September 23, 2021

10:09

Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium

MANAUS – Aiming to encourage representativeness, value aesthetics and black culture, the graduate in Education Fernanda Fernandes, 31, decided to invest in the sale of accessories and cosmetics aimed at the needs of black women. The online store emerged in July 2018 and, according to Fernanda, who is also a black woman, the idea came after she realized the difficulty in finding products that fit her own skin tone.

“I noticed this scarcity and just like me, other black people had a hard time finding a simple foundation that was our skin tone. I never had any, and sometimes I would buy lighter than my skin. Aside from the cosmetics that were not designed for our skin tone, nothing enhanced our skin”, explains the entrepreneur in the make-up business.

Although the beauty market aimed at black skin has grown in recent years, Fernanda points out that Manaus still suffers to meet the demand in this industry. “It is still very needy, we have as an example the black women with more retina skin, it is difficult to have products for them or even men who want some products. In big stores you practically don’t find a foundation, a darker powder in the stocks and in this sense, small investments like mine become an option”, reveals Fernandes.

Expansion

The idea was so successful that, nowadays, the store called Melanina AM has become Fernanda’s main source of income. Depending on the period, she says, ten products are sold during the week. Among the best sellers are bases, gels for curly hair, followed by accessories such as satin caps and hair adornments.

“Today, my store is my main source of income, with the lack of opportunity in the job market, I had been many years without getting a job, I had just started my graduation and needed to do something to have some money. I saw an opportunity in this scarcity”, she recalls.

Breaking down barriers

Even though she claims that the local market is still lacking, the entrepreneur believes that, in general, companies have started to notice this deficit in the production of products aimed at this customer, breaking, even, the false belief that this public does not consume.

“I believe that this has been in evolution for about three years, because the big companies are seeing that we consumers also like to take care of ourselves, but for a long time the industry was led by the statement that black people don’t have money, so they don’t consume”, she points out.

For Fernanda, the occupation has become much more than sales, it has become an act of love, care, encouragement, and empowerment. According to the entrepreneur, with each turban used there is also the rescue and appreciation of ancestrality.

“It is wonderful to see black people, especially women, happy that they have found a foundation that is perfect for their skin tone, a lipstick that enhances the beauty of their lips, a product that makes their curly hair look beautiful, accessories that value their beauty and ancestrality. And for me, who is an Afro-entrepreneur, the financial independence allied to this satisfaction is magic”, reveals Fernanda.

Data and reference

According to a study conducted by Google, the search for make-up and skincare items between the months of January and August 2020 had an increase of 60%, which means up to three times more than the average growth of these products classified under the category Beauty and self-care. Among the most searched products for black skin is foundation. Eyeliner, mascara and pencils also grew in the searches.

Following the needs to attend the public of this sector, the cosmetic brand Avon announced last December that along 2021 it will launch, in all, 53 new products specially turned to dark skin, such as foundation, illuminators and blushes.

Well known brands such as Lancôme and Dior are also already investing in this segment. Currently, the cosmetology company Fenty Beauty, from the singer and entrepreneur Rihanna, is a reference in the market and when the subject is the beauty and valorization of black women and aims to include all skin tones and embrace diversity.