Bold takeaway: makeup brands are driving the surge of Black-founded beauty on social media, with the top players in January dominated by color cosmetics. Now, here’s a clearer, expanded version that keeps every key detail and adds context for beginners.
On social platforms, makeup brands led the charge for Black-founded beauty in January, according to the data. Traackr, a creator marketing platform, evaluated brands using its VIT metric (which measures reach and engagement). The top five Black-founded beauty brands by January’s social impact were all makeup-focused: Fenty Beauty, Danessa Myricks Beauty, and Juvia’s Place, with Pat McGrath Labs and LYS Beauty also appearing high on the list.
Pat McGrath Labs, despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of the month, ranked fourth. Only about 6 percent of its VIT came from bankruptcy-related commentary. The majority of its visibility came from tutorials and influencer content, notably from creators like @margaret_kov (a TikTok creator with one million followers who frequently posts acne-focused videos) and a shout-out from Candice Swanepoel. This shows how educational content and creator partnerships can sustain brand visibility even amid financial challenges.
In the latter half of the top 10, hair-care brands dominated, featuring Beyoncé’s Cécréed, Briogeo, and Tracee Ellis Ross’s Pattern Beauty. Topicals stood out as the sole skin-care brand in the top tier for January.
As Traackr founder and CEO Pierre-Loic Assayag notes, the standout story is Danessa Myricks Beauty. The brand has nearly doubled its year-over-year VIT and maintains a notably high creator-retention rate, with creators posting about the brand roughly six times a year on average. A striking example is an August TikTok by @april.byjoiles that demonstrated a seamless shade match using the deepest shade of Danessa Myricks’ Blurring Balm Powder. That post drew almost 12 million views and 600,000 likes, illustrating how straightforward, product-focused content that highlights inclusive shade ranges and proven results can move the needle in beauty social media.
January’s top 10 Black-founded beauty brands by VIT (per Traackr) were:
- Fenty Beauty: 32.6K
- Danessa Myricks Beauty: 15.3K
- Juvia’s Place: 11K
- Pat McGrath Labs: 9.7K
- LYS Beauty: 8.7K
- Cécred: 6.5K
- Topicals: 4.4K
- Mielle Organics: 3.3K
- Briogeo: 2.2K
- Pattern Beauty: 2.2K
If you’re evaluating where beauty brands can gain traction today, the key takeaway is that authentic, tutorial-driven content, inclusive shade ranges, and consistent creator partnerships drive engagement and growth—often more than traditional campaigns. This also invites conversation: should brands lean more into educational content and real-world results even when facing corporate hurdles? Do you think hair-care brands will continue to outpace skincare and makeup in social momentum, or will new skincare entrants break that pattern?
Would you like this rewritten version to emphasize any particular brand or era (e.g., more emphasis on Danessa Myricks’ strategy) or tailored for a specific audience (investors, students, or general readers)?
