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Avon launches competition to support inclusivity in the beauty industry

A new competition for budding beauty entrepreneurs launches tomorrow in the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the beauty industry. Spearheaded by beauty giant Avon, the Beauty in Colour Start Up competition will be open to women of colour across the UK who are being encouraged to put forward product ideas, formulas, or beauty business proposals.

Participants will be competing for a £20,000 grant, mentoring and the chance to develop and distribute their product exclusively with Avon, while two runners-up will be enrolled onto a bespoke mentorship programme to support product and business development.  

In collaboration with guest judges, journalist and business owner Ateh Jewel, beauty expert Nilam Holmes and CEO of the British Beauty Council Millie Kendall MBE, Avon’s new initiative seeks to diversify the sector and confront the existing barriers faced by women of colour in two folds; through the creation of accessible products and opening up career

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On being ‘brown’ in the fashion industry

Photo credit: Alice Cowling
Photo credit: Alice Cowling

From Cosmopolitan

It started with a pair of Primark tights. I’d just hit my teens: black tights had become seriously uncool, and ‘skin coloured’ tights were now a thing. So, I headed to the high street in pursuit of the newly coveted nude tights trend.

After foraging forlornly through box after box of nude tights in the depths of Primarni, I realised that they were all for lighter skin tones. Thinking the brown gal shades must have sold out, I remember asking the store assistant if she could help. I wasn’t expecting her reply: “Sorry – we don’t do them in your colour”.

Cue years of shimmying into tights too light for my deeper olive skin tone and praying I pulled it off (I didn’t), followed by an uneasy awakening of colour favouritism in the fashion and beauty industry. Nude heels for nights out were a

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