Tucked between Black Friday deals, algorithms, and product recommendations are African-rooted brands holding space on the global beauty shelf.
Across Amazon sit African-founded and African-rooted beauty brands that lead with intention and focus on redefining beauty not as a trend, but as a commitment to deeper care and as an anchor to heritage.
While we shop for our loved ones (and ourselves) this holiday season, Guzangs hopes to bring to the forefront a few beauty brands that insist on transparency and remind us that on the global stage there are brands that deliver not just great products, but fragments of a larger narrative that shifted how beauty could look and feel for people of color.
Ami Colé: A Legacy Worth Holding
As Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye steps into her next chapter as Executive Vice President of Beauty and Fragrance at SKIMS, working closely with Emma Grede to build the global brand’s beauty expansion, what she created with Ami Colé remains a quiet landmark and a forever favorite brand and past Guzangs panelist.
Ami Colé was centered in skin-first formulas and in products that honored melanin as the foundation. These products are traces of a vision that reshaped how beauty could look and feel for women of color. As the founder builds something new, this is a rare moment to hold onto what was once a defining force in the industry.
If you loved what Ami Colé stood for, now is the time to secure what remains of this one-of-a-kind brand while its legacy transitions into a new future.
Give the gift legacy with the future of SKIMS beauty’s first venture.
54 Thrones: Rooted in Ritual
Founded by Christina Tegbe, 54 Thrones is shaped by West African shea traditions that existed long before clean beauty became industry language. The brand draws from ancestral knowledge where skin care was preservation and ingredients carried meaning.
Its formulas spotlight elements native to the continent, from Ghanaian shea butter to blends infused with Ugandan vanilla, Ethiopian honey, Nigerian lemongrass and Egyptian lavender. Each scent feels intentional, layered, and quietly transportive, echoing nodes of place, memory, and tradition.
What 54 Thrones delivers is respect for the skin in its most natural state. A brand that brings ritual to the global shelf while remaining anchored in where it began.
And this is only the surface. Stay tuned for our upcoming Rituals series, where we go deeper into ceremonies and sensory memory, exploring nodes of flavor, scent, and touch drawn from across the African continent.
Cyber Monday marks the opening of the Guzangs Holiday Advent Calendar. A season of considered gifting, layered stories, and brands worth slowing down for.
We kept this Cyber Monday edit as intentional as our chosen brands kept their products. A shared commitment to care, purpose, and thoughtful creation. Each selection chosen for meaning with intention.
Join us weekly as the holiday calendar unfolds, revealing designers, rituals, and objects that carry resonance beyond the moment.