Black-Owned Brands: 5 Seen at the 2016 VMAs

I spotted five black-owned brands at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Take a look:

Black-Owned Brands: Coloured Raine (Loraine Dowdy)  x Hood By Air (Shayne Oliver) x Rihanna

2016 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award Recipient Rihanna was the lady of the night, treating us to four melodic performances of her greatest hits. Per usual, celebrity makeup artist Mylah Morales came through with the glam beat, using Chanel and Caudalie for the face:

• $400 La Creme Ultimate Skin Regeneration Moisturizer 
• $60 Le Teint Ultra Tenue Ultrawear Flawless Foundation
• $58 Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour SPF 15 in No. 40
• $18 Caudalie Beauty Elixir

From what I can tell, Rih had two major lip moments: matte classic red and matte bruised plum. And for the opening sequence, Morales turned to a popular black-owned makeup brand: Coloured Raine. Rihanna wore the brand’s Cherry Blossom Matte Lip Paint.

For her final performance and award speech, Coloured Raine was told that Rih wore their Raine Fever but actually, she wore Chanel Limited Edition Rouge Allure Velvet Intense Long-Wear Lip Colour in Rouge Audace mixed with Chanel Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil in Noir. Morales set her custom lip look with a dusting of translucent powder.

Another black-owned brand Rihanna chose for her special night? Hood By Air. HBA remixed their $215 Cookie Ringer Bodysuit for the Empress by producing a special cotton candy version which, sadly, isn’t available for purchase.

Black-Owned Brands: Pat McGrath Labs (Pat McGrath) x Naomi Campbell

Slayomi – we are officially calling her that now, right? – infused the VMA red carpet with considerable glamour when she arrived with a sequined smize, courtesy of Mutha (Pat) McGrath. While celebrity makeup artist Renee Garnes subtly enhanced Slayomi’s gorgeous visage, McGrath chose two of her LUST 004 Lipstick Kits – Vermillion Venom & Bloodwine – to create the night’s most-talked-about lip look. Sometimes I can’t believe Pat McGrath Labs is a black-owned, luxury beauty brand!

BeautybyJJ recreated Naomi’s VMAs makeup:

STEP 1: LIPSTICK.

Starting with clean dry lips, apply MATTETRANCE™ LIPSTICK ‘ELSON’ directly from the tube with a lip brush or fingertip. Cover the entire lip with an even, fully saturated coat. Ensure the edges are defined and perfected.

STEP 2: GLITTER.

Dip a small flat paddle brush or fingertip into the GLITTER pressing and rolling over the entire lip covering the lipstick base. Part your lips slightly to get into the inner corners. Repeat until GLITTER is evenly adhered. Remove stray pieces of glitter with tape.

STEP 3: CRYSTALS.

Assess crystal sizing and spacing to accommodate your unique lip shape. Use an equal amount of crystals on each side of the lip for proper balance and symmetry. To begin, apply small dots of the DUO ADHESIVE directly to the outer corner of the lower lip. (The DUO ADHESIVE will appear white upon application but dries clear. It’s quick-setting, no wait time needed.) One by one, pick up SMALL CRYSTALS with the CRYSTAL APPLICATOR PEN or a tweezer and press them into DUO ADHESIVE dots. Work around the perimeter of the lips to establish your overall desired lip shape. Gradually, work your way in towards the center of the mouth using MEDIUM and LARGE crystals. Create perfect lines or place crystals in an organic random nature to customize your look. Adjust the size of the crystals for the space you are working with until the entire mouth is adorned.

Black-Owned Brands: Danessa Myricks Beauty (Danessa Myricks) x Chloe & Halle

A while back, I composed a piece on black-owned highlighters, and, of course, I made sure to include shades from Danessa Myricks’ Enlight Illuminators collection. At $20 a pop, these powders were formulated to provide skin with a subtle, sunlit sheen. Celebrity makeup artist Camara Aunique chose two shades from the Enlight collection – Confidence (left) and Desire (right) – for R&B duo Chloe x Halle. As you can see, these black-owned brighteners play so well with melanated skin!

Black-Owned Brands: ilashflare Lashes (Jelisa Spence) x Jasmine Tookes

Honestly, I was really psyched about this last discovery for two reasons. For starters, Lena Lashes seems to be the go-to lash brand nowadays. However, I wanted to see another company get some shine. Also, for someone like Tookes to wear a brand like ilashflare to such a high-profile event, major! ilashflare specializes in 100% cruelty-free mink fur lashes. Furthermore, if anyone still wanted to do the B.O.M.B. (black-owned makeup brands) challenge with vegan/cruelty brands, ilashflare is one to check out! Tookes wore the Khloe lash with makeup by celebrity makeup artist Camille Thompson.

Tookes is also wearing several Becca Cosmetics to include the Shimmering Skin Perfector in Topaz, Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop, Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation, and Blotting Powder Perfector.