Last year, Sephora committed a 15 percent pledge alongside founder Aurora James in an effort to show their support for Black-owned beauty brands on the market. Now the beauty retailer is recommitting its vow to honor these brands be reintroducing its 2021 Accelerate incubator program with a renewed focus, which for the first time ever features a cohort comprised exclusively of founders of color, a press release shares. Now in the program’s sixth year, Sephora is dedicated to evolving its business incubator  — which previously focused on cultivating an international community of female beauty founders while supporting the launch of more than 50 women-owned brands — to reflect its recent commitment of increasing Black and people of color representation on Sephora store shelves. “Last year, we made a commitment to dedicate fifteen percent of Sephora’s assortment to Black-owned brands, and we quickly realized the role that our Accelerate program could play in not only helping us to...

Last month, all-inclusive e-commerce platform Thirteen Lune kicked off its launch to support more Black and brown-owned beauty brands. Now the online beauty hub has raised $1 million to expand its development with help from several investors, including media mogul and entertainer Sean “Diddy” Combs, WWD reports. “I believe in the Thirteen Lune mission to build generational wealth for Black and brown business owners,” said Combs in a statement. “Nyakio and Patrick have the vision and grit to build a world-class platform, and I’m excited to be an investor and adviser.” In addition to Diddy’s participation, WWD shares that Thirteen Lune also enlisted other well-known early investors such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Gregg Renfrew of the Beautycounter, Tracey Cunningham of Mèche salon, former U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant, venture capitalist Patrick Finnegan, and Sydney Holland of Urban and The Mystic. “Through this capital that we raised, $1 million with our friends and family, and...

The financial obstacles facing many Black entrepreneurs in the beauty industry during this difficult time is proof that more support is needed. Popular Black-owned beauty brand Juvia’s Place is helping to combat financial burdens by offering $50,000 grants to six Black-owned businesses for a $300,000 support initiative, according to a press release . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Juvia's Place (@juviasplace) “The black lives and black business initiative should never be silenced,” the brand said in the caption. “It’s not a trend. It’s an ongoing battle.” According to SCORE , 44 percent of Black small business owners use cash to fund their business versus 37 percent of the average small business owners, and most seek their funding from either friends and family, lines of credit, unsecured loans, SBA Loans, equipment testing, or Rollovers for Business Start-ups (ROBS). “As a Black-owned business, I understand first-hand the financial obstacles Black entrepreneurs face,”...

Social distancing has put a damper on our basic beauty needs, but there are many Black businesses still operating to give people the products they need during quarantine. Whether by way of online orders or in-person delivery — these Black-owned beauty businesses are here to save the day. Check out this list of Black-owned beauty brands and businesses below that you can support from home. Mented Cosmetics View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mented Cosmetics (@mentedcosmetics) Mented Cosmetics, a vegan and cruelty-free makeup brand for people of color, features an array of products ranging from lipsticks and foundations to eyeshadows and more, which can all be ordered through their online store . They’re currently supporting COVID-19 efforts by donating 100 percent of their Blot Party profits to providing one million masks to New York City. skinBUTTR View this post on Instagram A post shared by skinBUTTR✨ (@skinbuttr) Beauty brand skinBUTTR sells a line of natural body and...