Picture via Colourpop
Hello friends! So today I’m doing something that’s been an ongoing endeavour of mine, which is a master post of black Youtubers both locally and abroad (and a list of brands that cater to darker skinned women) because I – and I’m sure you, too – have noticed that it’s always quite a mission to find them. It’s not that they’re not there or that they’re not good – we just don’t have the exposure. So me and my little platform are gonna try and help you out.
This is obviously not an exhaustive list and it’s based on my opinions/experiences, but I will be continuously adding to it (maybe even adding myself to the list eventually ?). These are just some accounts/bloggers/vloggers that I’ve seen who have lovely content.
A lot of the products they use are foreign (?) but you’d be surprised at what we have available to us in SA (I’m pretty sure Anastasia Beverly Hills delivers to SA – but the custom duties are probably crazy). A lot of products can be purchased through Instagram boutiques, and I personally love Muse – they stock anything from Anastasia to Colourpop, Tarte to Morphe at decent prices too. But regardless of the availability of the products, these women really just taught me technique.
Anyway. A lot of these women are self taught but many are actually make up artists, too. They’ve taught me all I know, ha! Some do just normal tutorials but some branch into artistic make up as well. I’ve included their Youtube and social media handles so you can get lost in a Youtube hole the next time you want to procrastinate! Here we go, in no particular order:
Youtube
Jackie Aina
Sonjdra Deluxe
Uche Nwaokocha
Toni Olaoye
Shayla
Jennie Jenkins
She also has incredible wigs!
Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Raye Boyce
Jae Ian
Keisha
Arielle Amor
Local Youtubers
Cynthia Gwebu
Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Blog
Mihlali Ndamase
Zipho Ntloko
Minky Mothabela
Also, some non-black women but some of my faves anyway: Patrick Starrr, Nikkie Tutorials, MannyMUA, Miguel Ghalichi and Leyla Rose
Other
Not necessarily beauty related, but some more lifestyle centric Youtubers:
Sne Nomvete
One of my all time favourite Twitter accounts is Makeup For WOC. They’re a hub of make up tips, videos, promotions and FAQ lists. They introduced me to quite a few of the vloggers above! They’re so helpful.
Brands
Brands that I know cater to darker skin tones (even if they just swatch us)
- Essence Cosmetics (Clicks & Dischem)
- Maybelline (Clicks & Dischem)
- Clinique (Dischem)
- LA Girl (Dischem)
- Woolworths
- Bobbi Brown (Edgars)
- Smashbox (Woolworths)
- Loreal (Dischem & Clicks)
- Revlon (Dischem & Clicks)
- Rommel London (Clicks & Dischem
- Mac (Available in Mac stores and Edgars)
- Black Opal (Clicks)
- Iman (Stuttafords)
- Black Up (Edgars)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills (Online or through Muse)
- Colourpop Cosmetics (Online or through Muse)
- NYX (Clicks)
- Estee Lauder (Edgars)
- Yardley (Clicks)
Brushes
Apart from the amazing Morphe (through Muse) and Real Techniques (Clicks) brushes that you can get, there’s also an amazing local brand that is owned by young black women! It’s called Byart Make-Up – I actually did an interview with them a while back and I’ll post it as soon as I have my own brushes so that I can do a full review. They have a full 15 piece brush set available (you can also purchase individually). For more details, email them here: info@byartcosmetics.com.
If there’s anyone you think I left off or you want to share your own faves, drop me a comment below!
Side note: because of exams and life, I’m not too sure what the next few weeks will look like on the blog. But you can always keep up with me on social media! Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to like the DearSolo Facebook page! Good luck to everyone else writing, too!
Awesome.
The ladies are all beautiful and their makeup is on fleek.
Lovely website you have.
Author
Thank you!