• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home • Beauty

Ami Colé Is The Barely-There, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry

Founder Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye on creating the Harlem-born collection inspired by her heritage.
Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry
By Blake Newby · Updated May 17, 2021

Behind countless mainstream beauty brands are Black women doing the work. They’re often leading the push for diversity, and in some cases, concocting brilliant and innovative ideas for a brand of their own. Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye was one of those women. No stranger to the industry, the Glossier and L’Oréal alum employed her many years in product development and innovation to birth Ami Colé Beauty, a clean-beauty makeup brand with melanin at the forefront.

“All grit, vision, and now execution,” Mbaye wrote on her Instagram page about the May 17 launch of her brainchild. “We present to you the clean beauty brand made to celebrate melanin-rich skin. Inspired by Senegal, made in Harlem, USA. We made the table, the seat, the room with a view —and it’s feeling just right here.”

Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry

After three years of work and 400+ testing subjects, Ami Colé’s inaugural launch comes with three hero products including: a Skin-Enhancing Tint, Lip Treatment Oil, and Light-Catching Highlighter, all crafted to unleash your inner glow. But atop of the sleek packaging, smooth formulas, and diverse shade ranges, Ami Colé is also vegan, cruelty-free, fragrance-free, alcohol and paraben-free, hypoallergenic, gluten-free, non-comedogenic, and intentionally eco-conscious. Adding to that mission, they only use recyclable, reusable, or compostable materials—leaving your skin and environment in good hands.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ahh-mee, kOhl-Lay (@byamicole)

But like any other startup brand, particularly one helmed by a Black founder, the most important aspect was financial backing. A rarity, Ami Colé secured $1 million in pre-seed funding, with monetary donations from investors such Imaginary Ventures and Debut Capital – an early stage venture capital firm with a focus on investing in Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Founders.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ahh-mee, kOhl-Lay (@byamicole)

“We met Diarrha in 2019 when she was first developing her concept for the business and were immediately impressed by her vision and category expertise, not to mention her prolific knowledge of products and ingredients,” Natalie Massenet, co-founder and managing partner of Imaginary Ventures says. “Diarrha is an engaging and magnetic founder, and her natural ability to cultivate community will be an instrumental part of the Ami Colé brand journey. We couldn’t be more aligned with Diarrha’s vision to create an inclusive and aspirational clean beauty brand, and are excited for the company’s debut.”

Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry

For now, Ami Colé’s must-haves are sold directly through the brand site—with rumblings of an expansion in the near-future.

01
Skin-Enhancing Tint
Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry
Courtesy of Ami Colé
available at Ami Colé $32
02
Lip Treatment Oil
Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry
Courtesy of Ami Colé
available at Ami Colé $20
03
Light-Catching Highlighter
Ami Colé Is The Melanin-Focused, Clean Makeup Brand Set To Take Over The Beauty Industry
Courtesy of Ami Colé
available at Ami Colé $22
TOPICS:  beauty clean beauty makeup
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now