As we enter the month of October, not only do we begin to devour the delights of candy apples and fancy costumes but, it is also a significant month in which we must devote our attention to becoming better allies and supporters of the Black community.
Whilst every month should be devoted to supporting the community of people of colour, Black History Month gives us the perfect scope to discuss, celebrate and provide the deserved recognition to the people of colour who have had a major influence over the beauty community.
Below we have listed some of the most profound pioneers of the beauty industry, which of whom are all people of colour.
Pat McGrath
Upon being deemed ‘the most influential make-up artist in the world’ by VOGUE magazine and ‘the mother of make-up’ by Selfridges, it is fair to say that Pat McGrath has served as a strong pioneer in the beauty industry. From humble beginnings admiring her mother’s make-up collection, to opening her own labs worldwide, McGrath’s work in the beauty industry was often influenced by her frustration towards the lack of catering in make-up shades towards Black women like herself. In turn, McGrath’s work is especially honourable as her shades run from ‘light’ to ‘deep’, leaving nobody without their perfect colour match.
Check out her amazing ‘Labs’ collection here: https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/pat-mcgrath-labs/
Danessa Myricks
Based on her brand’s ethos of averting labels and ensuring that every human, no matter their race, gender or background, should equally enjoy the glories of make-up, Danessa Myricks is considered one of the greatest pioneers of the beauty industry. She began as a small town make-up artist and dedicated her work to ignoring the norms of the beauty industry and shaping her own creative path with make-up, after which she inevitably gained recognition as a pioneer in the industry experimenting, and now leads the way with new colours and styles. Her brand produces products which adapt to every skin type and tone- setting the direction for other (less inclusive) brands to follow!
Purchase her products here:
Rihanna
To produce a piece on the pioneers of the beauty industry without mentioning Rihanna would serve as a snub to her outstanding work. Within one month of releasing her ‘Fenty’ make-up line, it sold out worldwide. Rihanna is especially notable as a pioneer due to her make-up line qualifying as part of the minority of brands offering a major 50 foundation and concealer shades. This heightened her ‘pioneer’ status as many brands followed her decision to produce an extended shade range, in discovering how popular this variety in colour was (with her darkest shades selling out first upon release, according to records by Sephora). Brands such as Revlon soon announced they too were following in Rihanna’s footsteps, soon introducing their 40 shade range.
Visit Rihanna’s ‘Fenty Beauty’ range here:
Patrick Starrr
The Filipino-American beauty expert found his platform and audience within the beauty community on YouTube in 2013 after a career as a MAC make-up artist. Since then, he has inspired over 4 million fans on the platform to do their make-up like Kim Kardashian and to shave their face for perfect skin. With such a large platform, it would be unfair to claim that Patrick has not become a recent pioneer within the beauty industry and is doing a spectacular job in demonstrating that the industry should hold no limits in gender or race.
View Patrick’s channel here:
Madam C. J. Walker
To commend Black History Month, one of the first pioneers in the industry and first self made female millionaire was a Black woman. Madam Walker noticed a gap in the market in beauty and hair products for Black women in the 19th century and began to develop techniques and products to provide these minority women with products to enhance their beauty. When considering her work took place during a time that when women (especially those of colour) suffered huge prejudice, Walker served as a great pioneer in the beauty industry, producing the start of what is now a large market for Black women.
Whilst there is still much work to do within the industry regarding it’s inclusivity, these few people of colour and many others like them are setting a new precedent within the industry which demands that, no matter your skin tone, skin type, race or gender, we can all enjoy make-up on an equal basis.
Written by Olivia Booth
Edited by Madeleine Gill