The Black Beauty Index – Celebrating Female Owned Brands & Influencers

UK Black Beauty Influencers To Follow

Prepare for a ton of inspiration to hit your Insta feed, thanks to these fabulous UK women leading the way when it comes to black beauty influencers. The best way to support each other is to share and elevate our voices, so give these ladies a follow and show them the love they deserve:

Candice Brathwaite | @candicebrathwaite

Sunday Times bestselling writer Candice has recently released her second book Sista Sister. She’s extremely candid with her Instagram followers sharing the ups and downs of life, as well as her fierce looks and beauty regime.

Tafadzwanashe Dube  | @beautywithtaffy_

The self-taught freelance makeup artist and Zimbabwe Young Achievers Awards UK makeup artist of the year winner gets inspiration from a wide range of sources since she feels that everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, or experience, has something to teach her.

Karina Marriott  | @styleidealist

One of our favourites follows is Award-winning fashion influencer and The Style Idealist founder Karina Marriott. The Bristolian digital creator has created a platform that encourages women to embrace all the things that undeniably make you through style and self-discovery. Her style is very much timeless, feminine and fun.

Abisola Omole | @abimarvel

Between being a CEO and creative director of both The Apartment and arva and Brand Director at Cube Collective, this multi-hyphenate London-based digital entrepreneur makes being successful look totally effortless and impeccably stylish. Omole also juggles being a contributor to both Harper’s Bazaar US and Cubicle magazine.

Bella Michelle | @onlybells_

The gorgeous Bella is a beauty enthusiast and travel aficionado who has grown into one of the top influencers in the world; different big brands have partnered with her to promote their products and services. She has worked with Zara, Louis Vuitton, Revlon UK, Asos, Huda Beauty, and Fenty Beauty, to name a few.

Patricia Bright | @thepatriciabright

The beauty and lifestyle guru features as a host in a Hillary Clinton-produced talk show. She is celebrated as one of the first black British YouTubers to gain 1 million subscribers, but her true skill is being a proud oversharer with an infectious personality.

Stephanie Yeboah | @stephanieyeboah

Amazon bestselling author and award-winning content creator Stephanie dedicates her time towards advocacy within the body positivity, mental health and self-love communities, sharing her own challenges and traumas with her followers.  

Shirley B. Eniang | @shirleybeniang

The popular beauty and lifestyle guru also runs her style blog called Shirley’s Wardrobe. She specialises in various videos from hauls to makeup tutorials to outfits of the week, and one of her top videos, “My Morning Routine | Get Ready With Me!!! | GRWM,” earned more than 1 million views in less than two years.

Jennie Jenkins | @thejenniejenkins

Establishing herself as the ultimate online style queen and entrepreneur, Jennie Jenkins dedicates her social media channels to sharing her fashion and beauty expertise with the world. Jennie’s success as a famous beauty influencer has led to partnerships with the likes of Too Faced, House of CB, Topshop and Fashion Nova.

UK Rising Black Female-Owned Beauty Brands 

To bring black-owned beauty brands to the forefront of your mind, below is our round-up of brilliant, innovative beauty brands to put on your shopping list. They’re also all female-owned, and they all prioritise sustainable beauty as part of their business culture.

FreeBornNoble Hair | @freebornnoblehairnwigs

The Dublin brand owned by stylist Camilla Oshagbemi is behind the best hair looks on Love Island 2021. In addition to selling responsibly sourced virgin hair, the Irish brand also hosts masterclasses for those who would like to learn how to colour-correct and customise wigs.

Body Hut | @bodyhut_

Pamper yourself with Body Hut, where each product is handmade using only the best natural and organic ingredients. All ingredients and products are cruelty-free and vegan-friendly. Body Hut has developed products that are fantastic for healing, rejuvenating, and radiating your skin.

LBB Skincare & Wellness | @lbbskincare

LBB believes “Life is Beautiful in Balance”. They apply a streamlined “Less But Better” approach to skincare and wellness.The brand centres around streamlined products that use quality ingredients to provide effective skincare. It is a brand with busy, on-the-go women at its heart and was inspired by Nnenna Onuba’s experience of working as an investment banker in the City.

Charlotte Mensah |  @charlottemensah

A saviour for dull, dehydrated hair, the multi-award-winning Charlotte Mensah Manketti Oil premium haircare range is designed for afro/mixed and all curly hair types; it is made using organic, ethical and sustainably sourced oils. Owner, Award-winning stylist Charlotte Mensah has poured 26 years of expertise into her haircare collection.

The Afro Hair & Skin Co. | @afrohairandskinco

Founded by wellness and beauty expert Ibi Meier-Oruitemeka, the award-winning Afro beauty and wellness brand is dedicated to creating truly organic and natural products. The brand has earned recommendations from beauty editors at Vogue, Stylist, Forbes, and Essence.

Ohana Skincare | @ohanaskn

After Jasmin Thomas was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2015, she began taking CBD to ease her symptoms. This experience inspired the birth of Ohana. The CBD plant-based skincare brand combines the highest-quality CBD with plant-based science to create natural skincare that puts wellbeing first.

Danessa Myricks Beauty | @danessa_myricks

Founded on the notion that makeup is an art and that the world of beauty should be inclusive of every woman, this artisanal brand won the Best of Beauty Award in 2020. Owner Danessa Myricks is a self-taught makeup artist, entrepreneur and photographer who prides herself in building a world of beauty for all.

Afrocenchix | @afrocenchix

The multi -award winning Black-led brand was the first to have their afro hair products stocked in Whole Foods UK and now sells to consumers in over 23 countries. Founded by Joycelyn Mate and Rachael Corson, the brand features in top publications such as Vogue, the Indy Best lists and has an average 5 star review from more than 1000s of customers.

NARLOA | @narloa

Founded by Hannah Nwoko, the NARLOA brand specialises in creating natural and therapeutic skincare products. All their products are based on the therapeutic qualities of plant/seed/earth derived ingredients and contain no fillers, artificial fragrances, parabens or toxic chemicals.

Flora & Curl Haircare | @floracurl 

Editor’s Choice, the winner for The Curl Leaders Flora & Curl, creates plant-powered haircare products to nourish, hydrate, soothe and protect all curl types. The founder Rose Ovensehi truly believes nature is the source of moisture. With this in mind, she is dedicated to making non-toxic natural hair care products for kinks and curls.