leading to careers in Trend Forecasting and Product Development in New York City. Which ironically, led her back to what first captured her imagination as a child – beauty. Therefore, in 2015 she became a Certified Aromatherapist with training from The New York Institute of Aromatic Studies. Product picks for me are: Room & Linen Spray and the Body Tonic looks delish. Get free shipping with code FREESHIP50 on all orders over $50!
The Lip Bar
I love The Lip Bar’s story so much! Rejected by Shark Tank and frustrated on Wall Street, they have crushed it. As founder Melissa Butler has famously said, βOur rejection on Shark Tank was not easy, but at that moment, I had to make a decision.Β And I decided that I would not give someone else power over my dreams.β Now they have a store in Detroit and carried in 450 Targets! I’m inspired that they are inclusive focused, cruelty-free, vegan and focused on beauty that doesn’t harm your health. As a lipstick maven myself, I am looking forward to trying their Liquid Matte Lipsticks. However, they also carry eye and face make-up too!
Black Girl Sunscreen
Wearing suncreen as a light skinned person is ghastly enough! Therefore, I can imagine the frustrations of dark-skinned beauties. Black Girl Suncreen was founded in 2017 and is available at Target also! This black owned beauty brand uses NO parabens, or other harmful chemicals while infusing the finest ingredients to shield and moisturize melanated skin without the dreaded white residue common with most sunscreen. Amazing!
Black OwnedFashion Brands
For these black owned fashion brands to know, I focused on lower profile diamonds in the rough. However, there are also other brands that I have long loved.
Accrochets
Accrochets is a female owned brand specializing in hand crafted and hand-stitched by Agnes Ayebare. Self described as a petite girl with big dreams, she has beautiful designed fashion items that in my opinion, are couture. She doesn’t have a website but you can order your heart’s desires by direct messaging her on Instagram.
LaQuan Smith
The Laquan Smith show at NYFW Fall/Winter 2020 is easily one of the most sexually charged and hyped runway shows I’ve attended. The energy and designs were electric. It felt equal parts rock concert, part rave, this designer left on impression on me. Thanks to hosting with the Fashion News Lifestyle Network, I got to see the rehearsal before the show. The models were instructed to be the literal definition of power and sex. No one was to be spared. The clothes are edgy and modern and the crowd freaked over it. Perfectly choreographed to music, we were all entralled. We waited over an hour past it’s scheduled time to start and can guarantee we’d do it all over again. You can find his ready to wear here and here. To learn about Laquan, himself, you can head here.
Sincerely, Tommy
This is a brand that I’m super excited to discover because I love their chic, clean aesthetic! They carry shoes, accessories, clothes, and some beauty products. Sincerely, Tommy is a Brooklyn based lifestyle store with an in house coffee bar. Yum. Within this haven they focus on emerging brands with a special empahsis on community. Check out their accessories here and jewelry here!
Mateo New York
Mateo New York is one of the better known brands from the list. Popular with celebs and high end department stores, Mateo New York was founded by Matthew Harris. The self-taught jewelry designer is from Jamaica and he launched his brand in 2009. While focusing on women’s jewelry, they carry candles, handbags and fine relatable fine jewelry. What do I have my eyes on? This right here, the Cognac Croc Catherine Box Bag.
Cushnie
Cushnie is extremely well-known and on every list I’ve seen. I’m including it here, however, because I’m a long-time fan and it’s so freakin gorgeous. CUSHNIE is a luxury womenβs ready-to-wear and bridal brand designed by Carly Cushnie. The brand was established in 2008 out of the desire to serve the modern woman and precisely tailored to flatter the female form. Not suprising, this delicate white knit dress below is on my wish list.
βAs a woman, I understand what my customer wants from her clothes. Iβve grown and evolved alongside her over the past 10 years, and I strive to present her with timeless silhouettes that make her feel sexy, sophisticated and powerful β all at once.β Carly Cushnie
lem lem
Founded by Supermodel Liya Kebede, all the lem lem goods are made in Africa! From there she was inspired to launch the brand following a trip to her native Ethiopia. There she met a group of traditional weavers who no longer had a market for their craft. The word ‘lemlem’ means to bloom and flourish in the Ethiopian language of Amharic. The brand is committed to elevating artisanship and expanding production and jobs across Africa. Additionally, this mission focused company also has The lemlem Foundation, helping African artisan women find a market for their goods or find jobs. Completely obsessed with this tiered dress!
I hope that you enjoyed learning about these Black owned Beauty & Fashion Brands as much as I did! This week has held many lessons about the roles we play and how we can help. Even though I’m not an activist guru, I do know my fair share about beauty, fashion and being a minority. We all have unique talents and voices to keep shouting BLACK LIVES MATTER! And they all a role in making a long-term difference. XO, Z