I’ve only just started slicing these lists. I would go through and down the holes in their beautiful Instagram pages and websites, doing all the research on these founders. There are other initiatives like 15% commitment and Drag up to change—Great initiatives — also from the summer of 2020.
In my mind, when I look at the lists that I’ve appeared on with 200, 300, sometimes 400 other black-owned, black-founded beauty brands, I feel myself think, Why has no one ever thought of opening a store where most of the products are made by people of color?
But it’s not just them, we have allies and other brands to represent true inclusivity. I also get a lot of direct messages from people saying “I just discovered your brand Nyakio Beauty at Target, but can I use it on my skin? I don’t look like you. “I also feel that vandalizing the myth is personally appealed to, that is, I, as a Black woman, have all my life used products made by people who are not like me, and they work on my skin, and they work on my hair and makeup tones.
I thought, God, if a few people ask me this on DM, this feels like a much bigger opportunity to solve some mystery.
