A black-owned vegan beauty brand is exploring the diversity of beauty and we’re here for it.
Since The Lip Bar came on the scene it has been reinventing the standards of beauty for minority women. The founder and FAMU graduate, Melissa Butler launched the 100% vegan and cruelty-free company back in 2012 with an understanding that beauty has no box and can transcend across all religions and cultures, which is where we find Ashley Blevins.
The Philly-native is a Black Muslim and had the opportunity to represent her culture in The Lip Bar’s latest beauty campaign, #ThisisBeauty. The campaign challenges women to tag themselves wearing a Lip Bar product for a chance to be featured on the company’s Instagram page. Blevins was the brand’s first feature. She tells The Lip Bar that she hopes to change the concept that makeup is not associated with Muslim women through her vibrant social media pictures.
“I hope to promote the idea that a Muslim woman being covered does not oppress her or hinder,” she tells The Lip Bar. ” Which is one of the biggest stereotypes that follow Muslim women. I would like for people to see that some of the best fashion and beauty styles for both the body and home come from Muslim women.”
To further flip the script on Muslim stereotypes, Blevins is launching an online magazine called Aniq, which she says will be the ideal place for home décor, fashion and faith for Muslim women.
To Butler, Blevins represents everything bold, beautiful and fearless that the typical fashion mainstream rejects.
“In the western world, we’re made to believe that women covering up for religious purposes is oppressive,” Butler tells Bustle in an interview. “So to see Ashley decide to wear her hijab and wear it with such pride and boldness was liberating.”
And to Blevins being represented by The Lip Bar, the campaign promotes an empowering message to other Muslim women as well as those outside of the faith.
“We [Muslim women] can still work, go to school, start businesses, raise families, go on trips and enjoy the pleasures of pleasures of fashion and beauty,” Blevins tells Bustle. “By being on The Lip Bar page, I hope to open the eyes of society. I hope to show them that there’s room for not only black women, but Muslim women, too.”
The Lip Bar has expanded its products to 44 Target stores across the country and recently celebrated its 6th anniversary. Not bad for a company who The Shark Tank called “colorful cockroaches”.
But Blevins isn’t the only black Muslim woman challenging tradition and killing stereotypes. Listed below are a few other Muslim women we found who are killing the beauty game.
Fatima Yusuf
Neelam Hakeem
Samanta
#royalwomeninspire
