Shop Good celebrates the stories and perspectives of the inspiring founders behind the Black Owned Brands you can find all over our shelves. These individuals have overcome the systemic barriers in place that make it harder to start businesses and enter a white-dominated industry.
Take a peek into a few of our incredible brand founders' stories and their coveted product lines...
GOLDE / Trinity Mouzon
What's something you wish someone had told you on your wellness journey? I think something that often gets lost in a lot of industry messaging is that wellness and self-care look different on everyone! Your journey should be about whatever makes you feel good, not what’s most trendy or picture-perfect. Sometimes the simplest moments – a walk around the block, your morning latte – are the most important ones when it comes to wellness, and that’s something I wish I’d internalized earlier.
DIRT DON’T HURT / Maritza, Tiva + Kaya
What change do you hope to see in the beauty industry? The biggest change we hope to see in the beauty industry is that ofcontinued inclusion and representation across the board. We stand by the importance of the 15% pledge, an initiative asking major store chains to evaluate and restructure how they empower black owned brands, by ensuring that we receive at least 15% of the store's shelf space.What inspires you?
We are consistently inspired by the positive feedback from happy clients + customers. Sharing their daily wins using our products is everything to us.What’s something you wish someone had told you on your beauty journey?
I wish someone would have told me to start earlier with an actual beauty regimen focusing on anti-aging and preventative care without harmful chemicals and toxins.
MOVITA ORGANICS / Tonya Lewis Lee
What change do you hope to see in the beauty industry? I am already seeing the change I would have hoped for...products designed by women for women, designed by women of color for women of color. I am also seeing an industry that is focusing on the idea of wellness as an aspect or the foundation of beauty. Beauty is not just skin deep - it is mind, body and spirit.What inspires you?
I am inspired by the sacrifice of my ancestors. They dreamed of me as I dream of my great grandchildren. I want the world to be here for them, better than it is today.What’s something you wish someone had told you on your skincare/wellness/beauty journey?
Aging is nothing to fear! If you take care of yourself to the best of your ability mind, body and spirit, getting older is actually a reward for all of your hard work. And believe me if you do it right, as you age you become more beautiful inside and out!
LIHA / Abi + Liha
What change do you hope to see in the beauty industry? Less plastic, less waste, more thoughtful purchases. Buy Less, Buy Well should be applied to beauty too.What inspires you?
Yoruba culture, music and nature.
HOLY CURLS / Badria Ahmed
What inspires you? The rise of indie beauty brands — and especially that black-led brands are getting more exposure.What’s something you wish someone had told you on your hair journey?
I grew up with a sense that my afro textured hair was "bad hair". To me it was ugly and difficult to manage. I begged my mum to chemically perm it, which she did when I was 7 years old. I had no idea what my natural hair looked like until I was 21 and decided to educate myself on how to care for my curls. I wish someone would have told the young me that my hair was beautiful and given me the tools and information to care for it properly. I did not have that kind of support at the time and it feels amazing that I'm now in the position to help someone else's natural hair journey with the right products and information.
THE ESTABLISHED / Essence Iman
What change do you hope to see in the beauty industry? More black-owned beauty brands that are considered mainstream. Please stop subcategorizing us.What inspires you?
Quiet, sunny mornings. The after-burn of a good Pilates class. The perfectly charred octopus. Daydreams about the sun hitting my face as I lay out on a yacht in the South of France without a care in the world. Thinking about my end goal of building a brand so influential that other young black girls can look back on and be inspired by. Thoughts of becoming a pillar in the beauty world.What's something you wish someone had told you on your skincare/wellness/beauty journey?
There was a time in my beauty journey that I started to look at my regimen as a burden, because I found myself so tethered to the expectation of the perfect results. There really was a piece of me that looked at skincare like a chore, and there really was no love in my routine. I wish at that time that there was more conversation around beauty as an inspired practice rather than this pressure to put everything into a product and banking on it to get the perfect skin. No skin is perfect!
My philosophy today is that beauty should feel easy, effortless and highly experiential (at The Established we call them our three E's!). Now I look at my beauty practice almost in a sensual way, and by intentionally wanting to give my skin the love it deserves, the results just follow! See how that works?
BENEATH YOUR MASK / Dana Jackson
What inspires you? I’m inspired by being able to show people that there is beauty on the other side of their journey. It was so important to me when launching Beneath Your Mask to be transparent about the raw emotions I dealt with after being diagnosed with lupus in the hopes of showing someone newly diagnosed that they can get through what may seem like the end of the world.What’s something you wish someone had told you on your skincare/wellness/beauty journey?
To show love to my skin and body in whatever stage it’s in. When there’s rashes, stretch marks and acne, we should still love our skin, treat it and pamper it, even when it doesn’t feel beautiful. That’s the ritual I hoped to create with Beneath Your Mask. While our products are healing, they don’t feel like medicine.
UNSUN / Katonya Breaux
What change do you hope to see in the beauty industry? I'd like to see more inclusion across the board. The last year has shown what support looks like when the larger companies and consumers decide to support small brands of color. I'd like to see that continue and more Black-owned brands given an opportunity to succeed.What inspires you?
I'm inspired by kindness, by compassion for others. There are few things that bring me more joy than when I see people from completely different backgrounds reach out a hand to the other.What’s something you wish someone had told you on your skincare journey?
I wish someone would have told me as a child that not only does Black people get sun damage but we also get skin cancer! I started getting sun damage in my twenties and could've totally avoided that!
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