Trust me, I get it: I’m not what you think of when it comes to stereotypical beauty bloggers. I don’t live in LA. I don’t know how to do a cut-crease. And I don’t look like I could be Kylie Jenner’s racially ambiguous stunt-double. (I’ve been told I look more like a quirky version of Earth Kitt, if she traded her furs for H&M.) What I do have is copious amounts of eyeshadow palettes and a liquid lip collection that needs its own carry-on bag for travel purposes. I watch WAY too many beauty reviews on YouTube for someone who spent the greater part of 2020 in sweatpants and graphic tees. I’m just like you, if you’re also a black girl who loves beauty but still struggles with liquid liner. 

My journey through beauty began with my eyebrows. I was cursed (later on BLESSED) with a set of THICCC bushy brows, which was not the vibe of the early 2000’s. Everyone had gorgeous thin parenthesis above their eyes and I had two jet black caterpillars. Unfortunately, my grandmother was determined to not have me grow up too fast so she refused to let me do anything about them. So what did little rebellious me do on the eve of her 13th birthday, while my grandmother was asleep? Shave half of them off. Not on purpose of course, but there’s only so much you can do at 2AM in a bathroom with bad lighting and only CosmoGirl magazine to be your guide. Needless to say, my grandmother was both amused and annoyed by my little experiment. She opted to not ground me because the end result was way better than any punishment she could give me. She reluctantly bought me my first eyeliner to help replicate the rest of my eyebrows and I went from two caterpillars to two Nike checks

And that’s how my journey has been with the world of beauty since then. Sure, I figured out how to make my brows reasonably presentable (Thank GOD for trend changes) but I’m still that same girl just trying to make it work with little guidance and tools that are often ill-equipped for the job. Don’t get me wrong, the world is full of resources! The beauty boom on YouTube has made the world of make-up more accessible than ever. I personally would like to give Jackie Aina the Nobel Peace Prize for my switch from contour to exclusively bronzer. However, it’s undeniable how underrepresented brown girls are in the beauty landscape. For every Fenty cosmetics, there’s ten other brands who have infinite shades of off-white, one tan shade named Caramel and one brown shade named Mocha. Nyma Tang has to run and leap to get where other industry standard beauty gurus can walk easily to.  

And even if you manage to luck yourself into finding the right products for you, learning the craft can be intimidating. From color-correcting to whatever a baked shadow is, it can all be overwhelming. And as brown girls, there aren’t nearly enough beginner friendly infographics or beginners guides tailored to our needs! I love Alissa Ashley, but her smokey eye and my smokey eye DEFINITELY have two different fires, if you catch my drift. I just learned what a transition shade is for and it’s taken me 26 years and one quarantine.  

Which is what makes me so excited about MUAH Cosmetics! From foundation to lipsticks, the brand to SUPER brown girl friendly, which comes as no surprise if you take a look at the brand’s founder, Shatara Edwards. As a New York black boss babe, Shartara started the brand to fill in the gap between the beauty industry and the brown community. Her goal is to offer the shades you need at the price you need them to be as a casual makeup user. Take one look at the iconic shade range of their foundation and the brand’s mission is in full display! Not only is the formula non-transferable with SPF and a bunch of other things to make you look like a beauty filter come to life, but ALL SIX SHADES are curated for black girls. Add in the fact that it’s only $40, which is not too far off from many of my other favorite brands that require me to color correct, and I’m sold!  

So join me in my journey with MUAH Cosmetics as I try to figure out this world of beauty. Hopefully, me AND my eyebrows will make it out in one piece.