17 Black-Owned Makeup Brands to Support Now and Always

Danessa Myricks Beauty, the eponymous brand of iconic makeup artist Danessa Myricks, is no stranger to Allure Best of Beauty Awards. Colorfix, Twin Flame Liquid Eyeshadow, and Yummy Blurring Balm Powder are groundbreaking formulas in their own right and take your makeup game to a level of straight-up artistry.

Star Product: Following in the footsteps of the Best of Beauty-winning Yummy Blurring Balm Powder ($36), the Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed ($25) is another surefire hit. This soft-matte formula is as intense or sheer as you want it to be and is formulated with sebum-absorbing upsalite (an ultra-porous form of magnesium carbonate), as well as olive-derived squalane and hyaluronic acid for added hydration — hello, skin-care benefits. All six shades, including Rosé N Brunch (a rosy pink pictured here), looks gorgeous on the cheeks and lips — smoothing the look of unwanted texture wherever it's applied.

Founder and CEO Tisha Thompson, who trained as a makeup artist, had dedicated her business to creating and formulating high-performing "clean" beauty products that take a skin-care-first approach and cater to deep shade ranges — all at affordable prices, to boot. (Everything is under $30!)

LYS Beauty (which stands for "Love Yourself") made headlines as the first Black-owned Clean at Sephora makeup brand in 2021 and has been pumping out editor-beloved launches — such as the Triple Fix Full-Coverage Brightening Concealer — ever since.

Star Product: True to its name, LYS Beauty's Triple Fix Serum Foundation ($24; available in 35 shades) feels like a true mix of skin care and makeup and lends skin light-to-medium coverage that will look impossibly nature, while also concealing blemishes and dark spots. People with dry or normal skin will definitely appreciate the additions of ashwagandha, hyaluronic acid, turmeric, and avocado oil, which provide antioxidant protection and hydration.

Before founder Chichi Eburu started Juvia's Place, she felt that the makeup options for her deep skin tone were (rightfully) limited and didn't fully enhance her natural complexion. Inspired by her African roots, Juvia's Place offers show-stopping eye shadow palettes, liquid eye shadows, lashes, and lip glosses that are as colorful and innovative as the kingdoms that inspired them.

Star Product: Juvia's Place The Candy Shop Eyeshadow Palette ($25) is a must-have in any makeup collection. Inspired by the colorful setting of a candy shop, bubble gum pinks, bright blues, and shimmery multichromes provide everything you need to create a fun look, day or night. It doesn't hurt that they blend like butter, either.

Melissa Butler didn't let the rejection she received on Shark Tank get in the way of her dream of building a beauty brand that represents all women. Butler, a former Wall Street stockbroker, founded TLB for those seeking edgy lipstick shades with healthy ingredients. The formulas include organic shea butter, organic avocado oil, and coconut oil, and are 100% vegan.

Not only does the brand carry everything you need for a full beat in minutes — foundation, mascara, blush, highlighter, eyeliner, you name it — but TLB also recently launched skin care. Cleansing balm, anyone? TLB's got you covered from sun up and sun down.

Star product: Long gone are the days of heavy foundations that seem to clog up your pores at any given moment. Just a Tint 3-in-1 Tinted Skin Conditioner ($17) provides buildable, light-to-medium coverage that nourishes skin, thanks to the addition of rosewater and glycerin.

Beauty lovers everywhere adore and pay homage to "Mother," aka Pat McGrath, a self-made billionaire and veteran beauty visionary. After developing a love for makeup from her mom at just seven years old, McGrath has gone on to work with Giorgio Armani, CoverGirl, and Max Factor, regularly leading over 60 shows each Fashion Week season, and paving the way for Euphoria makeup.

But she's arguably most known for her namesake, show-stopping brand, Pat McGrath Labs. Her line has some of the most stunning packaging ever created and every swipe of lipstick, eye shadow, and highlighter is basically a guarantee for an iconic look. Besides the star product below, McGrath has also picked up Best of Beauty Awards for Skin Fetish Highlighter and Balm Duo and Lust MatteTrance Lipstick in Elson, a perfect blue-based red.

Star product: Mothership V: Bronze Seduction Palette ($128) is so good it won a 2019 Best of Beauty Award. Among many fans is former digital beauty editor Devon Abelman, who said if she wasn't a beauty editor, she'd shell out the full $125 for the palette. "The shimmer options in the warm-toned palette are unparalleled," she attested. "They twinkle like a disco ball at Studio 54 at every possible angle."

With Cheryl Mayberry McKissack and Desirée Rogers at its helm, Fashion Fair, a Black-owned brand first launched in 1973 that formulated foundations for dark skin tones far before Rihanna or Fenty Beauty were even born, made a triumphant comeback. What can you expect from the rebirth (and subsequent Sephora debut)? Complexion products that lean into golden and olive shades, as opposed to red and orange, and lipsticks that achieve the perfect nude for darker skin tones.

Star Product: Available in 14 shades so far, FF Iconic Lipsticks ($28) are unapologetically bold. 10 of them are even inspired by the brand's classic colors, like Olé Orange and Chocolate Raspberry, while the four other shades are new, reimagined nudes like Coy, a warm rose brown. Another bonus? Sunflower seed oil and rosemary leaf extract ensure your lips stay hydrated and plump whenever you're donning one of these beauties.

We love an Instagram baddie beat, but a makeup lover needs choices, and Cashmere Nicole, founder of Beauty Bakerie, is happy to offer one. When she created her brand, Nicole wanted it to promote an alternative to the bad-girl images that young people are often exposed to, especially on social media. 

Sweetness is what Nicole wanted to bring back to the game, and that mission is reflected in so many elements of the brand. The packaging keeps to a confectioner's theme. The hero Lip Whip tubes have that signature swirl that makes it look like the lipsticks were filled using a frosting pipe. Certain items, like the Neopolitan Eyescream Palette, look good enough to eat. Don't sleep on Beauty Bakerie's just-as-adorable skin-care lineup, either.

Star Product: The Milk & Honey Palette ($38) is so good, we gave it a Best of Beauty Award two years in a row. This four-pan highlighter palette is what buttery-smooth dreams of made of. All four shades, Oh Honey, Queen Bee'ing, Spoiler Alert, and Bee Sweet, are perfect on their own or layered with one another for an ethereal glow.

In September 2019, Blk/Opl shared that it became officially Black-owned after being acquired by Desiree Rogers (CEO) and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack (president). Despite not initially being Black-owned, the company has dedicated more than 20 years to providing makeup and skin-care products specifically for people of color, especially Black women. The brand currently offers an array of complexion products, a few colorful lipsticks, and enough skin-care goodies to supplement your existing routines.

Star product: The creamy True Color Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation SPF 15 ($14) glides like butter onto the skin to cover up dark spots and provide a flawless base for the rest of your makeup. These affordable foundation sticks come in 19 shades that can also be used as concealer and contour to sculpt your face.

Mented Cosmetics came to life with one question founders KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson couldn't find the answer to: Why was it so hard to find a nude lipstick for their rich skin tones? 

Thus began their quest to perfect nude lipsticks (one of which won a Best of Beauty Award) and lip liners for deeper brown skin. They created quite a zealous following of others also looking for the perfect nude. Since then, the brand has expanded to include foundation sticks, eye shadows, blushes, and even nail polish.

Star product: Speaking of your perfect nude, say hello to the Semi-Matte Lipsticks ($17). All nine shades are deeply nourishing since it's spiked with castor seed oil and vitamin E and lend your lips a satin-like finish that'll actually last throughout most of the day.

We love a beauty brand that stays on-theme and The Crayon Case does in the most adorable way possible. Taking inspiration from the classroom, The Crayon Case's products include many makeup kit staples: brushes, eyeliner, eye shadow, lashes, and more, all packaged to emulate No. 2 pencils, rulers, erasers, Sharpies, and other memorable school supplies. 

Founder Raynell Seward (a.k.a. Wuzzam Supa/ Supa Cent) started the brand in 2017. Her social media popularity helped propel her venture, as well as one of her first products, the Box of Crayons Palette, which went viral soon after it was released.

Star product: The Note Pad Mini Eyeshadow Palettes ($15) are perfect for everyday or travel, thanks to eight complementary shades, like the orangey mattes and shimmers shown here.

Lamik Beauty's Instagram bio says it all: "the most inclusive clean color cosmetics brand made in the USA." Its founder and CEO, Kim Roxie, built the cosmetics brand in 2004 based on her desire to create vegan, natural products for multicultural women.

19 years later, Lamik Beauty is made up of high-quality eyebrow and complexion products — including a foundation that they custom blend for your skin tone. Its products are made with moisturizing oils like jojoba, coconut, and castor seed, as well as botanical extracts like rosemary, which serves as a natural antioxidant.

Star product: Perfect your brow-grooming routine with the Revelation Brow Duo ($49), which pairs brow powder and creme to fill in, shape, and define. Did we mention it's available in 15 shade duos? For that natural-looking finish, you have conditioning jojoba oil and castor seed oil to thank.

After growing wary of questionable chemicals in many nail products and then watching her mother and grandmother battle breast cancer, Janet and Jo founder Kendra Woolridge wanted to create something better. She decided to make products her loved ones could use without having to worry about anything harming their health. Woolridge brought to life a line of vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic nail lacquers in colors that flatter all skin tones, with a special emphasis on shades that flatter darker skin. There are vibrant corals, poppy purples, sunny yellows, hot pinks, and many more fun shades.

Star Product: All Janet and Jo shades are a mood but An Entire Mood ($20) takes the cake. This soft green transports you to greener pastures, no matter what time of year.

Coloured Raine made its debut in 2013 when founder Loraine R. Dowdy ditched her job in the finance industry to follow her dreams of starting her own makeup brand. Her mission was to create brightly colored, high-quality products for everyone — regardless of skin tone, age, or gender — and that's exactly what she did. Today, the brand offers a wide range of products, including liquid lipsticks, eye shadow palettes, foundation, and more.

Star product: The Safari Raine Palette ($25) consists of both shimmery and matte pigments in standout shades like Lioness (shimmery champagne), Tigress (shimmery crimson), and Jungle (matte forest green). It also features several neutral shades like Matriach (rich brown), so you can create a wide array of eye looks with just this one palette.

Created by Rachel James in 2012, Pear Nova is a super-chic collection of vegan nail lacquers inspired by fashion's most innovative designers. The line is 10-free so it doesn't contain questionable ingredients such as formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, toluene, and dibutyl Phthalate DBP. Additionally, the brand offers gel formulas and cuticle oil, as well as fun, seasonal collections like Trip to Tulum and All Thai'd Up.

Star product: We're a big fan of the bright-coral Festival Fever ($14), a beautiful tangerine perfect for any time of year.

Niye Attang launched Ace Beaute in 2016 with a selection of cruelty-free false eyelashes and later expanded to offer eye shadow and brushes. The brand lives by the motto "Beauty for All," meaning all colors, ages, genders, religions, and socio-economic statuses. It's held true to that mission through its product offerings.

Take a peek at Ace Beauté's Instagram feed and you'll find countless photos of colorful eye looks from folks all over the world. The brand has become famous for its technicolor eye shadow palettes that feature colors like slime green, aqua, neon yellow, and more.

Star product: The Oceanic Palette ($39) features 15 pigment-packed shadows in sea-inspired shades that are perfect for anyone who loves bold colors.