Interview with Ronke Adeyemi, Founder of Brown Beauty Talk

Meet Ronke Adeyemi, the founder (and amazing mind behind) Brown Beauty Talk - the online beauty website connecting Black and Asian women with brands that cater to them.

I was fortunate enough to be able to have an informal chat with Ronke and ask her some all important beauty questions about Brown Beauty Talk, and how she got started in business.

When did you first take an interest in beauty? I have always been interested in beauty since I was a teen and started implementing a skincare regime. I learnt a lot from reading glossy magazines. However, I did not work in the beauty industry till over five years ago, when I launched the BBT platform. It has been a real
learning curve.

When did you found Beauty Brown Talk, and what made you decide to start your own business? I founded BBT in 2013. It originally began as a Twitter hashtag when we saw a gap in the market for a weekly platform for Black and Asian women to come together and discuss beauty issues. We filled that gap with our Sunday #BBT hashtag. I have always wanted my own business but could not find the right vehicle that would combine my passion with making a profit.

How has BBT grown since you started? Well, we have gone from a hashtag to a website a year after that, beauty events and a fortnightly newsletter.

What changes have you seen? With the emergence of influencers, I have seen the beauty market open and become more transparent. Initially it started with bloggers writing reviews about products, but even though that has died away we still have the likes of ‘Skinfluencers’ and ‘Skintellectuals’ who create awareness about great brands and educate their followers. Those kinds of people are powerful. You also have mini watch dogs such as Estée Laundry who hold brands accountable, but the most beautiful thing about the last few years has been the elevation of beauty professionals such as Caroline Hirons, Ateh Jewel, Dija Ayodele - women who have learnt and honed their crafts and are now reaping the benefits.

What women inspire you? Apart from my mum, I would say Emily Weiss, the lady behind Into the Gloss and Glossier. Michelle Obama and Rihanna for having the guts to launch an all inclusive brand such as Fenty Beauty and setting the template. Like it or not, she shook things up.

What’s been the hardest part of starting your own business? The lack of budget. As our budget was limited we had to do a lot of grassroots work such as engaging with people on Instagram and Twitter, networking on and offline and attending events to create awareness.

If there was one black or asian woman that you would love to collaborate with at BBT, who would it be? Rihanna - as a mega star and beauty brand owner, she would be incredible to work with.

What are your favourite go-to makeup, hair and skincare products? I am quite low maintenance - bodycare consists of body scrub or gel and a good body butter. Skincare is where my energy lies - cleanser, toner, serum, moisturiser and eye cream. I also use a facial scrub once a week and clay mask every Sunday. I don't muck about when it comes to skincare. I am very simple when it comes to makeup - as long as I have a good foundation, eye liner, mascara, eyeshadow palette, blush and lipstick, I am a happy lady. I used to struggle with my hair - it has been natural for over ten years (before the natural movement started) and I always had my hair in protective styling. However, since lockdown I have mastered how to look after my hair and I am loving it. I start off with a pre-poo using Philip Kinglsley Elasticizer, I shampoo using Equi Botanics and I have started using Dizziak conditioner. I style using ASIAM hair butter and I also use the leave in conditioner by Cantu.

What makes BBT different from other websites? We are the only website in the UK that covers beauty from a Black and Asian perspective.

With the death of George Floyd, protests in America and the UK last week, and huge surge on social media to support Black Lives Matter, how do you feel as a black woman in business seeing this all unravelling and coming to the surface? I am in two minds. It's great that the world has finally realised how unjust things are for Black people plus the added layer that white people have realised that they need to self-educate themselves on institutional racism. Plus the fact that brands now want to readdress their action. I just hope it is not a knee jerk reaction and that after the trend has faded the good work continues.

What are the plans for BBT in 2020 and what does the future hold? LOL. Well - I did have lots of plans for this year but after COVID-19 that has changed and I am now adapting our strategy!

After reading that, if you’re as intrigued as we were, check out the Brown Beauty Talk website and give them a follow on Instagram. Also, their latest post about 12 black owned UK beauty and makeup brands is definitely worth a read for all you beauty nerds. I, for one, will be dusting off my purse very soon to grab myself some beauty must-haves, in the hopes of showing off the new and improved me, post lockdown.