Black owned makeup companies or even makeup companies that have the shade range to cater to women of color are hard to find. The evolution of makeup brands for women of color have come a long way since the 1800s. Many women of color used to have to mix their foundation to match their skin tones. Over time, the beauty world has found a love to embrace the different hues of people of color. Thanks to the Fenty effect, there are more makeup companies that are expanding their shade range to met the needs of people of color.
The first business person to successfully make makeup for women of color surprising was not a woman, but a man named Anthony Overton. Mr. Overton was a lawyer who also had a chemistry degree. He opened the Overton Hygienic Manufacturing …show more content…
Fifteen years earlier, the company started an annual fashion show featuring black designers and models. But finding suitable makeup for the models always proved difficult, so Johnson Publishing CEO John Johnson and wife, Eunice, solved the problem by starting their own line. “Johnson first approached major cosmetics companies like Revlon about expanding their makeup to better serve black women, but they passed”(Fashion Fair, 1). Since the oldest black makeup brands operated by mail order, with roving sales reps to show off products, it was all too easy for major manufacturers to assume that no market for women of color existed. Major manufacturers dismissed the Johnsons, but the couple didn’t let the rejection stop their dream. They visited a laboratory to concoct makeup batches. They tried out the formulas on their models, and Fashion Fair was born (Fashion Fair, 1). Determined to make the brand upscale, Johnson approached department stores such as Marshall,Bloomingdale’s, and Dillard’s about stocking Fashion Fair. They agreed and by the late 1980s more than 1,500 stores carried the brand. Fashion Fair is an African American cosmetics pioneer. Eunice Johnson faced many challenges trying to get corporations to recognize black women as …show more content…
IMAN Cosmetics partnered with Procter and Gamble in 2004. It can now be found at retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Walgreens (IMAN Cosmetics, 1).
The desire to fill a void is a recurring theme among many black beauty CEOs, and Vera Moore is no exception. Moore is a former soap opera actress. She launched Vera Moore Cosmetics in 1979 with help from her husband who is a licensed aesthetician. She wanted to provide a long lasting foundation in the darker shades that she felt were not in the market. It started as a small local venture and has turned into a full line of makeup and skin care products sold at Duane Reade and Walgreens stores (Vera Moore, 1).
Today, women of color also have the option of wearing foundation from mainstream brands such as M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Makeup Forever, Nars, and Lancôme. And it is believed that the Fenty effect had something to do with that. On September 8th 2017, Singer and songwriter Robyn Rihanna Fenty lunch her own makeup line with forty shades of foundations. According to Fenty Beauty, ”Rihanna was inspired to create Fenty Beauty after years of experimenting with the best of the best in beauty and still seeing a void in the industry for products that performed across all skin types and tones”(Fenty Beauty). She launched a makeup line that focused on a wide range of traditionally hard
The first business person to successfully make makeup for women of color surprising was not a woman, but a man named Anthony Overton. Mr. Overton was a lawyer who also had a chemistry degree. He opened the Overton Hygienic Manufacturing …show more content…
Fifteen years earlier, the company started an annual fashion show featuring black designers and models. But finding suitable makeup for the models always proved difficult, so Johnson Publishing CEO John Johnson and wife, Eunice, solved the problem by starting their own line. “Johnson first approached major cosmetics companies like Revlon about expanding their makeup to better serve black women, but they passed”(Fashion Fair, 1). Since the oldest black makeup brands operated by mail order, with roving sales reps to show off products, it was all too easy for major manufacturers to assume that no market for women of color existed. Major manufacturers dismissed the Johnsons, but the couple didn’t let the rejection stop their dream. They visited a laboratory to concoct makeup batches. They tried out the formulas on their models, and Fashion Fair was born (Fashion Fair, 1). Determined to make the brand upscale, Johnson approached department stores such as Marshall,Bloomingdale’s, and Dillard’s about stocking Fashion Fair. They agreed and by the late 1980s more than 1,500 stores carried the brand. Fashion Fair is an African American cosmetics pioneer. Eunice Johnson faced many challenges trying to get corporations to recognize black women as …show more content…
IMAN Cosmetics partnered with Procter and Gamble in 2004. It can now be found at retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Walgreens (IMAN Cosmetics, 1).
The desire to fill a void is a recurring theme among many black beauty CEOs, and Vera Moore is no exception. Moore is a former soap opera actress. She launched Vera Moore Cosmetics in 1979 with help from her husband who is a licensed aesthetician. She wanted to provide a long lasting foundation in the darker shades that she felt were not in the market. It started as a small local venture and has turned into a full line of makeup and skin care products sold at Duane Reade and Walgreens stores (Vera Moore, 1).
Today, women of color also have the option of wearing foundation from mainstream brands such as M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Makeup Forever, Nars, and Lancôme. And it is believed that the Fenty effect had something to do with that. On September 8th 2017, Singer and songwriter Robyn Rihanna Fenty lunch her own makeup line with forty shades of foundations. According to Fenty Beauty, ”Rihanna was inspired to create Fenty Beauty after years of experimenting with the best of the best in beauty and still seeing a void in the industry for products that performed across all skin types and tones”(Fenty Beauty). She launched a makeup line that focused on a wide range of traditionally hard