Ami Colé

Ami Colé is an American cosmetics brand founded in 2021 by Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye, a Harlem-born beauty executive whose family background and personal experience shaped the company's focus. N'Diaye-Mbaye named the brand after her mother, who immigrated to the United States from Dakar, Senegal, and founded a Harlem African hair-braiding salon in 1988. The founder has said that her difficulty finding suitable foundation shades as a teenager helped motivate her to create a makeup line for consumers who had historically been underserved by mainstream beauty products. The brand's assortment centers on complexion, lips, cheeks, highlighter, and eye products. Its product philosophy emphasizes lightweight textures, natural-looking luminosity, buildable coverage, uncomplicated routines, and compatibility with a broad range of brown and deep skin tones. The line was developed over approximately three years before launch, including consumer research involving survey responses from about 400 people for its tinted moisturizer. Some formulations use baobab seed extract, connecting the product story to N'Diaye-Mbaye's Senegalese heritage. The brand also presents itself as an alternative to conventional beauty products through an emphasis on ingredients described in its marketing as clean. Ami Colé launched in June 2021 with a tinted moisturizer, lip oil, and highlighter. Its visual and marketing language has prominently featured Black women with dark skin, including hijab-wearing consumers, and has positioned the products as easy to use within a simple everyday makeup routine. This combination of inclusive shade development, culturally informed storytelling, and understated complexion enhancement placed Ami Colé within the newer generation of independent beauty brands responding to demand for more representative product design and imagery. The company initially developed through direct-to-consumer distribution and later expanded into specialist retail. It began selling at Sephora in December 2022 and subsequently became available at Sephora locations in Canada. In September 2024, L'Oréal invested an undisclosed amount through its venture-capital arm, giving Ami Colé a strategic connection to one of the world's largest beauty groups while leaving the investment amount and detailed ownership structure undisclosed. Public reporting around that investment stated that the brand had generated approximately $3.5 million in sales at the time; the period and methodology for that figure should be treated as reported context rather than a full audited financial disclosure. Ami Colé has received editorial recognition and product recommendations from publications including Vogue, Allure, and Marie Claire. Its public identity remains closely associated with its founder, inclusive complexion development, and a focused assortment intended to make makeup feel practical, expressive, and suitable for a wide range of skin tones.

Ami Colé was created by Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye, who grew up in Harlem and developed an interest in beauty partly through the difficulty of finding complexion products that matched her skin tone. Her mother, an immigrant from Dakar, Senegal, founded Aminata African Hair Braiding in Harlem in 1988. N'Diaye-Mbaye's family history became part of the brand's cultural foundation, including the use of baobab seed extract in some products and the choice of a name connected to her mother. Before founding Ami Colé, N'Diaye-Mbaye worked in the cosmetics sector from 2013 onward. Her experience included social-media strategy at L'Oréal and product development at Glossier. Those roles gave her exposure to both large-scale beauty marketing and the product-development process. She subsequently spent approximately three years developing Ami Colé's initial line. Consumer research was part of that process: the company collected responses from roughly 400 people while developing its tinted moisturizer. The brand launched in June 2021 with three principal products: a tinted moisturizer, a lip oil, and a highlighter. From the beginning, its proposition was directed toward dark and deep skin tones and toward consumers seeking makeup that enhanced rather than obscured natural skin appearance. Product communication emphasized lightweight wear, buildable application, visible luminosity, and ease of use in a short daily routine. The company also described its formulations as using clean ingredients and framed them as alternatives to mainstream products that, according to its positioning, had not adequately served people of color. Ami Colé's representation strategy was central to its early identity. Marketing commonly featured Black women with dark complexions and included hijabi consumers, making representation part of both the product story and the brand's visual system. Editorial outlets including Vogue, Allure, and Marie Claire recommended or covered products from the line, helping the young company build recognition beyond its own channels. The next major stage was retail expansion. Ami Colé began selling through Sephora in December 2022, giving the brand access to a large specialist beauty network. By 2024, the products were also available at Sephora locations in Canada, indicating an initial move beyond the United States. In September 2024, L'Oréal invested an undisclosed amount through its venture-capital arm. The investment created a relationship with a global beauty company, although public information does not establish a full acquisition, the precise ownership percentage, or changes to Ami Colé's operating independence. At the time of the 2024 investment report, N'Diaye-Mbaye said the company had generated approximately $3.5 million in sales. Because the available reference does not define the accounting period or provide audited statements, the figure is best treated as a reported business indicator rather than a complete financial history. Publicly available information also does not provide a comprehensive record of subsequent executives, financing rounds, profitability, or global distribution. Ami Colé's documented development nevertheless shows a clear progression from founder-led product development and direct commerce to national specialty retail, Canadian availability, and strategic investment by a major beauty group.

• 2024

  L'Oréal investment and Canadian expansion

  [1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  L'Oréal invested an undisclosed amount through its venture-capital arm, while Ami Colé expanded to Sephora locations in Canada.

• 2022

  Sephora retail launch

  [1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  Ami Colé began retailing at Sephora in December, broadening its distribution beyond direct-to-consumer sales.

• 2021

  Ami Colé is founded and launches

  [1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye founded Ami Colé and launched the brand in June with a tinted moisturizer, lip oil, and highlighter.

Inclusive, complexion-focused everyday makeup with lightweight textures, natural luminosity, buildable results, and products developed with dark and deep skin tones in mind.

• Complexion makeup · 2021

  Skin-Enhancing Tint

  Ami Colé's tinted complexion product is designed to even the appearance of skin while maintaining a lightweight, natural-looking finish. Its development involved consumer research and reflects the brand's central effort to offer complexion options for dark and deep skin tones. The product is positioned for everyday use rather than highly opaque, theatrical coverage, with an emphasis on skin luminosity and buildable application.

• Lip makeup · 2021

  Lip Treatment Oil

  The Lip Treatment Oil combines a conditioning, glossy feel with visible lip color. It represents Ami Colé's preference for products that can fit into a simple routine and provide both cosmetic effect and a care-oriented sensory experience. The product was part of the brand's initial launch assortment and helped establish its broader approach to comfortable, low-complexity everyday makeup.

• Cheek makeup

  Desert Date Cream Blush

  Desert Date Cream Blush is a cream cheek product intended to deliver natural-looking, buildable color. It extends the brand's complexion-centered assortment into color cosmetics while preserving the emphasis on blendability, skin luminosity, and practical daily application. The product is associated with Ami Colé's effort to create flattering color and texture options for brown and deep skin tones.

• Face makeup · 2021

  Highlighter

  A highlighter was one of Ami Colé's three launch products in June 2021. It was introduced as part of the brand's focus on enhancing luminosity on brown skin rather than masking the underlying complexion. Public reference material identifies the product category but does not provide enough detail here to specify a particular shade architecture or subsequent product-generation timeline.

• Eye makeup

  Eye makeup and mascara

  Ami Colé's assortment includes eye makeup, contributing to a broader everyday routine beyond complexion, lips, and cheeks. The brand received recognition in the 2023 Allure Best of Beauty Awards in the eye-makeup area. The available reference does not establish a complete list of eye products or their individual launch dates.

• 2024

  Accept strategic investment from L'Oréal's venture armStrategy

  Background

  Ami Colé sought to continue developing as an independent inclusive beauty brand while expanding its retail footprint.

  Action taken

  L'Oréal invested an undisclosed amount through its venture-capital arm in September 2024.

  Aftermath

  The investment connected Ami Colé with a global beauty group. The public reference does not establish whether the transaction involved a controlling stake or a change in day-to-day management.

  Reported sales. Approximately $3.5 million (Reported at the time of the September 2024 investment; exact period and basis unspecified)

  Source

• 2024

  Expand Sephora availability to CanadaStrategy

  Background

  The brand was extending its specialty-retail presence after entering Sephora in the United States.

  Action taken

  Ami Colé became available at Sephora locations in Canada.

  Aftermath

  This represented the brand's documented expansion into a second national market.

  Source

• 2022

  Expand into Sephora retailStrategy

  Background

  After establishing the brand through its own commerce and early beauty distribution, Ami Colé pursued access to a major specialty retailer.

  Action taken

  Ami Colé began retailing at Sephora in December 2022.

  Aftermath

  The move increased the brand's physical and specialty-retail reach in the United States.

  Source

• 2021

  Launch a focused inclusive complexion lineProduct launch

  Background

  N'Diaye-Mbaye developed the line in response to gaps she observed in products for dark and deep skin tones and to her own difficulty finding suitable foundation as a teenager.

  Action taken

  The company launched with a tinted moisturizer, lip oil, and highlighter after approximately three years of development and consumer research involving about 400 survey responses for the tinted moisturizer.

  Aftermath

  The launch established Ami Colé's complexion-led identity and its emphasis on lightweight, luminous, buildable everyday makeup.

  Source

• 2024

  L'Oréal venture arm invests in Ami Colé[1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  L'Oréal invested an undisclosed amount in Ami Colé through its venture-capital arm in September 2024. The brand also expanded availability to Sephora stores in Canada.

• 2024

  Reported sales reach approximately $3.5 million[1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  At the time of the reported L'Oréal investment, the founder stated that Ami Colé had made approximately $3.5 million in sales. Public material does not establish whether this represented annual, cumulative, or another reporting period.

• 2022

  Ami Colé begins retail distribution through Sephora[1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Ami Colé entered Sephora in December 2022, expanding beyond its direct-to-consumer channel into major specialty beauty retail.

• 2021

  Ami Colé launches with complexion, lip, and highlighter products[1]Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The brand launched in June 2021 with a tinted moisturizer, lip oil, and highlighter, establishing its focus on makeup for dark and deep skin tones.

1. 1Ami Coléen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ami Colé official websiteamicole.com