Our Top Five Budget Makeup Brands for Black and Asian women.
Cake Cosmetics
Too often is the case where makeup brands fail to cater their products (particular complexion ones) for Black and Asian skin tones, however there are a lot of beauty brands that cater for all and are affordable too. Here are our top five budget makeup brands for Black and Asian women.
This is a brand which is targeted mainly at Indian, Caribbean and African skin tones, with the goal of meeting the makeup needs of women who struggle to find their skin-tone being catered for. Their prices are amazingly affordable, starting at just £3. Their cream foundations in particular are available in darker shades and aims to create an ‘airbrush look and matte finish’,coming in the form of a luxe compact that includes a mirror and sponge applicator. C.A.K.E. Cosmetics’ Black Honey Lipstick also stands out because it’s a ‘nude’ for darker skin tones, dismissing the idea that ‘nude’ is a shade exclusive for fairer skin tones.
This is an established budget beauty brand that promotes affordability as well as catering for WoC. The shade ranges for their complexion products can extend to 22 shades. One such product is the Twin Cake Powder, which is a micro-milled pressed face powder to even skin tone, reduce shine and create a picture-perfect finish. Another product which is similar is the Body Bronzer, which stands out because bronzers are usually available in a single shade, yet NYX have created it in five shades, appreciating that a bronzer for fair skin is not ideal for darker skin tones, and vice versa.
This is a long-standing budget beauty brand, which originated in Denmark. Their commitment to enabling consumers to find precisely the product that matches their individual style and wishes comes through their extensive product and shade range. The BB Cream in particular is striking; it comes in five shades, which superficially seems too narrow, however the product is formulated so that the shades adapt to the skin tone, providing a shade that is natural to your own. I think this is a game-changing product, and an example of how GOSH cater for WoC.
No need for introduction, Sleek is a great budget beauty brand for WoC because their dedication for catering for everyone is clear from the outset. They have a mission statement that reads: ‘Sleek MakeUP understands skin tone, catering from fair to dark and everyone in between’. My experience with Sleek’s products has always been positive because they use strong pigmentation, unlike a lot of budget brands, and create products of a high quality. I’m most impressed with the fact that several of their products are excellent dupes of super-luxury brands, such as the recently added Eyebrow Stylist. Products such as the Face Form palette incorporates a highlighter, contour powder and blush, yet comes in four shades, demonstrating the understanding that a contour powder which is suitable for fair skin is not suited to dark skin.
This is another budget brand that caters for WoC. I’m most impressed by their complexion products, and with their foundations in particular as they include darker shades, which other brands might choose not to. Similarly, their contouring and highlighting products also come in darker shades to suit WoC. Also it’s clear that B. Makeup are an impressive budget brand because of their desire to make luxury concepts more accessible to everybody.
So there you have it - our days of spending £30 for a foundation are over.