Tomi Gbeleyi-Curtis started Makeup for Melanin Girls when she saw a gap in the beauty industry. She created a community – and the product line she once needed most.The Toronto-based founder of Makeup for Melanin Girls , an indie line of colour cosmetics for dark skin tones, has grown the company out of a mission to serve an underserved market – and tapped into networks of like-minded women every step of the way.
In those days – before Rihanna’s launch of Fenty Beauty, which put a wide spectrum of complexion coverage in the spotlight while creating a new standard of diversity and inclusivity – Ms. Gbeleyi-Curtis had to build her own makeup kit to bring with her to shoots. It was no easy task: Options were limited, so creating the right set required research and ingenuity.“I learned how to hack the beauty aisle,” she says. She also sought guidance from YouTube content creators of colour.
“I did not have existing expertise in beauty manufacturing,” Ms. Gbeleyi-Curtis says. “I had the audience already, but I was still trying to gather information. I was just really nervous.” Overcoming naysayers who felt the venture was too niche or lacked profitability, Ms. Gbeleyi-Curtis debuted the MFMG Glitter Palette in 2018 ahead of the holiday season.Years in, Gbeleyi-Curtis still says the most meaningful feedback comes from product reviews, and from seeing that her products are 'providing a sense of joy,' she says.
“A lot of my mentorship has actually been very community-based,” she says. “We always think of mentorship as networking up with someone that is ahead of you. But it’s important to network with peers as well. Being with like-minded people that were trying to start and launch a business helped me quite a lot to build confidence.”
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