My Top 5 Black Beauty Influencers You May or May Not Know
February is Black History Month and Women’s Heart Health Month, so I thought, why not make an article about my favorite black beauty influencers who make my heart happy? It may be a stretch, but I know that in the beauty community there is a significant lack of representation of darker skin tones in makeup and on YouTube. I’m here to showcase amazing, strong women that I really enjoy, and hope you do too.
TheSocialiteLife / Socialite Sande
Sande is one of my favorite Youtubers who I have been watching forever. She also has a vlog channel, but I’m all about her beauty channel. If I ever have a question about whether a product is good or not, I search her page to see if she did a review on it. Her and I seem to have similar makeup preferences and what works for her, works for me and vice versa. She is SO FUNNY. When I watch her videos, it feels like hanging out with a girlfriend. She also has a beautiful family (she just had twins!), enjoys fitness, and dances! She’s just a great woman that swears like a sailor. Whenever she uploads new content, I get so excited. You won’t find anyone more honest about products, Sande doesn’t give into the hype and she tests products as truthfully as possible.
Nitraa B / Anitra
Anitra is another Youtuber I have been watching for a while. She applies such flawless skin makeup which is what drew me to her. About a year ago she got into the fitness game, but then she became pregnant and her channel was geared towards mommy life. She also designs her house so classy that I feel like you would see it on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She does makeup tutorials, fashion hauls, styling videos, mommy videos, and home making videos. She has a lesser amount of subscribers, so check her out!
Nyma Tang
I have been watching Nyma for about half a year now. I got into her videos through her series “The darkest shade” where she tries out the darkest shade in foundation’s ranges. Nyma has a very dark complexion, so it’s harder for her to find foundation that matches her. As a white female, it’s not difficult for me to walk into a store and find my shade, however, watching her has really opened my mind about this product’s controversies. I watch her videos to see what companies carry darker shades. These are the companies I will choose to give my money to. If companies can’t expand their shade range, then they don’t need my business. Nyma is amazing at makeup and she just always looks good. She’s very thoughtful, articulate, and knowledgeable about products and makeup application. Her voice is also very soothing, and I feel so relaxed after watching one of her videos.
Jackie Aina
Jackie is like Sande in the way that she is so honest and funny when it comes to products. Jackie will let you know if a product is awful or if the company is doing something they aren’t supposed to. She’s a big supporter of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and makes many videos explaining why the makeup industry is corrupted with the shade ranges companies choose for darker skinned women. While she makes a lot of beauty videos, she also films fashion videos. She’ll test out companies to see if their clothing/makeup products are high quality or not. She’s so funny while doing her makeup, and if I sometimes feel like a look isn’t turning out that well, she’ll still makes it look so much better than I ever could by the end! She has over two million subscribers at the time of me writing this article, but she deserves much more than that. Her makeup skills are impeccable.
OffbeatLook / Camille Johnson
I have watched Camille since she strictly did hair dye videos. She used to dye her hair every color of the rainbow (and she would do it herself!). She now does different hair tutorials, makeup videos, get ready with me videos, and fashion videos. Her aesthetic is right up my alley. She’s very edgy, informative, and bubbly. She’s a Youtuber who doesn’t fit the ‘beauty guru’ genre, as she does more vlog-style beauty videos. Her videos are nice to put on while you’re doing something else. She’s very chatty and keeps me company when I’m doing my makeup or getting ready in the morning. She’s also the Youtuber I follow who is closest to my age and is in college as well. She acts so mature that I sometimes forget that we are the same age. She does her makeup differently without trying to fit the beauty guru mold and, like I mentioned before, dyes her hair all different colors and beats to her own drum.
I hope you discovered more beautiful babes through this post and go subscribe to/support them. There are many other great women out there in the beauty industry, but these ladies stick out the most to me. Happy exploring and happy Black History Month!
*all photos are the icons from their Youtube pages