As the founder of her beauty brand, Nyakio Grieco—who founded Nyakio™️ Beauty—knows a thing or two about underrepresentation. Black beauty founders rarely get shelf space in popular retailers or are sometimes relegated to spaces often overlooked or ignored by shoppers. So Grieco and Patrick Herning (founder and CEO of e-commerce platform 11 Honoré) came up with a solution: Thirteen Lune, an online destination created to encourage the discovery of brands owned by Black and Brown beauty founders.
Upon arrival on the site, the brand’s mission stares you in the face: “Beyond Skin, Beyond Beauty, Beyond Barriers— Beauty products transcend race, gender identity, and age via the world’s first fully inclusive beauty platform.” Products are divided into three categories—skin, body, and hair and fall under three pillars:
Products made by Black and Brown founders that cater to all skin tonesProducts that treat Black and Brown skin but are not exactly Black-owned”Ally brands” that have made a conscious effort to be inclusive in their offerings and beyond
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“I love being a beauty founder and am committed to helping other Black and Brown beauty founders realize success,” Grieco says in a statement. “Over the last 18 years, I have faced challenges as well as gained valuable experiences that allow me to give these founders the support they deserve and on a bigger stage. There is so much talent that is not being recognized at the level that it needs to be. This is an opportunity to elevate these founders and to address the much bigger issue of alleviating systemic racism by building generational wealth in our communities. Change won’t happen unless we work in tandem to achieve this goal.”
To start, Thirteen Lune launches with 13 brands: Afro Pick, Beija Flor Naturals, Buttah Skin, Bomba Curls, Charlotte Mensah, Dehiya Beauty, Gilded Body, HyperSkin, Lauren Napier Beauty, Liha Beauty, Marie Hunter Beauty, Skot Beaute, and The Established. When you’re not shopping, you can peruse the site’s blog section titled Shop Talk, where there are accompanying stories and interviews on the founders and brands housed on the site.
Source: www.elle.com
