Black Beauty Month: The Legacy and Renaissance

Seeing the intrinsic beauty of Blackness has always felt natural to me. I grew up in a family spanning every hue. Deep brown skin like my father’s was admired, warm brown limbs like my cousins' were like treasures, and the many shades of my siblings and me were each loved. But it didn’t take long to learn that not everyone welcomed all the way Blackness claimed space.

The journey to loving oneself can be complicated and tender, fierce and intimate and wholly individual. From the softest, most humble part of me, my hope is that everyone touches the peace that comes from accepting the features that wrap their soul. Not only because there’s power in loving what you’ve been given, but because every inch of us carries the legacy of countless lives: joyful, flawed, hopeful, and beautifully human.

I know I am not alone in my desire as all of the ByPalais family is dedicated to shining a light on Black beauty and its imitability. Black beauty is not on the margins anymore. It’s at the center of culture, commerce, and creativity. From global beauty campaigns to Black founded brands changing the game, the undeniable force of Black Beauty is not waiting to be seen, it’s leading the way into the future.

Brands like Fenty completely shifted expectations on how legacy and new brands approached shade range collections. New brands like Danessa Myrics are revolutionizing product formulations, delivering skin blurring effects without sacrificing hydration. Another standout is Topicals, which is delivering solutions to common skin concerns. We are witnessing so many game-changing brands welcomed to the marketplace by consumers. 

“Black beauty lovers are carving out space for themselves within and without beauty trends. The rise of aesthetic trends often sidelines Black women, but Black content creators and platforms continue to assert their presence and shape the narrative.”

With “soft life” and “clean girl” trends dominating online spaces Black women are forcefully centering themselves in conversations around what it means for Black women to find softness in their lives. Black women are defining what “clean girl” aesthetics are for themselves if they choose to jump into that particular arena. Natural hair, minimalist makeup routines, and capsule wardrobes can be imagined differently when the lens shifts from what dominant U.S. culture prescribes. 

“ Black beauty is expansive and diverse, it is a living archive of grace, resistance, and becoming. As we mark our first By Palais Black Beauty Month, we recognize that Black Beauty is not a trend, it is a truth. Black beauty does not wait to be validated. It moves. It leads. It creates without bounds.”