The theft of black culture is so common that by now, as frustrating as it is, we are often left disappointed but not surprised. We are all more or less aware that black women are the reigning champions of starting new trends and receiving zero acknowledgement for it. The swift repossessing and redistribution of black culture helps to form the foundations of numerous industries, with music, food and fashion being just a few that come to mind. However, it is the realm of beauty that gets under my skin the most – pun intended.

To claim that black women have had a negative relationship with the beauty industry is lenient, to say the least. It’s only in the past few years that black women – more so those of a darker skin tone – have even been recognised by this industry. The introduction of more black-owned beauty brands like Fenty Beauty or UOMA Beauty has resulted in older brands playing catchup and finally attempting to be more inclusive of black women, though this is most likely for a capitalistic benefit rather than at the true interest of their consumers.