12 Black-Owned Makeup Brands You Need To Know

According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Black women spend $7.5 billion on beauty care annually. That’s big bucks. Fortunately, there are more and more brands speaking directly to them, created by Black CEOs, makeup artists, and entrepreneurs. From decades-old brands such as Fashion Fair BLK/OPL, to newer stars including Pat McGrath Labs and Fenty Beauty By Rihanna, there’s no shortage of quality products. 

Ahead, find 12 of the biggest Black-owned beauty brands with makeup for all skin types and tones. 

1. Fenty Beauty By Rihanna

It’s hard to believe Rihanna’s makeup brand is only seven years old. We can’t imagine getting ready without it. Fenty Beauty burst onto the scene in 2017 with 40+ shades of foundation and a particular focus on undertones, making inclusivity a nonnegotiable. While we wait for Rihanna’s next album, the brand has expanded into Fenty Skin with body products, skin care, and SPF for all skin types. 

2. Pat McGrath Labs 

Pat McGrath Labs has been around since 2015, but its eponymous founder has been one of the most influential makeup artists in the world for decades. She got her start working backstage at runway shows and crafting eye-catching looks for the covers of magazines. Now, there’s almost nothing her brand doesn’t excel at, though the eyeshadow palettes stand out as our favorites among the offerings. 

3. Danessa Myricks Beauty

Like Pat McGrath, Danessa Myricks is a self-taught makeup artist who creates some incredible looks for musicians and actors. She worked at numerous brands developing bestselling products before launching her own company in 2015. Standouts include chrome eyeshadows and foundation that doesn’t feel like makeup.

4. Beauty Bakerie Cosmetics

Founder Cashmere Nicole has been creating ultra-cute, bakery-inspired beauty products since 2011 — but don’t dismiss them as play makeup. Her lineup, which includes setting powder, foundation, matte lipstick, and more, is all about high-quality cosmetics that abide by her cruelty-free, vegan, and gluten-free ethics.

5. Coloured Raine 

In 2013, Loraine R. Dowdy launched Coloured Raine to ensure there’s bold, bright makeup on the market that pops on melanin-rich skin. Today, her colorful palettes and liquid lipsticks are some of the best at affordable price points. 

6. BLK/OPL

Black Opal has been through a few iterations. In 2021, Desirée Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack took control of the decades-old beauty brand and gave it a much-needed refresh. They relaunched the affordable makeup and skin care at Ulta Beauty, all without parabens, mineral oils, and phthalates. Now, fans of the brand can scoop up inclusive foundation, eyeshadow palettes, and more, for under $20. 

7. Black Radiance Makeup

For more than 30 years, Black Radiance has provided makeup lovers with quality face, eye, and lip products at shockingly low prices. With bold pigments and creamy formulas, the brand redefines what it means to be a drugstore beauty brand.  

8. Fashion Fair

Eunice W. Johnson, wife of Ebony magazine founder John H. Johnson, launched Fashion Fair in 1973. It shockingly disappeared in 2018 with no warning, but in 2021, the brand relaunched with Desirée Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack at the helm. (The duo keeps reviving iconic Black-owned brands!) Now, there’s updated packaging, new vegan and cruelty-free formulas, and even more inclusive shades.

9. The Lip Bar

Though she struck out in a 2015 appearance on Shark Tank, CEO Melissa Butler didn’t give up on her dream of a beauty brand for melanin-enriched skin. Looking for lipstick shades to flatter darker skin tones? Look no further than The Lip Bar. Butler has also expanded on her vegan line to include skin care and makeup brushes. 

10. Ami Colé

Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye honed her craft at Glossier and L’Oréal, and then the first-generation Senegalese American launched her own brand in 2021. She took the no-makeup makeup look typically seen in the media on white women and turned it on its head with natural-looking products for women of color.

11. LYS Beauty 

Scroll through social media and you’ll likely see LYS Beauty’s viral blush and contour sticks. But founder and CEO Tisha Thompson didn’t set out to become a flash-in-the-pan success. With 20 years of clean beauty product development under her belt, Thompson brought her expertise to her own brand in 2021, offering a skin-first approach to makeup for all types and tones. 

12. Relevant 

Beauty entrepreneur Nyakio Grieco co-founded the e-commerce site Thirteen Lune in 2020 to make it easier for everyone to shop BIPOC-created beauty products and those from friend and ally brands. Since then, she’s launched a brick-and-mortar partnership with JCPenney (with 600 shop-in-shops), as well as Thirteen Lune’s first standalone store and an in-house makeup, skin care, and fragrance brand, Relevant.