#MYMELARICHESTORY

A few months back I met up with Jackie to discuss Melariche and her plans for the site and it's launch.

I was immediately on board.

A place where I could shop for makeup as a woman of colour and not have any restrictions based on the colour of my skin?

Sign me up please!

Melariche, which launched in August, was set up by Jackie who moved here from New York. Jackie immediately saw the lack of beauty products for PoC (People of Colour) here in the UK and decided something needed to be done, with that she created Melariche, an online shop for PoC who love beauty and who want to discover new brands as well as a shop unrestricted.

Jackie was lovely enough to send me some products from Melariche that I have honestly been loving!

I've been completely with two blushers I was sent form the brand Marena Beaute.

I have never heard about this company (B.O.M.B btw) before but I am soooo glad I know about them now!

Their blushers are of an amazing quality, definitely, definitely comparable to NARS blushers.

I was sent the shades Chocolat and Marron Peach. Marron Peach has been my go to for a minute now, it is the PERFECT blush for PoC. I'll have a full review on these blushers on the blog very soon - they deserve an entire post dedicated to them.

I was also sent a face mask from Biolissime and the most perfect nude lipstick from Zao Organic Makeup in the shade 466 Chocolate.

In one box I had received 4 items perfect for my skin tone and type - I am beyond impressed!

With the launch of Melariche I was also asked to share #MyMelaricheStory.

Being a woman of colour in the blogging world is not exactly easy, it has noticeable struggles and sometimes it can be extremely frustrating however after spending a few days thinking about my struggles I had to admit to myself - my story had more positives that outweigh the negatives.

The restrictions I've faced as a black woman in a world of beauty are real.

I will never downplay them or play blind to them.

I am ignored because of the colour of my skin.

This is a fact.

There are one too many beauty companies where I am not part of their target audience because I am black.

That too is a fact.
I am not desirable to some brands and some companies because I am black.
Fact also.

Look at blogging awards and tell me how many PoC won.

It is what it is.

Whether it's intentional or just a norm it happens and yes it sucks A LOT.

The fact that I am overlooked, ignored, made to feel less than perfect because of my skin tone is a ridiculous thing to encounter in this day and age but I choose to look at the positives and those positives have kept me going for 5+ years in the blogosphere.

Being a black woman in the blogging and beauty world has it's issues but from these issues communities and spaces have been made that have allowed us to celebrate everything about us.

In the last few years, communities have popped up everywhere urging PoC to come together to celebrate things about us that may be overlooked by others.

Communities such as Cocoa Swatches, Brown Beauty, Makeup For Melanin Girls, Melariche, Bloggers Of Colour and many more are setting up shop and reminding us of how amazing we really are! Paired with these new communities is an all round stronger sense of a bond - creating a place where we can be ourselves and really bask in everything amazing about being a person of colour from our culture to our hair textures, our lip and hip sizes, the food we like to eat - the list is really endless.

I embrace these groups, I've let them become my community and through this I have found a stronger sense of self and a stronger sense of belonging.

You know how everyone says "surround yourself with like minded people" I have and I am better for it. I feel empowered every time I log in to Twitter and Instagram.
I am surrounded by the most beautiful and talented PoC and for that I cannot be mad.

Yes, the beauty industry wants us to feel unwanted, ugly, not the norm to the point where we are overlooked but I don't let this define me and you shouldn't either!

We are gorgeous, we are unique and we are talented and no company or person will ever take that away from us!

This is #MyMelaricheStory - one of empowerment!

If you want to shop from Melariche (I really recommend the Marena Beaute products) you can shop via their site Melariche - use code DOSBLOG for ££ off!

Let me know how you feel about how PoC are treated in the beauty industry - it would be really great to see other people's views!

Nat x

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