Makeup Tips for Black Women. While it’s true that makeup only enhances the beauty that’s already there, we can’t deny how it sometimes completely transforms a person. It is an art form that bestows a woman with the confidence and power she needs to survive the day.
No matter what shade your skin is, it is highly important to make sure your make-up compliments your outfit, your skin tone, and your personal style. But how should black women get ready for different parties? What makeup suits dark-complexioned ladies? And what cosmetics are best to avoid? We’ll answer all of that and more in this makeup special blog.
How To Apply Makeup on Dark Skin
Stay tuned in because we have a ton of fun stuff to discuss. From practical tips and makeup basics that every black woman should know to the best brands catering to females with dark skin, we’ll tackle all. The best part is that all the information we provide below is beginner-friendly!
What you can expect in this article:
Here’s a small summary:
- Easy-to-follow makeup tips for beginners.
- Makeup essentials, dos, and don’ts.
- Best brands to follow and buy for black ladies.
↓ 15 – Buy From Cosmetic Brands that Target Black Women
Black women have long suffered from under-representation in the cosmetic market. The right shades just weren’t available for a long time. Until some brave men and women of color took the initiative and developed brands that catered to the makeup needs of dark-skinned individuals. Even though several big brands are becoming inclusive, it is better to buy makeup from brands that target black skin specifically.
↓ 14 – Be Conscious of Your Skin Type and Its Needs
This is something you shouldn’t overlook, just because you think that makeup will hide all the flaws. Your skin could be allergic to certain types of products or have similarly worrying issues. It is critical to find makeup that suits your skin. You can check out the ingredients in a product or try it out while buying. You can also consult a dermatologist.
You also need to make sure your skin is moisturized regularly and protected from the sun. Get facials done and cleanse your skin without fail.
↓ 13 – Always Go For Natural Makeup Looks
The first step for obtaining a naturally glowing look is to find a foundation color that matches your skin exactly, instead of a shade that’s slightly lighter or slightly darker. Such colors will conceal your natural beauty. The second step is to apply makeup moderately. Don’t overdo it, and don’t use a lot of products. The third step is to use natural shades like nude, browns, and pinks.
↓ 12 – Figure Out Your Undertone Before Purchasing Makeup
Understanding your skin undertone is the key to buying the right makeup. An undertone is the tone of your skin beneath the surface. It can either be warm, cool, or neutral. Once you’ve discovered what your undertone is, you can buy the foundation and color palettes that match it. It’ll help you in achieving a natural and glowing look. Here’s a fun video that tells you how to find out what your undertone is!
↓ 11 – Eat Healthy Foods
A rich and healthy diet goes a long way to building strong muscles and a glowing complexion. Not only do such foods help hydrate your skin, but they also ward off skin conditions like acne, wrinkles, or premature aging. It is therefore essential to formulate a simple yet effective diet plan that contains all nutrient-rich foods. Studies have proven that certain fruits, vegetables, and herbs are great for your skin. The healthier your skin, the less makeup you’ll need.
↓ 10 – Enroll for Makeup Training
Get registered for a good beginner makeup course. Being taught by a professional has its perks. They’re bound to start from the very basics, like what kind of makeup is best for which skin type and how to cleanse the skin properly. The classes will also give you excellent insight as to what kind of products you should buy and the correct way to apply them. All in all, it’ll be a pragmatic decision on your part. You’ll be equipped with the necessary skill to do your makeup flawlessly on any occasion.
Makeup Essentials, Do’s and Dont’s
↓ 9 – Foundations and Powders
Make sure your foundation matches your natural skin tone. For darker skin tones, this can sometimes be an issue as there as so many different shades. However, finding your ideal foundation or powder is not an issue.
- Try blending different shades from your jaw down to your neck. The one that is a flawless blend will be your perfect match.
- If you have naturally oily skin, stay away from excessively oily foundations, and use a paler shade as your natural oil will give a darker skin tone.
- Do not forget to blend foundations around the hairline, ears, and neck; otherwise, you can end up with an awful foundation line.
- Use yellow-based foundations. These work great for dark skin colors.
- Make sure the foundation is compatible with your skin type.
↓ 8 – Blush and Concealer
These two products are quite important for your overall makeup. The concealer has a big hand in hiding dark shadows and other flaws on your face, wherever they may be. It helps in evening out the rest of your makeup when used in conjunction with the foundation and face powder.
Blushes give texture and glow to your skin. It adds definition while enhancing your cheekbones. A little bit on the nose looks cute too.
Have a look at our earlier post about Top 10 Makeup Brands Every Girl Should Own.
↓ 7 – Go for Bold and Dramatic Eye Makeup
Metallic eye-shadow is your best bet if you have dark skin. Because your color is so rich and deep, it’s tricky for light colors to appear in their full glory. This is why we suggest you make your eye makeup as eye-catching as possible!
- Bright colors look absolutely stunning on darker-skinned women. Peacock colors such as blue, royal purple, emerald green, gold and silver are perfect colors for a party. Why not accentuate your eyes with glitter eye shadows? Or even jewels?
- Use a powder eye shadow instead of a gel one if using bright colors, gel eye shadows can split in your eyelid creases and cause lines to appear.
- Make eye shadow colors big and lively. Use a contrasting eyeliner to try to create flicks on either side. This will elongate your eye and make them seem bigger and brighter.
- Avoid eyeliner on the bottom lid. On darker-skinned ladies, this can cause a lethargic appearance so instead, use it to your advantage on your top lid to lift your eyes. This will create a younger image.
- Mascara is great for every lady, but if yours are naturally full and dark then only use a lightweight one to enhance them, too much mascara can drown out your eyes.
↓ 6 – Lipsticks and Gloss
Which lipsticks and glosses you choose is completely dependent on how dark your skin tone is.
- If your skin is quite light, try pinks, peaches and reds to match your skin tone.
- If your shade is at the darker end of the scale, then venture towards magenta, deep red, chocolate shades and bronze. These colors are guaranteed to get you noticed!
- Don’t forget though, for parties, the bolder and brighter the shade the better. Neutral tones can be kept for the day to day office work but for a party, bring out the big guns.
- Gloss is completely down to the ladies’ personal preference. Matte colors look stunning for a more subdued look, however for a party why not go all out and get those lips shimmering with gloss?
And for the best choice of lipstick brand, see our previous blog on The Top 5 Lipstick Brands These Days.
↓ 5 – Accentuate with Gold Shimmer
Dark-skinned people have some of the most beautiful skin shades in the world. Because the colors are so rich, deep, and earthy, gold highlighter used on the eyes and cheekbones looks absolutely magnificent. You can be sure it won’t look nearly as gorgeous on white skin. Finish off your makeup with a dusting of gold!
↓ 4 – Keep a Go-to Palette with Earthy Shades
For what we call ‘natural’ makeup, earth tones and shades play a vital part.
- They tend to bring out the warm undertones of African American skin beautifully.
- These colours aren’t boring, as some might mistakenly believe, rather, they’re natural enhancers.
- These shades can include several tones of brown, gold, greys and greens, so you have a lot of options.
↓ 3 – Give Airbrush Makeup a Chance
Makeup experts believe that airbrush makeup is ideal for people of black color.
- It is sprayed on the face with a machine instead of the usual brushes, etc.
- This makeup is water-proof and smudge-proof, so it lasts a long time.
- It prevents pimples and rashes and other skin problems.
- Another great benefit of airbrush makeup is that it blends really well.
↓ 2 – Makeup Dont’s for Black Women
- Don’t use a foundation that doesn’t match your skin.
- Don’t skip using concealer.
- Don’t choose a concealer that is too light.
- Don’t go overboard with it.
- Don’t wear super-light lip shades.
- Don’t forget to use powder.
- Don’t use white powder.
- Don’t avoid sculpting your eyebrows.
- Don’t use eye-liner free-hand. Use a tape to get the perfect shape.
- Don’t pick pale blush shades. Go for bolder, darker colours.
↓ 1 – Best Makeup Brands for Black Women
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IMAN Cosmetics
Brand’s Portfolio: IMAN Cosmetics was launched by the Somali model, actress, and entrepreneur Iman in 1994. She enjoyed a successful modeling career and was the inspiration of many leading fashion designers. She decided to launch her own cosmetic brand after 2 decades in the fashion industry, owing to the fact that for women of color, the right shades were hard to find.
The brand’s 16 foundation shades are specifically designed for women belonging to different colors, cultures and ethnicities like African American, Latina and Asian women. Its products are sold worldwide.
Instagram Followers: 120k
Best-selling Product: Luxury Concealing Foundation (available on the official website)
Price: $16
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Black Radiance Beauty
Brand’s Portfolio: Black Radiance Beauty is a cosmetic brand that offers makeup and skincare products. Their cosmetics are formulated not only for specific and ethnic skin colours, but also skin types. They also have a separate vegan and cruelty-free range that includes cleansers, setting sprays, brow definer and moisturizer to name a few.
Instagram Followers: 176k
Best-selling Product: Eye Appeal™ Shadow Palette – Out of the Blue (available on the official website)
Price: $7.99
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BLK+GRN
Brand’s Portfolio: This beauty brand is a market-place for black entrepreneurs and black artisans. The idea behind the name is to support black people and green living. It’s a vegan, sustainable and cruelty-free brand that offers all-natural products to its consumers. Product categories include bath & body, skincare, cosmetics, beauty, grocery, hair, home, menstrual care and mom+baby. Kristian Hendersen, a professor and healthy lifestyle enthusiast, founded this brand. Since its inception, it has been featured in big magazines like Forbes, Essence and Teen Vogue.
Instagram Followers: 201k
Best-selling Product: Black Girl Sunscreen (available on the official website)
Price: $19
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Mented Cosmetics
Brand’s Portfolio: K. J. Miller and Amanda E. Johnson launched Mented Cosmetics. They cite their difficulty in finding nude shades of lipstick for their skin color as the reason. The lipsticks produced by the brand are vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free and free from toxins.
Instagram Followers: 223k
Best-selling Product: Everyday Eyeshadow Palette (available on the official website)
Price: $28
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Fenty Beauty
Brand’s Portfolio: Fenty Beauty is singer and actress Rihanna’s cosmetic line. She launched the brand in September 2017 to be all-inclusive, because she, like many of her peers, found a disturbing lack of proper shades for women of color. It’s a diverse and affordable brand that has drawn praise and acclaim since its launch. Time magazine named it one of the best inventions in recent times.
Instagram Followers: 10.3m
Best-selling Product: PRO FILT’R Soft Matte Longwear Foundation (available on the official website). This product is described as Rihanna’s favourite and is also the winner of Allure’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Award.
Price: $35
Thanks for sharing the tips.
Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for your feedback.
Kind regards,
Team BrandedGirls
Thanks for sharing these amazing makeup tips.
Thank you for your feedback.
Kind regards,
Team BrandedGirls