In a previous professional life, Aminata Mbaye was an IT consultant. Just like many other women with skins rich in melanin, she has always struggled to find a simple, efficient, natural makeup routine adapted to both her complexion and daily life. “The perfect product for me was the BB cream, but there were none or very few shades for black skins,” she explains.
In the wake of the Covid pandemic, she got into creating a hybrid skincare-makeup brand adapted to black and dark skins.
For the young creator, who did not belong to the cosmetics world at the time, a whole obstacle course was about to start to find a laboratory both specialising in clean makeup and favourable to small series production. In the end, Co-Lab-Ora started to take care of product development.
“I was determined to make made-in-France products with an expertise in pigmented skin tones. Creating a base adapted to these complexions requires specific know-how. The result is often darkened by UV filters and water-in-oil formulas, which are ill-adapted to oily skins, like black skins. The collaborative approach of this laboratory changed it all. We organized co-creation workshops and drew up specifications together. It is reassuring for someone that is no expert like me to be able to follow the whole process,” says Mbaye.
Other than the flagship product, the BB Cream that comes in six shades, the Wuré range also consists of a mattifying loose powder and a multifunctional tinted balm in three shades.
“Right now, we are the only brand to offer a clean, natural BB cream with that many shades for black and dark skins. Usually, only two or three are available. We are also planning to broaden our range with a few additional shades, because skin undertones are extremely diverse in melanin-rich skins,” she explains.
Opening up to Africa
In France, for now, Wuré is mainly present in concept stores in the Paris region, but the brand is currently in talks to integrate a network of parapharmacies.
“Distribution in France is very complex. The selective channel is not open to young brands. So, we aim to position Wuré where consumers go buy their skincare products. Our highly natural skincare-makeup offering definitely fits in the pharmaceutical channel,” Mbaye claims.
In addition, the brand aims to target black and dark skins wherever they are. To this aim, the entrepreneur did not hesitate, as early as 2023, to integrate retail channels in the French Caribbean and Africa: it is now distributed in about ten major pharmacies in Senegal and several points of sale in Ivory Coast.
“The pharmaceutical channel is developing further in Ivory Coast, and I hope it will gradually grow on the whole continent. Africa is a dynamic market where still few brands are adapted to black skins, which is paradoxical. The BB cream concept was not widely known, but our proposal remains attractive thanks to its skincare asset. It also represents an alternative to foundation, the latter being hardly compatible with hot and damp climates,” emphasizes Mbaye.
And it is a winning bet: the African market now represents 70% of Wuré’s sales.
