Black Female Beauty Influencers

For years, it has seemed like the beauty community has failed women of color by not having as inclusive products or giving enough recognition to those who deserve it. There has been some progress of growth by some influencers who wanted change for those with darker skin tones. In this entry I will talk about a few influencers who are women of color, who have a strong impact on the beauty community. 

It can be argued that Jackie Aina is the biggest beauty influencer who is a woman of color. She is a 32 year old beauty you-tuber based in Los Angeles, CA . She is a Nigerian- American who strongly advocates for people of color in makeup. Although her first career choice was medicine, while she was stationed in Hawaii while in the United States Army Reserve, she was hired by MAC Cosmetics as a makeup artist. Her inspiration for starting her youtube channel was that she was told multiple times that certain products or makeup trends wouldn’t work for her because of her dark skin complexion. She then soon began to post videos on youtube showing products that she personally loved and that could work for all skin tones. Her main argument in the beauty community is that the beauty industry is not inclusive enough. Although there are some brands who have a variety of darker shades, there are not enough. Jackie has had many accomplishments such as being the first beauty influencer to receive a NAACP Award for her advocacy for diversity in the beauty community. With her criticism towards these cosmetic companies, she has been able to collaborate with a variety of companies such as E.L.F Cosmetics, Too Faced, Sephora, and more.

Rihanna is probably one of the most popular influencers in the beauty community. She is Barbadian and not only is she involved in beauty, she is involved in film, fashion, music, business and so much more. In 2017 she launched her own makeup line “Fenty Beauty”. Her main inspiration for starting a line was to produce makes for all shades of women. Her line is known as one of the most diverse and inclusive makeup lines. Not only does Rhihanna not discriminate in the makeup industry, she also has a lingerie line called “ Savage X Fenty Lingerie” that includes sizes for everyone. In both of her lines, she makes sure she has models of all shades and sizes. She wants everyone to feel welcome to use her products. Along with Jackie Aina, Rhinana is a big advocate for equality for women of color. She is an inspiration for so many because she brings her talent forward for so many different things that will help others. 

The rise of diverse influencers is the main way that will help get the message out that everyone deserves the opportunity to do what they love no matter their skin tone.