It’s no secret that the beauty industry has a bad record when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Thanks to social media and in particular YouTube, there are now more Black beauty content creators than ever before. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite Black beauty gurus on YouTube who we think you should follow for all honest reviews, in-depth tutorials, and great collaborations with beauty brands.
Jackie Aina
Jackie Aina is a YouTube veteran having been on this social media platform for more than a decade. She has given countless product reviews and makeup tutorials, always advocating for more diversity and inclusion in the beauty industry for Black women and calling out brands when their products do not cater to women with darker complexions. Aina has almost 4 million subscribers, more than 900 videos, and over 360 million views.
Aina is Nigerian-American and known for highlighting Black-owned beauty brands from Nigeria and the rest of the continent. In 2018, Aina was named theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s first-ever YouTube Creator of the Year and in 2019 she launched her own palette with famous beauty brand Anastasia Beverly Hills Cosmetics.
Alissa Ashley
Alissa Ashley is known for recreating memorable celebrity makeup looks from Rihanna and Lady Gaga to Twiggy and Arian Grande. She has just over 2 million subscribers and 70 million views. Ashley is also known for sharing hair content. She collaborated with brands such as NYX Professional Makeup to release 45 foundation shades and also with e.l.f. Cosmetics on lip glosses. Ashley has an identical twin sister, Arnell Armon, who is also a YouTuber.
Nyma Tang
Nyma Tang is well known around the beauty community for her very deep complexion and advocating for wider shade ranges, and more diversity from beauty brands. She created a series called The Darkest Shade where she reviewed various brands of foundation to find the best shade for women with dark complexions. She has over 1.3 million subscribers and more than 99 million views. In 2018, she collaborated with makeup giant MAC Cosmetics to create a new universal red lipstick for women of color.
Tammi Clarke
London born YouTuber, Tammi Clarke has just over 200 000 subscribers and her own makeup line called MakeupbyTammi Cosmetics. Clarke is known for giving in-depth reviews on eyeshadow palettes and creating bold, colorful looks. She juggles motherhood along with creating content and collaborating with makeup brands such as Makeup Revolution.
Mihlali Ndamase
South African YouTuber and award-winning social media influencer Mihlali Ndamase is only 24 but has one of the largest subscriber bases in South Africa with more than 290 000 subscribers and over 19 million views. Nadamase is not only known for her makeup tutorials and product reviews but travel vlogs as well. She has collaborated with beauty brands such as Essence Cosmetics and NYX Professional Makeup as well as other notable companies such as Netflix South Africa and BBC Brit.
Source
Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies.
She’s an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
