30+ Black-Run Beauty Businesses to Shop Year-Round
Canadian and international skincare, cosmetic and grooming brands that deserve your dollars.
By
FASHION Staff
Date February 2, 2023
One surefire way to invest in Black communities and culture is to shop from Black-run businesses. Below, we’ve rounded up a list of both emerging and established Black-run beauty and grooming brands that cater to POC and all ethnicities with the common goal of making us feel as good as we look.
UOMA Beauty
Inspired by the beauty and cultural heritage of Africa, beauty icon and activist Sharon Chuter’s sister brands UOMA Beauty and UOMA by Sharon C are named after the Igbo language’s translation of “beautiful.”
Topicals
“Skincare for flare-ups” is the motto for this aesthetically packaged face and body care brand now available at Sephora Canada.
Danessa Myricks
Celebrity makeup artist Danessa Myricks’ eponymous makeup line is packed with vivid pigments and the shade range you’ve been looking for.
Terra-Torry
Treat yourself to an at-home spa day with this line of handcrafted, sustainable and superfood-infused body care goodies.
Keys Soulcare
Alicia Keys has entered the skincare sphere with Keys Soulcare and its skin-nourishing offerings.
Kinksology
Catered to all curly and textured hair needs, this Caribbean-Canadian haircare brand creates eco-luxury products with plant-powered and essential oil-driven ingredients.
Noggin Oil
Celebrity hairstylist Brian Phillips and loc expert Karen Wallington joined forces in 2018 to launch this line of plant-based, Toronto-made products to tackle wash day woes for braids and loc wearers.
Mented
Derived from the word “pigmented,” the name of this beauty label is fitting — its focus is on inclusive makeup shades designed to compliment all skin tones.
Oui the People
Formulated with sensitive skin in mind, this line of grooming products will transform your shaving routine.
Catherine & Co.
Based in Toronto, Catherine & Co. offers up coconut soy wax candles in sleek minimalist packaging.
Daveenah
Tuck your curls into one of these vibrant African-print bonnets lined with silk satin material. (Bonus: The brand is Canadian.)
Ka’oir Cosmetics
Model and actress Keyshia Ka’oir’s eponymous brand offers richly pigmented, high-impact cosmetics
Apprenti Ôr’ganik
This Montreal-based body care line features natural ingredients including certified organic canadian Hemp seed oil.
Fenty Beauty
In only two years, Rihanna has taken her inclusivity-focused cosmetic line to new heights; it’s most recent product is a chocolate-hued lip colour infused with pomegranate oil.
Pat McGrath Labs
Created by one of the world’s most renowned makeup artists, this luxe line has an assortment of single products and kits.
Bevel
Tristan Walker created this revolutionary brand that now counts products that address needs ‘from top to toe’.
Solo Noir For Men
Certified aesthetician and MBA graduate Andrea Polk is behind this brand, which offers shaving kits, a beard wash and more.
Black Opal
With over 25 years’ experience celebrating ‘the nuances of black skin’, this brand was bought by Cheryl Mayberry McKissack and Desiree Rogers in 2019, making it black and female-owned for the first time.
Iman Cosmetics
Not only a pioneer in the modelling world, Iman made waves in the beauty industry when she founded this POC-focused brand in 1994.
Black Radiance Beauty
This makeup and skincare brand recently released a new range of colours in its much-loved Eye Appeal Lid Glitz eyeshadow offering.
Laws Of Nature Cosmetics
Founder Jasmine Rose was inspired to start her line of safely-formulated cosmetics after her mother passed away from breast cancer in 2007.
The Lip Bar
Launched in 2011, this Detroit-based brand launched by former financial analyst Melissa Butler has products crafted with vegan formulations.
UnSun Cosmetics
Katonya Breaux founded this brand of tinted, ‘no residue’ sunscreens in 2016.
Jeln
Level up your self-care stash with the handmade-to-order oils, masks and more from this Toronto brand.
Organic Botanical Skinbar
Created by a mother-daughter duo, this collection of botanical remedies uses ingredients like jasmine, rose and bergamot.
Okoko Cosmétiques
This Vancouver-based brand offers a range of products including face oils, a detoxifying mask and smoothing body scrub.
Serumize
Founded by biochemist and medical aesthetician Elizabeth Shabi, this small-batch skincare line focuses on the power of serums made with high-performance ingredients.
Himistry Naturals
Shop a range of products including specialized ‘systems’ to address aging, ingrown hair growth and hydration.
Gold Label Cosmetics
Launched in 2012, this New York-based line boasts products that are paraben and cruelty-free.
MFMG
Makeup For Melanin Girls founder Tomi Gbeleyi got the idea for her brand after dealing with unprepared makeup artists during her modelling career.
Essentials By Temi
This line of organic ingredient mists, oils, scrubs and butters is based in Toronto’s east end.
Looking for more? Check out our round-up of racism awareness books, movies, resources and more here.