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Black women are the beauty standard, period. Janell Stephens — founder of Camille Rose — has taken her love of beauty beyond the small kitchen that was the birthplace of the natural haircare line back in 2011. “What I’m most proud about is the fact that I am able to provide jobs and a comfortable living for my family as well as others,” Stephens told AfroTech. Beauty is more than what meets the eye for Stephens. In fact, it is more about celebrating yourself and those around you.
Megan Thee Stallion is making hot girl history with her latest collaboration between Revlon and StockX. A press release reports that the rap star — a Revlon brand ambassador — has finally teamed up with her makeup brand partner to launch their first hyper-limited edition “Hot Girl Sunset Collection” exclusively on the digital retail marketplace. This marks the first time a beauty brand has launched any product on StockX. According to Revlon GM Chandra Coleman Harris, the brand wanted to debut on StockX’s unexpected launch model because the platform’s unique features matched its one-of-a-kind beauty collection with Thee Stallion. “StockX is at the center of culture,” she said in a statement, “so the synergies between our brand DNA, her fans, and StockX’s dynamic marketplace aligned perfectly.” This revolutionary launch merged the tech, retail and beauty industries together to provide consumers with an out-of-the-box shopping experience on StockX. Though it seems like an usual pairing...
After years of fielding questions about his age-defying skin, Pharrell Williams is finally entering the beauty business with his own skincare brand, Humanrace . Allure spoke with the superstar hitmaker and fashion designers for exclusive details on the forthcoming collection, which includes three products: rice powder cleanser ($32), lotus enzyme exfoliant ($46), and humidifying cream ($48). Consulted by dermatologist Dr. Elena Jones, the three-step system is designed to prepare, repair, and protect the skin. “You put on that humidifying cream,” he said. “You’re like, ‘Oh man, my skin is popping.’” https://twitter.com/Pharrell/status/1326675632277745665?s=20 Pharrell, whose youthful look receives constant praise online and IRL, credits his obsession with skincare to the many women he’s quizzed, including Naomi Campbell. “They’d talk to me about their skin and the things that they’d do. It varied between the different girls and campaigns that they had done and what they felt was...
Without question, two of the most influential brands in the world are Black women. Their names? Beyoncé and Rihanna. When their solo careers first took off in the early aughts, both accomplished mononymous stars were strictly music girls releasing radio-ready pop singles that whizzed up the charts. Plus, they dropped landmark music videos we’ll never forget. But as they’ve matured over the last decade, they’ve extended into farther reaches of entertainment , expanding the entire atmosphere of show business by utilizing technology. And as a result, they’ve used the resources at their disposal to uplift Black women with every innovation. Major Music & Streaming Moves As she typically is, Beyoncé was the first to drop a significantly impactful surprise album back in 2013. Her bold self-titled visual album, “BEYONCÉ” — a 14-track offering with 17 accompanying videos released exclusively to Apple Music — made the world stop long before streaming platforms were the behemoth they are...
Since COVID-19 hit, a huge focus for many personally affected by the virus has been prioritizing mental health. With people’s loved ones dying and communities struggling to stay afloat, the effects of the pandemic have taken their toll on many. In an effort to alleviate the stress of the health crisis, two beauty entrepreneurs want to offer women of color a resource to remind them to put their mental health first. DRK Beauty , founded by Wilma Mae Basta and Danielle Jackson, is a digital community that supports, celebrates, and empowers women of color. In light of COVID-19, the company launched its DRK Beauty Healing initiative to provide 10,000 hours of free therapy to women of color in America who have been severely impacted by COVID-19. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DRK BEAUTY HEALING (@drkbeautyhealing) “With DRK Beauty Healing we hope that our mental health initiative will spark conversation and change in our community. We have always envisioned DRK Beauty being...
It’s clear the beauty industry needs some work on diversifying the space, but thanks to Black entrepreneurs like Sherrel Sampson, the industry is seeing a shift occur as more Black women strive to shake things up. Sampson is the founder and CEO of Canviiy , a haircare company dedicated to providing holistic products to promote healthy scalp care. Through her company, Sampson has made her products a go-to hair resolution for everyone. Believe it or not, the idea for Canviiy stemmed from Sampson’s own experience with itchy scalp issues. After an unbearable encounter following a hair braiding appointment, Sampson searched for any and every way to relieve her scalp. “I called my stylist and asked what could I do for my scalp,” shared Sampson. “In that moment, I said ‘Yes, there are scalp oils and products that exist, but the question is are they really effective?'” This same question prompted Sampson to hunt for answers and in her research she discovered other people who also had scalp...
Every day social media platforms and smartphones help abusers stalk and carry out domestic violence on their partners. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their life. There has been more than 20,000 daily calls made to domestic violence hotlines each day. Now, one Dallas-based founder is hoping that her app can provide safer options to help victims escape. On the outside, My Beauty Fill is a typical beauty service booking app. Customers can schedule makeup, hair, and wax appointments with professionals in their area. However, within the app, customers who are domestic violence victims can reach out to organizations that will provide them with resources to leave their respective situations. Anthara Carr, the founder of My Beauty Fill, said she got the idea for the app after working in beauty marketing for years and having her own bout with domestic...
It’s no secret that there’s a lack of diversity in the beauty industry. Black and brown women have struggled to find representation in the products they’re using. Some brands are working fill this gap by creating products that cater to a more diverse customer base and finding ways to help them find resources and products that match their needs. Pinterest wants to be part of the shift that’s happening in the beauty industry. Today, the tech giant announced that it’s revamped it’s search feature for mobile to include skin tones. “You hear people talk about bringing together humans and machine learning to create balanced technology, but it’s so important that those people are diverse and can represent a range of people,” a spokeswoman for Pinterest said. The company began offering customizable beauty searches on the web in April using artificial intelligence from ModiFace, a company that specializes in AI and machine learning for the beauty industry. The company developed an algorithm...
Neutrogena–a household name for beauty products–is launching a new iOS App called MaskiD that will help with problem spots on user’s faces. MaskiD relies on TrueDepth cameras in the iPhone X, XS, and XR to create 3D printed masks that fit the user’s face measurements. MaskiD can be paired with Neutrogena’s Skin360, one of the company’s other tools that uses artificial intelligence, to help with skin care. Skin360 tracks skin’s progress over time and analyzes its health and needs. Skin360 comes in two parts: the skin scanner and the app. The scanner is paired with an iPhone to magnify the phone’s camera lens and enhances the magnification with eight high-powered LED lights. The scanner also has a “moisture meter” to determine which areas of the face require more attention. Skin360 scans different areas of a user’s face and when paired with the MaskiD provides a better skin care suggestion. MaskiD users can select from a variety of ingredients used to improve their skin...
Two weeks ago on Instagram, Dana Chanel shared an image of belittling signs that often fill the windows of local beauty supply shops where many women of color have to go — despite the disrespect — because of the limited availability of products for them elsewhere. The post announced the launch of her online shop that gives women of color a space to purchase the products they want while supporting black business. Chanel founded Curl Bible , a black and Hispanic-owned online beauty supply shop that brings both well-known and smaller indie brands to consumers looking for a safe space to purchase their products. The site got up and running in just six months. The store houses popular brands such as Shea Moisture and As I Am, but provides opportunities for smaller brands as well. On Curl Bible’s home page, the phrase “We don’t just empower women, we provide them with opportunity!” is scrawled along the top of the page, and through the positive shopping experience, ease of use and its...
KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson are two friends who felt boxed into a corner in the beauty industry before taking matters into their own hands with Mented Cosmetics . They launched their own makeup line with the perfect organic nude lip products for women of color with just about $10,000 in savings. That led them to being the 15th and 16th black women to ever raise $1M in capital and expanding their products to lip glosses, an eyeshadow palette, nail polish and more. Today it was announced that Mented Cosmetics raised $3M in its latest round of funding. CircleUp Growth Partners is the lead investor in the series seed and focuses on early-stage consumer brands with a “data-driven, scalable approach to investing in visionary founders.” The first time around, KJ and Amanda pitched to more than 80 VCs. But this round, Miller says they pitched to about 30 VCs in total. And they found themselves in a position to say “no,” allowing them to be intentional about working with their investors....
In February of this year, black-owned beauty brand The Lip Bar began selling in 43 Target stores in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, NYC and the DMV. With the launch, the brand began selling Target exclusive shades, “Baddie,” a gloss, and “Unimpressed,” a liquid matte finish. Founder Melissa Butler appeared on Shark Tank and was not offered a deal with one of the sharks — but when she sent a blind email to a buyer at Target about how her customers were shopping at the big box retailer for hair products but not beauty, the proper next steps for her company were set into motion. Melissa’s story is an inspiring one — one of individuality, determination and ethically-sound products (all the lip colors are vegan and cruelty-free). So, if you want to wear stunning lipstick shades like Taraji P. Henson, who wore “Drama Queen” and “Savage” at The Oscars, check out our interview with The Lip Bar’s CEO, Melissa Butler , below. AfroTech: How did you end up on the career path you’re currently...