15 Black Owned Products to Elevate Your Beauty Routine

Daily cleansing towels for down-there and everywhere! Simply add water to thoroughly refresh all of your cracks and crevices. While it’s designed for intimate areas (and you can substitute water for your favorite feminine wash), you can use it all over. It’s the perfect refresher post-gym workout when a quick shower just isn’t in the cards.

Fight stubborn hyperpigmentation with this trio of products resulting in brighter, healthier skin. This no-frills, three-step routine takes the guesswork out of dark spots and will leave you with clear, happy skin.

Often, clay masks can be messy and time consuming. Urban Hydration took the mess out of clay masks with this convenient face mask stick. Simply wash and pat dry your face and apply the mask. The stick facilitates the application process and makes self-care easy to do on the go.

Danessa Myricks' latest launch is for all the oily girls. The water powder serum contains kaolin clay to absorb excess sebum, tremella mushroom extract to deliver hydration to your skin, and niacinamide to minimize pores and brighten your skin. It’s the perfect prep before applying makeup.

ELLE Beauty is obsessed with this foundation stick, and once you try it, you’ll understand why. The formula melts into your skin, leaving you looking effortlessly fresh-faced and even-toned. You can read our review, here.

Pat McGrath tested her new ChromaLuxe shades on Nicki Minaj for her Pink Friday 2 visuals. If you want to look like a resident of Gag City, this lavender shade with shimmer is just for you.

Take the irritation out of shower time and soothe your skin with these soap bars. The soap excludes essential oils, synthetic additives, and toxic chemicals, so even those with the most sensitive of skin (or even suffering from eczema) can make shower time fun again.

Colored mascara is currently trending—but if you want to take your look to the next level, then opt for this UV vegan mascara by celebrity makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff. It's like a rave for your eyelashes.

Dry skin can easily cause flaking or for men to knick their faces when they shave. This thoughtful shaving cream formulation cleanses the skin, fights inflammation, and delivers hydration. Formulated with hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, and grapeseed oil, yes, you best believe I used this on my legs—which were incredibly soft post shower.

When Kitaya Mischo King was pregnant with her first child, she couldn’t find a chip-resistant polish with safe ingredients, so she spent two years creating her own. Now Mischa Beauty is available to all ingredient-conscious nail polish lovers. Try XO, a milky orange that is perfect for Spring.

It’s winter, which means we’re all at risk of looking ashy. Mitigate that experience and throw this ‘stick of butter’ in your bag. Basically, it’s body butter in stick form. Created with 100% natural shea butter, it swiftly sinks into the skin, leaving you hydrated and not greasy. It’s my new travel companion!

A close friend of mine who loves home fragrance recently had a baby. In an attempt to further “baby-proof” her house, she’s sworn off candles, much to her dismay. I found these wickless candles at The Good Life Summit, a conference hosted by Urban Hydration. Because they are wickless, the founder, a Black woman, could add dried flowers and herbs, creating some delightful scents. I like to keep ‘Honey Orange’ in my guest bathroom and turn on the burner right before my friends arrive.

There are skincare founders and cosmetic chemists who are skincare founders—Ron Robinson lands in the latter group and is the brains behind the science-backed beauty brand BeautyStat. I love several of their products, but their newest release, a Peptide Wrinkle Relaxing Moisturizer, left my skin feeling oh so smooth.

Pound Cake Cosmetics is taking the intimidation out of wearing red lipstick. If you’ve been more shy regarding the color, consider one of their six red lip shades, created by women of color chemists and tested by trusted makeup artists. I’m confident there is a red shade for you.

As a Harlem resident, I love supporting brands founded in the neighborhood. This historically Black neighborhood has a rich history. Harlem Candle Co. created Josephine, a flirtatious amber scent that takes on the spirit of Josephine Baker in aroma form.