Retailers shine a spotlight on Black-owned beauty brands

Beauty retailers like Ulta and Sephora are ramping up their beauty products from Black-owned companies as a key strategy to combat racial bias in their stores

NEW YORK -- When Rose Ingleton launched her own namesake skincare line two years ago, she couldn't break into the big chains and was forced to use her own funds and get financial help from family and friends. But things changed after the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests last year. Ingleton, a Manhattan-based Black dermatologist with more than 20 years of experience, reconnected with beauty chain Sephora and now her products can be found on the retailer’s website as well as at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. “There was this sudden awareness," Ingleton said. “I am now at the top food chain. I'm now getting ready to approach deeper pocket investors.” As corporations continue to face a racial reckoning, the beauty industry is trying to address the criticism that it centers too many of its products around whiteness by pushing more items onto store shelves that better represent the diverse women they serve.