Hey kurlies. I'm slowly catching up on posts. Today, let's give one of my buddies, Todra Payne from Healthy Beauty Project, a warm welcome as a guest blogger on here. I'm so excited to have her contributing here because her knowledge in the beauty world and on bio skin care and cosmetic options is amazing. You guys should definitely check out her site when you get finished reading the article below. Enjoy!
When I first realized I wanted to work in the beauty industry, I was 18 years old and just a perfume spray girl at A&S. Sam Fine worked at the Fashion Fair counter across from my station, where he doled out sage like wisdom on everything from how I should do my eyes to where to buy better hair for my fake ponytail.
Back in the day, Fashion Fair was the makeup brand for women of color. My mom used it. All of my aunts used it. Actually, every black woman I knew used it. But despite its marketing focus on “us,” I still couldn’t find my shade of foundation. So, I mixed several colors to get what I wanted. You ladies know what I’m talking about.
But thank goodness, today is a new day. I still don’t trust brands like Clinique to make foundation colors that don’t leave me looking like the old black Barbies – dusty gray. But there are makeup lines that are doing an amazing job of stepping up to plate with their products for the caramel to brown customer.
Mainstream brands like Becca and Mac offer a wide range of foundations that are true to real skin tones. While boutique mineral brands like Priia and Eve Organics are providing healthy choices in beautiful shades.
And to my delight, finding deeply pigmented eye shadows, blushes and lipsticks that look fantastic on dark skin is just a mouse click away. Online brands like Sweet Libertine and Orglamix create all of their eye shadows and blushes from pure minerals (not all minerals are equal), which have rich, layered hues that light up brown skin. There’s nothing in the drug store to compare. And the great part? These products are better for our skin and they cost about the same as what we’d find in the supermarket beauty aisle.
If it’s your lips that you want to highlight, there are a lot of choices there, too. My makeup kit has Primitive Makeup’s lipsticks and glosses. They are completely natural with no parabens or synthetic ingredients. And the depth of color competes with department store brands that sell at nearly twice the price.
As women of color, we’re no longer left with one or two beauty brand options. There’s a whole world of color out there. Let’s exercise our right to look fabulous.
Todra Payne is a celebrity makeup artist and Healthy Beauty Expert. She owns The Healthy Beauty Project. None of the brands mentioned here paid for endorsements. They are used in Todra’s professional kit and personal stash.
When I first realized I wanted to work in the beauty industry, I was 18 years old and just a perfume spray girl at A&S. Sam Fine worked at the Fashion Fair counter across from my station, where he doled out sage like wisdom on everything from how I should do my eyes to where to buy better hair for my fake ponytail.
Back in the day, Fashion Fair was the makeup brand for women of color. My mom used it. All of my aunts used it. Actually, every black woman I knew used it. But despite its marketing focus on “us,” I still couldn’t find my shade of foundation. So, I mixed several colors to get what I wanted. You ladies know what I’m talking about.
But thank goodness, today is a new day. I still don’t trust brands like Clinique to make foundation colors that don’t leave me looking like the old black Barbies – dusty gray. But there are makeup lines that are doing an amazing job of stepping up to plate with their products for the caramel to brown customer.
Mainstream brands like Becca and Mac offer a wide range of foundations that are true to real skin tones. While boutique mineral brands like Priia and Eve Organics are providing healthy choices in beautiful shades.
And to my delight, finding deeply pigmented eye shadows, blushes and lipsticks that look fantastic on dark skin is just a mouse click away. Online brands like Sweet Libertine and Orglamix create all of their eye shadows and blushes from pure minerals (not all minerals are equal), which have rich, layered hues that light up brown skin. There’s nothing in the drug store to compare. And the great part? These products are better for our skin and they cost about the same as what we’d find in the supermarket beauty aisle.
If it’s your lips that you want to highlight, there are a lot of choices there, too. My makeup kit has Primitive Makeup’s lipsticks and glosses. They are completely natural with no parabens or synthetic ingredients. And the depth of color competes with department store brands that sell at nearly twice the price.
As women of color, we’re no longer left with one or two beauty brand options. There’s a whole world of color out there. Let’s exercise our right to look fabulous.
Todra Payne is a celebrity makeup artist and Healthy Beauty Expert. She owns The Healthy Beauty Project. None of the brands mentioned here paid for endorsements. They are used in Todra’s professional kit and personal stash.
Comments
Thanks again!!