Makeup Products From Black-Owned Brands You Need To Try Today

Foundation with inclusive shade ranges, tinted sunscreens that don't leave a white cast and blushes that show up on deeper skin tones.
Perfect the appearance of skin with this hydrating adjustable coverage foundation, make cheeks pop with this berry-toned blush, get flawless brows with a powder brow duo compact and a perfect pout with this hydrating matte lipstick.
Sephora, Ulta
Perfect the appearance of skin with this hydrating adjustable coverage foundation, make cheeks pop with this berry-toned blush, get flawless brows with a powder brow duo compact and a perfect pout with this hydrating matte lipstick.

Kim Roxie got her makeup done for prom one year. She went to a makeup counter at a local mall and left with her face smeared in a shade that was far too light for her skin tone.

“I was grayed-out, OK? I looked like a little ghost,” Roxie laughed.

Although she can look back on the moment with humor now, she said, it was indicative of a larger problem within the beauty industry. People of her complexion were being excluded, and she believes this planted the seed for the growth of her own clean beauty makeup brand, Lamik Beauty.

Her mother, who became a critical figure in Roxie’s brand and relationship with makeup, helped her wash off the lily-white foundation and redo her makeup.

“My mother woke up every day, got all dressed up, put her makeup on to go work at the post office. She was sorting mail. She was not in an office, she was not up front greeting anyone, but still, she would sit down and do her makeup every morning. That was for her,” Roxie said.

Ironically, Roxie didn’t initially share this love for makeup. Rather, it took working at a makeup counter during college to see how makeup could make people feel beautiful and confident, and that ethos would later inform the creation of Lamik Beauty.

“I had fallen in love with making these women feel good about themselves,” Roxie said. “I felt like a doctor, I felt like a healer. That sort of significance was something that drew me to [this] industry and keeps me in this industry.”

Roxie’s mother passed away in 2014 from metastatic breast cancer. This devastating blow forced her to look at the kinds of products her community, and woman like her mother, were using. She said she discovered that many of the products marketed to women of color contained ingredients like carcinogens and talc. “I’m not saying that if my mother didn’t wear makeup every day that she wouldn’t have gotten metastatic breast cancer,” Roxie said. “But, what I am saying is that she was put at risk.”

Roxie said that representation ― especially within the world of makeup ― is beneficial not just for the people of color that have been notoriously excluded, but also for people with light skin.

“In the makeup industry, Black beauty professionals have such a rich knowledge of how to do makeup for all skin tones, when that’s not necessarily the case the other way around,” Roxie said.

Because of the necessity of getting work, Black makeup artists developed an ability to understand every facet of makeup, from color matching to different skin types, making them especially capable candidates for product development.

And to Roxie, supporting Black-owned businesses is an indication of your values: “How you spend your dollar is your vote. As consumers, we can’t just be mindlessly shopping. We have to be mindfully shopping.”

Learn more about Lamik Beauty’s products below, along with other incredible Black-owned cosmetic brands, some recommended by fellow Black-owned companies and others that are doing significant things in the world of beauty.

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.

Lamik Beauty

Roxie told HuffPost that Lamik is an acronym for “love and makeup in kindness,” and with those values, the brand has worked to provide people of color with access to clean beauty products that meet their needs.

A defining brow duo to get a complete brow look
Roxie told HuffPost that there's nothing like a good brow to help her show up in the world, which is one of the reasons she created this brow-defining palette. "My brows being on point, to me, is a reflection of me being on point," Roxie said. The Revelation Brow Duo consists of a velvety and pigmented powder to shape and fill in brows, plus a creamy concealer to help add definition. The formula is both vegan and cruelty free and uses jojoba oil to condition brows with each use. Use with Lamik Beauty's Power Pro duo brush to help you create realistic hair strokes.
A lightweight volumizing mascara
Lamik Beauty's flake-free mascara contains featherweight fibers to add volume and length without weighing down lashes. The non-irritating formula is safe for contact lens wearers or people with sensitive eyes.

Danessa Myricks Beauty

Roxie, a self-proclaimed indie beauty brand junkie, says she’s a big fan of Danessa Myricks Beauty’s products. Myricks, a self-taught makeup artist and mother, launched her company to build a world of inclusive beauty for all races, ages and genders. She creates innovative and multifunctional products to pay homage to her own early experiences as makeup artist, when she had limited resources and products.

A hydrating contour balm with nourishing ingredients
Danessa Myricks's contour balm is an effortless and foolproof approach to defining and sculpting the face. Using a finger, makeup sponge or brush, you can apply this lightweight contour either over foundation or powder or directly onto skin and blend or build coverage. It's formulated with hydrating hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and meadowfoam seed oil for a smooth finish that melts into skin, and it’s available in eight inclusive shades.
A multi-tonal highlighting palette with an eye-catching finish
Highlight everything from cheekbones and brow bones to cupid's bows with this multi-tonal palette designed to add subtle dimension to the face and amplify skin's glow. The creamy powder formula is infused with micro-light refracting particles, perfect for catching the light, and comes in two different shade palettes.
An adjustable coverage hybrid foundation and concealer
This innovative natural finish cream foundation is designed to provide versatile coverage from a lightweight base to full coverage foundation and even spot coverage. It's available in 23 shades and is formulated with hydrating plant-derived squalane and anti-oxidant rich vitamin E.

The Lip Bar

Recommend by Jordan Karim, the owner and founder of organic skin care brand Flora & Noor, for its inclusive shade range and cruelty-free formulas, The Lip Bar launched in direct opposition to a one-size-fits-all approach to beauty. Started in the kitchen of founder Melissa Butler, The Lip Bar creates products free from excessive and unnecessary chemicals and aims to diversify the beauty industry one lipstick at a time.

A flattering everyday eye shadow quad
Available in four shade combinations, this simple yet high-impact eye shadow palette offers both matte and shimmer shades to create complete eye looks. The velvety texture makes for a blendable and non-patchy application, even for those new to makeup.
A velvety, long-lasting lip pencil
Infused with hydrating aloe and jojoba oil, this creamy lip pencil provides a skip-free and opaque application in one pass. It currently comes in four long-lasting shades and is compatible with all types of lipstick formulas, from creams to liquids.
A non-drying lipstick made with lip-loving ingredients
One reviewer said of this richly pigmented lipstick that it was one of her "best lipstick buys ever," while another said, "This lipstick is beautiful, creamy, and long lasting. Frankly, it's the best I have purchased without exception." Available in eight unique shades, The Lip Bar's lipstick is formulated with nourishing ingredients like shea butter, vitamin E and avocado oil for a truly comfortable wear.

Unsun Cosmetics

Katonya Breaux, founder and owner of Unsun Cosmetics, told HuffPost that she started her company after a fruitless search for non-chemical sunscreens that didn’t leave a gray and purple hue on her skin. “They did not create tinted versions of these sunscreens for my skin tone,” Breaux said, “so I created a sunscreen that suits people with darker complexions, while also allowing me to start a conversation with my community about the importance of clean sun protection.” Breaux’s brand continues to bring awareness to the fact that melanated skin is continually left out of the picture when it comes to sun damage prevention and representation within the sunscreen industry.

A tinted sunscreen that won't leave a white cast on deeper skin tones
This reef-safe mineral sunscreen has an SPF of 30 and is designed to provide sun protection for all skin tones, from light to deep. The smooth, creamy texture is suitable for even acne-prone and sensitive skin types and leaves a sheer tint that can be worn alone or under makeup.
A dewy and glistening highlighter for both face and body protection
This multi-use luminizer has an SPF of 15 and comes in two different shimmering shades to compliment every skin tone. For a truly sunkissed glow, you can place the lightweight liquid highlighter on cheekbones, shoulders, collarbones, eyelids or anywhere else you want a dewy reflective finish.

Beauty Bakerie

After a successful yet difficult battle with breast cancer, Beauty Bakerie founder Cashmere Nicole created her brand in 2011 with the goal of creating cruelty-free cosmetics made without potentially harmful ingredients and inclusive to everyone. Nicole has since implemented initiatives like Sugar Homes, which supports the needs of orphaned children worldwide, and Beauty Bakerie continues to be one of the most vocal beauty brands when it comes to social justice issues and bringing awareness to disparities within the beauty community.

A cult-favorite setting powder with blurring effects
This finely milled setting powder is revered by the beauty community as the ultimate way to keep foundation in place and maintain an oily T-zone. Available in six shades, this silky smooth powder has a blurring effect to minimize the appearance of fine lines and imperfections and it won't leave a white cast in photos.
A hydrating makeup primer that feels like butter on the skin
This breathable hydrating stick primer lives up to its buttery namesake. Once applied, Butter Hydra Silk primer can leave the skin silky smooth and prepped while minimizing the appearance of pores and fine lines for a better and longer-lasting makeup application. It's also formulated with goji berry extract, which can help to even skin tone and reduce hyperpigmentation.

Pat McGrath Labs

One of the most influential makeup artists of the past 25 years, Pat McGrath is known for her creative vision, high-performance cosmetics and coveted formulas. In a 2007 Vogue interview, McGrath attributed much of her creativity to her mother, a Jamaican immigrant to Britain. “She was always mixing up colors because there wasn’t anything out there for Black skin,” McGrath said. Now, nearly 15 years later, McGrath has created a luxury brand that features hues, shades and formulas that highlight the beauty of all skin tones.

A reflective pink-toned palette of butter-like eyeshadows
Pat McGrath is known for her creamy textures and highly blendable eye shadows that offer intense saturation in just one swipe. The Mothership VII eyeshadow palette in Divine Rose has 10 different neutral, pink and peach-toned shades that come in matte, shimmer, metallic and ultra-reflective radiant finishes. Each one is formulated with rice bran and honey extract to sooth and provide antioxidant properties to the skin.
A silky blush in vibrant shades to compliment all skin tones
The Skin Fetish Divine powder blush is feather-light and comes in eight different shades that compliment a wide variety of skin tones. The unique texture leaves a satin-like finish on the skin and provides buildable pigment so you don't have worry about patchy looking blush or a result that looks too harsh.
A luxurious matte lipstick that won't dry out your lips
The formula of this creamy lipstick manages to be both matte and hydrating while also providing intense opacity in just one stroke. The MatteTrance lipstick comes in 28 shades that range from cool toned pinks to orange tinged reds and deep berries.

Before You Go

Be Rooted Co. for stationery and pens

Porsha Williams' Black-Owned Daily Favorites

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN SHOPPING