Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross’ curls have been an inspiration to me since she was on the sitcom Girlfriends, long before I even thought about growing out my relaxer. So when the multi-hyphenate talent launched Pattern in 2019, I was overjoyed, especially after reading this on Pattern’s website: “By Black hair for Black hair, we have all the hair accessories, styling products, hair treatments, and more that your textured hair didn’t have access to. We have something for every curly hair type, and if you don’t know where to start, we have the resources to teach you about your hair. We are here to empower you. Our products are here to empower you.”

The treatment masks, detangling nectar, and stylers have become an integral part of my routine, whether wearing my 4-type curls or having them protected via box braids and cornrows. And with the recent launch of the brand’s blow dryer — in a stunning caramel hue —  made with curlies and coiles at the forefront, the innovation just can’t stop, won’t stop. With this line, you can cleanse, treat, style, and now heat style your hair, and you can purchase directly from the brand’s website and retailers like Ulta and Sephora. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping, same day to 14 business days | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 14 days

In 2017, Rihanna flipped the beauty industry on its head — many call this the Fenty effect — by launching a beauty line with 40 shades of its Pro Filt’r Matte Longwear Foundation, a feat rarely heard of at the time. Since Fenty Beauty’s disruptive moment in beauty industry history, Fenty has expanded its foundation offering to 50 different shades and has built a beauty empire boasting everything one would need to complete an entire beauty look while taking care of their skin from head to toe.   

Best sellers like Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, Instant Reset Brightening Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream, PRO FILT’R Instant Retouch Setting Powder, Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen, and Cookies N Clean Whipped Clay Detox Face Mask are popular fan (and TikTok) favorites.

Shipping policy: Free shipping on subscription items | Payment options: Traditional, Afterpay, and Klarna  | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Founder Julian Addo began her journey to entrepreneurship shortly after emigrating with her family from Liberia to Staten Island, New York. At 14, a work permit was out of the question, but a local stylist made space for Addo and her natural talent in her neighborhood salon, where Addo charged $20 a head. Since those early years, Addo — a cosmetologist —has brought Adwoa Beauty to life, a haircare brand formulated with non-toxic ingredients that center kinky, coily, curly, and wavy hair textures.

Adwoa Beauty offers three lines: baomint moisturizing collection (centers scalp care), the blue tansy collection (centers strengthening hair), and the melon berry (centers hydration) collection. Oh, and each collection is a part of the Clean at Sephora line, which has a long list of no ingredients, so you can trust there are no unwanted chemicals in your formulas.

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders $75 or more  | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 5 days if ordered directly from site, Sephora return policy applies to products ordered from Sephora.com

This ’90s hip-hop-inspired natural hair care line founded by Maya Smith is as fun as it is performance-driven. Given that a licensed cosmetologist formulated the line, there’s no surprise. The professional-quality non-toxic formulas are crafted with science and decades of hands-on experience, and it shows. I can vouch for that. 

With over 20 products, including award-winning cult-favorite Doux Mousse Def Texture Foam (a personal favorite), the line is excellent for curating styling products for wash n gos, twists outs, and even resetting box braids (I use the CrazySexyCurl Foam Honey Setting Foam for that). You can find the line everywhere, from Target to Sally’s Beauty.

One other major perk of this brand is step-by-step advice on how to use each product, which can be especially helpful for new naturals. 

Shipping policy: 1-5 days | Payment options: For orders over $50, you can split purchases into four interest-free payments. | Return policy: All sales final

A 2014 trip to Kenya jump-started this now-beloved business boasting silk and satin-lined options made to protect hair. Her first product was the Original Slap, a satin-lined cap designed with the brand’s signature elastic band. Since the conception of the Slap Cap, the brand has grown exponentially. And more recently, their All Satin Knot Turban made Oprah’s Favorite Things 2022 list! Now, Grace Eleyae offers silk pillowcases alongside silk and satin-lined headbands, beanies, baseball hats, and styles for men and the kiddos. You can also find her products at Sephora and Ulta. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders over $50 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: All sales from the website are final

Co-founder Marie Kouadio Amouzame was born in Côte d’Ivoire and raised in Paris, later making her way to the U.S. to pursue a career in Silicon Valley, where she met her co-founder Alice Lin Glover while working at Google. The duo connected over their passion for beauty, and both often had conversations about the lack of representation for women of color. Together, they teamed up to create a brand tailored towards the unique needs of skin of color, even creating a first-of-its-kind technology they named: Smart Melanin™ Beauty. 

What makes this tech special is Smart Melanin™ Beauty is made by women of color chemists, vetted by women of color dermatologists, and tested on the skin of different shades, creating science-backed, curated FUBU skincare. Additionally, the brand packaging is earth-friendly, using materials like glass and recyclable plastic, making each piece of the bottle recyclable. So, for example, you can separate the dropper from the glass bottle, rinse out the bottle, and recycle with glass through your curbside recycling program and the same goes for the plastic cap and dropper bulbs. On top of that, the Cloud Cushion Plush Moisturizer and Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum are fragrance-free for those who are sensitive to or just prefer unscented products. EADEM also recently launched in Sephora. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders over $70 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: If ordered directly from the site, your return must be in original packaging

Jessica Alba, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Shay Mitchell, and January Jones are all clients of Shani Darden, who trained as an esthetician under a leading dermatologist before venturing out on her own. As Darden built her business, she curated custom formulas for her clients to use in between visits, and today we mere mortals can purchase those trusted formulas and use them at home in our bathrooms. And, if you ever find yourself in Los Angeles in need of a facial treatment, in June 2019, Shani opened her first flagship studio in Beverly Hills. 

Like her brand and treatment ethos, her products mimic the same minimalistic yet impactful offerings boasting seven products: Cleansing Serum, Sake Toner Essence, Retinol Reform, Weightless Oil-Free Moisturizer, Intensive Eye Renewal Cream, Lactic Acid Serum, and Triple Acid Signature Peel with two skincare tools: Shani Darden by Déesse PRO LED Light Mask and a Facial Sculpting Wand.  

Shipping policy: 2-10 days | Payment options: Traditional and Afterpay options | Return policy: 30-day policy

We’ve all been waiting for Pharrell Williams to drop his skin routine, and in 2020, he finally did. Well, kind of. With the help of the brand’s chief dermatologist, Dr. Elena Jones, Pharrell created Humanrace, providing skin care, body care, and suncare options. What makes this a thoughtful and standout celebrity drop are not only the fragrance-free, derm-tested formulas, but there’s also the packaging. The design feels very Pharrell-like, but the packaging keeps our environment and carbon footprint in mind first by crafting their bottles from over 51 percent post-consumer recycled landfill plastic.

In addition, the brand uses FSC-certified recyclable cartons printed with non-toxic vegetable dyes coupled with a foil-sealing process that eliminates the use of over 1,200 single-use plastic caps per hour during production. Impressive. Then there are the refills which provide environmental and monetary incentives as the refilling program offers a discount for subscribing and helps consumers make a more earth-friendly impact. 

Shipping policy: 1-10 days. Free shipping for subscribers  | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Having dealt with acne since her teenage years, Desiree Verdejo, Hyper Skin founder, felt like the skincare industry left her out, so she made a product for herself that has helped thousands of people who have also felt unseen. The brand is hyper-focused on curating formulas that treat Black and brown skin’s unique needs but with clinical science at the helm. Hyper Skin formulas are packed with clean, proven clinical ingredients and powerful natural botanicals that deliver notable results. You can see real-world results here.

Formulated with high concentrations of natural ingredients in tandem with clean, active ingredients, the brand still manages to avoid parabens, sulfates, and phthalates. Hyper Skin offers three products — Even Gentle Brightening Cleansing Gel, Even Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum, and Fade and Glow AHA Mask — each formulated to combat breakouts and hyperpigmentation from acne scarring and sun damage. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Esthetician and formulator Lesley Thornton takes a holistic approach to skin health, and it’s modeled in KLUR — a skincare line featuring nine skincare products along with a body oil that is one of the brand’s most beloved additions. Each Klur product is formulated sans synthetic fragrances. Instead, Klur’s facial products are neutral in scent or contain natural aromatic extracts, which act as functional ingredients to support the skin’s healing and rejuvenation.

Klur’s pharmaceutical-grade amber-lead-free glass packaging is recyclable in addition to shipment packaging, pumps, and dispensing caps. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping for orders over $50 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Diarrha N’Diaye knows her stuff. The first-generation Senegalese-American founder got her start with two prominent players in beauty: Glossier and L’Oréal. With her experience in the beauty world and as a Black woman, N’Diaye founded this no-makeup makeup line made with women of color in mind after noticing there weren’t clean products available to women with deep skin tones. 

Created in Harlem and manufactured in Italy, Ami Colé is all about skin-loving products that give you your skin but better — first launching three products: a Skin-Enhancing Tint, Lip Treatment Oil, and Light-Catching Highlighter. Since its launch in 2020, Ami Colé has launched mascara, concealer, and loose powder. And the latest development, Ami Colé, is now sold in Sephora. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders over $60 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy on most items

In 2017, Harvard Business School classmates KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson — who Forbes reported became the 15th and 16th Black women ever to raise $1 million in venture capital to grow their business — launched a line of lipsticks made to fill the gap for women of color who couldn’t find that perfect shade. The brand is now a full-range beauty haven with foundation, concealer, blush, nude nail polish, powder, and much more with the same purpose — creating products made for women of color. 

Orders containing three items or fewer valued at $75 or below, qualify for the Rapid Exchange Program. This program allows customers to keep their unwanted product(s) and choose a new shade(s). Not sure which lip color is your best fit? Email Mented a photo, and they’ll send over recommendations. Products are also carried at Ulta, Target, and CVS.

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional and Affirm, AfterPay, and Shop Pay | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Nyakio Grieco, frustrated by the lack of Black- and brown-owned beauty brands available to shoppers in the mass marketplace, joined Patrick Herning to create a beauty e-commerce platform to provide retail opportunities for Black- and brown-owned brands in December 2020. Since its launch, the platform has grown to carry more than 160 BIPOC-founded brands and is expanding its partnership with the OG department store, JCPenney.

From Black-owned skincare brands like BeautyStat, Ustawi, Undefined Beauty, and Namesake to haircare brands like Bomba Curls, Naturally Drenched, Sienna Naturals, and Briogeo and body care and wellness brands like Hanahana Beauty, Eleven by Venus Williams, and Golde, you can find exceptional products and brands to support under one web-based roof (though an LA-based storefront is coming early 2023).  

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders of $50 or more | Payment options: Traditional and Klarna | Return policy: $7.95 return charge

With over 25 years in the game, Dame Pat McGrath is the world’s most influential and in-demand makeup artist, who never stops pushing the creative envelope. McGrath’s eponymous brand, Pat McGrath Labs, debuted its first product in 2015. Since then, Pat McGrath Labs has become known for its stunning eyeshadow palettes, blush, matte lipsticks, cool collaborations, and complexion products. And the brand’s Instagram is always serving up blingy, glamorous inspiration. 

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Blair Armstrong launched Gilded Body in 2018 to bridge the consumer gap between facial care and skin care—an issue she found ever-present working as a dermatology physician assistant. This founder is all about luxury head-to-toe skincare, curating a brand of hand-crafted marble dry brushes, luxe body balms and polishes, and a refillable marble-vessel candle with 40 hours of burn time. You can shop the brand’s website in addition to the brand’s partners at Verishop, Saks, Goop, and Thirteen Lune. 

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional and Afterpay | Return policy: All items are final sale

The world of fragrance lacks diversity in a big way. But there are innovators like Queens, New York native Dawn Marie West who are building small but impactful brands in a notoriously homogeneous industry. As the La Boticá website puts it, West “brings the intersectionality of luxury perfumery and contemporary art into one lifestyle brand.” 

The niche fragrance house curates luxury yet sustainable items, sourcing ingredients ethically from around the world while the brand’s scents are inspired by travel with candles, perfume, and body oils named Casablanca, Soho, and República. Plus, the candles’ concrete vessel is made with a combination of recycled materials, including quartz and other natural stone powders. You can also find some of these items at Lulu and Georgia and Verishop.

Shipping policy: Free domestic ground shipping on orders over $75 | Payment options: Traditional and Afterpay | Return policy: Most items are final sale

Cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, who boasts over 20 years of experience developing products for brands like Clinique, L’Oreal, Revlon, and Avon, founded BeautyStat to solve an ever-present problem: stabilizing active ingredients like pure vitamin C. Five patents later, BeautyStat was born with the birth of its award-winning, cult-favorite Universal C Skin Refiner – the world’s first serum containing 20 percent stable and pure vitamin C that stays potent from first drop to last, never oxidizing or turning brown.

Since the conception of this game-changing serum, the brand — whose fans are Hailey Beiber and Christina Milian, to name a few — has grown its product line to six products, including Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream, Universal C Eye Perfector, Universal Microbiome Barrier Balancing Cleanser, Universal Triple Action Daily Peel. BeautyStat is also now sold at retailers like ULTA Beauty, Violet Grey, and Nordstrom. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Danessa Myricks is a multi-hyphenate creative: a pro makeup artist, photographer, and entrepreneur. Luckily for us, she’s taken that talent and rolled it into curating multi-use makeup products launching Danessa Myricks Beauty in 2015. What makes her offering unique is every formula is designed to be used in multiple ways. As a result, products like the Colorfix eye, cheek, and lip pigments and Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder have won awards and are also beloved by beauty makeup lovers everywhere. And you can shop many of her products at Sephora, including the new TikTok fave, the Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed. 

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 14-day return policy

Sourcing clean makeup products isn’t always the simplest of tasks. However, the founder and CEO of LYS Beauty, Tisha Thompson, who has more than 18 years of industry experience in clean beauty product development, took the guesswork out.

As a result, the brand offers a complete line of skin-loving, ultra-clean formulas, including an award-winning foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer,  a multi-use liquid highlighter, and matte lipstick, all priced under $30. Additionally, the brand made its mark by becoming the first Black-owned Sephora Clean Makeup brand. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders over $40 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

When an innovative brand like Common Heir makes its way into the beauty world, it makes me wonder: How did they come up with this and bring it to life? Well, the professional background of founders Angela Ubias and Cary Lin explains it all. For example, Angela Ubias co-founded Common Heir in 2020 after nearly a decade of building iconic beauty brands, many of which live on the top shelves of our medicine cabinets. 

Today, Common Heir (also sold at Credo, Free People, and Anthropologie) gives us access to clean, plastic-free, high-performance skincare products like their hero product — Vitamin C Serum. It’s encapsulated in completely vegan and biodegradable single-dose capsules that last up to 18 months. Additionally, the brand is clinically tested on all skin types and tones — a step that is still a rarity in the beauty industry — and it pushed to clinically test their retinol on darker skin (again, an area where trials lack) to ensure the 0.2 percent retinol is formulated for impactful results on melanated, sensitive skin without causing irritation.

Shipping policy: Free shipping | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: Only returns, no exchanges (some exceptions apply)

Katini Skin founder Katini Yamaoka set out to share her love of natural healing and rich heritage by crafting luxe facial oils and night serums with sustainability at the forefront, while also working with fair-trade certified suppliers. If you’re concerned about adding a skin oil to your routine for fear of breakouts, don’t worry. The brand is carefully curated to meet the needs of all skin types. The oils are non-comedogenic and made with native flora from around the world, focusing on plants native to Japan, Africa, and Australia. 

For example, their award-winning Clarity Oil is ideal for anyone with acne-prone skin, hyperpigmentation, sun spots, and uneven skin tone. There is also a Collagen Oil formulated to strengthen the skin barrier while providing hydration. And then there are the serums. The Soleil Day Serum is made for daytime use and formulated with skin-brightening vitamin C, while the Celestial Night Serum works to improve the microbiome and restore skin overnight. The line can also be shopped at Bergdorf Goodman, SAKS, and Thirteen Lune. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping and gift wrapping | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy

Monique Little, the founder of YGN, is all about designing functional, beautiful hair-protecting turbans, headbands, and durags with options for women and men. Among my favorites are the satin-lined sleep and award-winning silicone-lined swim turbans. If you’re a swimmer like me with natural hair, you know that finding a swim cap that fits your head and your hair is mostly impossible. But Little not only designed a practical option, but it’s also a stunning pool-side accessory. 

Little started YGN in 2016, sewing each turban on a sewing machine nestled in her mom’s living room. The brand has since grown and now calls an 8,000-square-foot production facility in East Dallas home, with some items sold at Urban Outfitters. 

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 10-day return policy

In October 2021, Brianna Arps, a beauty editor turned entrepreneur, noticed the lack of innovative, clean Black-owned fragrances in the space. So she went to work on an Eau de Parfum with the same notes as its award-winning perfume oil spray — white tea, orange blossom, rose, lavender, musk, and vanilla — and MOODEAUX is now the first Black-owned fragrance label at Credo Beauty. 

Shipping policy: Not listed | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 15-day return policy

Working as a nurse anesthetist, Nuebiome founder Ricardo Gray always seemed to be battling dry hands. So he formulated a hand cream made with Triple Biofement — a blend of bioferments that consists of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. This unique blend was crafted to nurture and revive the skin barrier and microbiome, and it led to the launch of Nuebiome in 2022.

The award-winning Amaretto and Biotic Hand Remedy and Biotic Relief Deep Hand Treatment are fan favorites. However, the brand has since expanded its line with probiotic-infused skincare formulas, including an essence, moisturizer,  face mask, and forthcoming cleanser. 

Shipping policy: Free shipping on orders over $50 | Payment options: Traditional | Return policy: 30-day return policy on most products, with exceptions