#BlackGirlMagic, #Blackout, #BlackGoddess. Every day there’s a new empowering movement proving to people that representation matters and the beauty of Black girls is just as beautiful as the next. Hashtags like #MelaninMonday fight to destroy twisted ideologies that dark skin doesn’t have any value or visual appeal. Unfortunately many girls begin to hate their skin color only to start their journey to self-hatred. I got the chance to feature some Melanin Goddesses and they’re going to tell you how they achieved self-love, how they promote it and some of their favorite skin products.
Diamond @diamonddnomaid
“To those who hate darker complexions and favor lighter complexions, I don't hate you. I hurt for you. However you're not going to make me think twice about what beautiful is. The Rihanna’s and Beyonce’s look great...and so do I. There was a time in life where I felt so aware of my dark skin and I always wanted to know what skin tone gradient I fell under. Then I realized that it shouldn't even matter. If my outer appearance bothers you and you've yet to converse with me, it's best we need not to be involved with each other if you're choosing appearance over character anyway. I pray one day you'll be able to love all beautiful things around you especially when it differs from the media's set standard.”
Fav Makeup Brand: 'BlackUp' is
absolutely great and flattering for dark girls! The first time I used it I was
so obsessed with it because I couldn't get over how rich it is and it makes our
skin look ever more like chocolate (than it naturally does!). I think the
contour kit they sell is amazing; I've never come across a contour kit that was
perfect until I bought this one - I highly recommend it!
Fav Skin Product: I can never go without my cocoa
butter lotion. I absolutely
love it because it's always been the key to my smooth skin and it's so
hydrating. If melanin had a smell, cocoa butter would be it!
I've disliked my skin for many
years. It all started one day, during my 6th grade year, when I had a huge
crush on a guy in my English class. Someone ended up telling him and the person
that told him, came back to me and said "He says he doesn't like dark skin
girls". After that day, it all of a sudden surfaced everywhere. I
saw it all around social media. It never occurred to me that my skin was such a
problem until I was hit with that line. When I met my first boyfriend, he loved
EVERY inch of me. He made sure he told me I was beautiful every chance he got.
Since I've met him, I was over the whole "I'm ugly because I'm dark".
You shouldn't need a man to tell you you're beautiful, but that helped on so
many levels. Even seeing other beautiful chocolate girls made me feel better about
myself.
My response to Black Men &
Women that hate on darker complexions and glamorize lighter complexions: You
have a certain preference for what you're attracted to and that's okay but
don't ever let a person that doesn't fit your criteria feel bad about their
skin. You have a different outlook of beauty but you haven't met EVERY dark
skin human so please save the criticism. You're very ignorant if you think the
color of your skin determines beauty.
“When I bore a beautiful,
chocolate baby girl/boy, I promise to let them know how gorgeous they are from
their golden dark skin to their coily kinks and to never let anyone make them
think twice about it!”
Faithy @blackpowerprincess
They need to decolonize their
minds. Colorism within POC communities is detrimental to it's growth. This way
of thinking is decisive. Willie Lynch wrote about how to control slaves without
shackles or violence by dividing them by color, features and hair textures.
These ideas still permeate our communities today and it makes us look foolish.
Darkskin vs Brownskin vs Lightskin is stupid. All Black is beautiful and we
should try to recognize that more.
Fav Makeup Brand: NARS/Bobbi
Brown
Cannot live without…
Coconut oil
Nyzeire
Can’t live without… Black Soap hands down
I love my… red undertones
I used to not like my
complexion at all. I wanted to be lighter so bad because it was all I saw in
school, videos, TV, etc. I didn't really start loving my skin until my junior
year in high school. My mom played a huge part in me regaining my confidence but
it was ultimately up to me to look myself in the mirror and remind myself
everyday how beautiful I was.
Can’t live without… my Black Soap. I don’t really like
applying to many products on my face but that is my holy grail. It leaves my
face with a natural glow.
I’ve never disliked my complexion but I
did not embrace it as much as I do now. Before I wouldn’t really just say to myself,
“Wow your skin is so beautiful!” I would just go about my day but when I
would go to school many guys would go for the lighter complexions [girls]. They
would go as far as calling a dark skin girl dirty because of her skin tone. So I
wouldn’t say I disliked my complexion but it was mostly what was being
said around me that made me feel as though my complexion did not matter or have
as much value as others. It didn’t make me feel like I should even take the
time to embrace my skin tone as much as I should.
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