Golloria George’s Makeup Essentials Highlight the Beauty of Dark Skin
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Golloria George is having an amazing year. You may know the content creator for her viral videos on Instagram and TikTok, where she shares her honest opinions on shade inclusivity in the beauty industry. With million of followers online, George's influence landed her spots on both the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and The Hollywood Reporter Next Gen Creators list for 2024.
While George has worked hard to carve a name out for herself, she’s also not above manifestation. “I literally made an entire vision board and Forbes 30 Under 30 was on it,” she tells Glamour. “So to see it literally play out, it's amazing. I knew I was going to have to put in a lot of work this year, and I did it. I broke barriers, and I'm the first South Sudanese woman on that list, I'm pretty sure. We do it for the culture.”
Born in Egypt to South Sudanese parents fleeing unrest, George came to the U.S. at 5 years old and always felt different because of her features and the lack of representation around her. The desire to unpack these experiences was inevitably what launched the 23-year-old’s career as a full time creator.
“It was all of the lived experiences and existing in spaces that were not made for me and experiencing colorism and racism,” she says. “It was the little things like going to CVS and not being able to find my shades and not being able to conceptualize [my ideas] then."
George adds that growing up and witnessing racism on a systemic level made her realize she had to start creating content. “The camera must be picked up, because the way dark-skinned people are treated in society and dehumanized for literally simply just existing, it's really just sickening and disgusting,” she says. "I felt like the only way that I could do that and express myself in a meaningful way was to advocate for what made me feel that way.”
As a result, George’s honest opinions on popular beauty brands have created real change in a space where most influencers are paid to promote brands positively. Two examples include working with Patrick Ta Beauty on extending it's shade range, as well as meeting with Rhode founder Hailey Bieber to discuss the Rhode Pocket Blush shade range—and eventually becoming a consultant for the brand.
George's content has also served as a wake up call for the beauty industry as a whole. Her most notable critique was of Youthforia’s limited foundation shade range. In response, the brand missed the mark again by creating a “jet black” foundation, which George called “tar in a bottle.” It was a moment she felt the most let down by the beauty industry.
“To know that from the lens of the world, when other people look at me, they see pitch black, it’s crazy,” she says. “And to know that at the end of the day, the mistake happened once and then you went back to the lab and then this is the second time that you're re-fixing it and this is all you could give. I was really let down. It also just opened me up to a lot of just anti-Blackness and hate.”
While there's much to be celebrated, there's also ample work to be done to correct the beauty industry's diversity problem. “To see someone that looks like you do what everyone tells you is impossible, it is so important, and I’m glad that I can be that representation for dark-skinned women across the world," George says.
Ahead, Golloria George shares her top makeup essentials for Glamour's Great 8.
Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed in Dancing Queen
I think it's the perfect plum for dark skin. I love all of Danessa Myricks’s blushes, but Dancing Queen is definitely one that I feel like is definitely the dark skin girls. Honestly, all of the other ones work too on dark skin, which I think is really amazing. Again, it's the formulation of the product. It is cream, but it's like powder at the same time. So it doesn't give you an ultra glossy finish, but it also doesn't give you an extreme matte dry finish that looks cakey.
Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed in Dancing Queen Vivid Plum
$34.00, Sephora
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze Plumping Gloss
There's a ton of glosses that I really don't like that are plumping because sometimes the plumping feeling is like, “Why are my lips stinging?” This is a no sting formula, and it comes in so many shades. I feel like Haus Labs just did an amazing job with the formulation but also just the color as well. I can use literally every single lip glaze with or without lip liner, and that's big!
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze Plumping Gloss
$36.00, Sephora
Blend Bunny Cosmetics Little Miss “She Never Misses” Velour Lip Liner in ’89 Fine
This is actually a part of a collection with a Black creator Taj Reed. Blend Bunny has literally been in the industry for so long, she's so talented and she does amazing eye looks. She took so much time for her first ever product collaboration to curate a shade that would work on dark skin, even though she's not dark. That lip liner is amazing, and it looks beautiful on dark skin.
Blend Bunny Cosmetics Little Miss “She Never Misses” Velour Lip Liner in ’89 Fine
$12.00, Blend Bunny Cosmetics
LYS Beauty Triple Fix Blurring and Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation Stick
LYS just came out with this new foundation stick. It's called the Triple Fix Serum Skin Tint. I've been trying it for a few days. It's beautiful. I'm leaning more into being a full coverage girlie, but on days where I don't want to wear a full coverage foundation—I want something that’s more of a tint or serum, almost like skin care—LYS is what I've been reaching for. It feels really good on the skin. And it doesn't get extremely oily. I feel like sometimes skin tints get oily throughout the day, and I don’t like that.
LYS Beauty Triple Fix Blurring and Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation Stick
$34.00, Sephora
Jordana Ticia Bronzer Duo
Jordana Ticia ate so bad with this one, especially because growing up, people told me that I couldn't wear bronzer. They're still telling me now. Literally, I noticed such a huge shift in how my makeup started to look after I started using bronzer. Like, this is the sculpting y'all were doing, and no one told me? Oh my gosh!
Jordana Ticia Bronzer Duo Runor Riviera
$25.00, Jordana Ticia
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer
I really love this concealer. I use a few of these shades, actually. That's why I love it, because there's so many varieties of shades to choose from. I feel like I typically can only use one concealer in a line, but Haus Labs gives me multiple undertones. It's really helpful because sometimes people think that darker skin doesn’t dull out in the winter, but I'm definitely tanner in the summer. I tan just like everybody else. I think this is the first concealer that I've seen that has golden undertones for dark skin which is insane. It’s usually just brick red or warm.
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + Depuffing Concealer
$44.00, Sephora
Tatcha The Water Cream
It’s so good. It's a bit expensive. You’re going to spend some money, friend, but my skin has never looked better, and that's all I can say. I also feel like it's just lightweight. Sometimes moisturizers can feel like a bit much. Tatcha does a really good job of making sure that across the board they have products for people who want a little less and want more richness in their skincare and more moisture.
Tatcha The Water Cream
$23.00, Amazon
Danessa Myricks Balm Contour in Deep 4
Contours are just hard to find. I've never found a contour that looks this good on me, but also, I feel like she really took time with the undertone. Sometimes for dark skin, they'll give you one undertone and they'll call it what it is. But with this product, it's giving contour. It's giving shadow. That is what I'm so appreciative of with Danessa. She curates everything with Black women and dark-skinned women in mind because she is one.
Danessa Myricks Balm Contour in Deep 4
$38.00, Sephora
Jamie Wilson is a New York–based beauty writer and editor who has written for Glamour, Marie Claire, ELLE, Vogue, Women’s Health, InStyle, and WWD. Follow her @justjamiemarie.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
