Finally A Place That Loves You
Over the past week I have read an array of different experiences from the Black community around the world and so many of what has been shared shows the depth of the racial oppression we face as black people. There is two questions I keep asking my self; What if this moment didn’t happen? and What will the ‘new’ normal be like post Covid-19 AND the upraising of the Black race?
It’s crazy how we launched Candour Beauty on March 9th, 2 weeks before the pandemic hit the UK and we had to go into lockdown and now we are experiencing one of the greatest moments in history where Black people, along with our allies are fighting for global racial equality. What a year!!
As a co-founder of Candour Beauty, we are often asked, why did we start Candour Beauty and although it’s a very fitting question, it sometimes makes me chuckle because to us it’s obvious: Black women are often, if not always excluded from the forefront of beauty and self care. What I really try and reiterate, is Candour Beauty was formed to cater to the whole black woman, not just hair or skin but ALL our needs. This includes personal care and wellness.
I strongly believe the time has come for us to own our spaces, and shop with retailers who understand us and keep our needs in mind. As a community we need to work better together to grow and lift each other up for economic empowerment. Supporting each other to build our communities and amplify our voices.
Over the last couple of days, Candour Beauty has been featured on a couple of leading digital publications as a ‘Black Brand to Invest in’. As flattering as it is, it would have been nice to have been featured pre #BlackoutTuesday but for a brand that was only launched 12 weeks ago, we’ll take it very gladly.
With the latest wave of Performative #Blackout posts by big and small brands in beauty it’ll be very interesting to see which of these brands are actually taking positive actions by looking inwards and seeing the changes they need to make. It’s not about running around going through their black electronic rolodex and asking them to quickly work with certain brands when the brand initially didn’t want to work with them. They need to look deeper. Look at how they treat customers, partnerships and their own staff.
As much as this is an emotional time for Black people, Candour Beauty couldn’t have happened at a better time. From the day we started we have always been for Black women, we have always wanted to create a brand where Black women are Loved, Seen and Heard, hence why our mantra is ‘Finally a place that loves you’.
Note: This piece was originally written on June 7th in my personal notes.
