Black Beauty Roster (BBR), a collective focused on amplifying the work of Black beauty artists in TV, film, and editorial, and IPSY, the world’s largest beauty subscription program, recently announced their ongoing partnership that will focus on diversity training, collaborative social content, and programming opportunities with BBR-sourced talent.

Maude Okrah, Black Beauty Roster Founder and President says:

“We are delighted to partner with IPSY, who shares our common values in the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in beauty. Together we hope to drive awareness and progress when it comes to beauty enthusiasts and professionals being well-trained, educated, and versed to work with all types of hair textures and complexions, so everyone can feel confident and beautiful in the skin they are in. Through this partnership, we strive to continue the great investments IPSY has made when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, both within their company and their vast beauty community. We are excited for the change this partnership will bring to the beauty community, as we believe, amplifying representation and equity is the way forward.”

BBR is a diversity and inclusion platform that connects the TV, film, fashion, and beauty industries with diverse beauty professionals for on and off set needs while also providing education to the broader industry. Their mission is to create more meaningful beauty diversity across the industry through opportunity, advocacy, and education. They foster a community of artists who can work with all textures and complexions.

IPSY, on the other hand, is the largest beauty membership in the world, home to sample-size beauty subscription Glam Bag, full-size beauty subscription BoxyCharm, celeb-curated collection Icon Box, and clean, sustainable personal care subscription Refreshments. IPSY delivers a customized experience for each of its subscriptions leveraging IPSY Match, a proprietary machine learning technology that analyzes hundreds of attributes to delight each member with beauty products fit for their lifestyle. IPSY boasts an avid beauty community of 20 million fans and 200 million product reviews.

In February, Black Beauty Roster hosted an Unconscious Bias and Advocacy Training for the IPSY Brand Team in alignment with their goals of fostering a corporate environment of inclusivity, representation, and equity. “We are dedicated to doing the work to ensure we are providing an equitable environment for all of our talent,” says Tina Shim, SVP of Brand Marketing, IPSY.

To kick off the partnership, IPSY leveraged their editorial platform to feature BBR on their blog in an article titled, “Black Beauty Roster’s Maude Okrah Is Striving Not Just for Inclusion, but for Equity Too.” The blog highlights the work BBR is doing for the professional beauty community. IPSY and BBR share the same mission: They believe equity in the beauty industry begins with sourcing qualified professionals to call the shots behind the scenes and providing education to the decision makers.

“At IPSY, inclusion and diversity is at the core of everything that we do," says Shim. "Our mission since day one is to inspire individuals around the world to express their unique beauty. We believe that everyone should be able to authentically express themselves. That's why we're amplifying and investing in Black, Latinx, and LBGTQ+ communities and brands through our Beauty Amplified program. To date, we’ve invested $75M+ in amplifying Black and Latinx-led brands."

IPSY will work with Black Beauty Roster on experiential programming to further amplify BBR’s mission. Okrah will speak at IPSY’s Brand Forum in April that celebrates the coming together of IPSY and BoxyCharm. There, Okrah will highlight the partnership and showcase BBR’s work to IPSY’s network of Beauty Brand Partners. To provide additional resources and access, IPSY will also be inviting artists and creators who are a part of the BBR Portal to IPSY’s Creator Summitevent in March, where there will be networking and educational opportunities. 

On an ongoing, year-round basis moving forward, IPSY will utilize the BBR Portal, Black Beauty Roster’s newest technology platform for sourcing talent, providing education to their 20M+ community. This collaborative social content will leverage the expertise of BBR’s vast network of professionals. 

“Brand equity, community representation, and employee representation are the three areas we are focused on, and we are thrilled to partner with Okrah and Black Beauty Roster to help us continue to do this important work,” saysShim.