The alarm goes off on a sunny Monday morning, Lauren Brown wakes up and prepares for her day with an idea in mind. She plans to paint an eye-catching picture but with a non-traditional canvas: her face. On a typical day, Brown can be spotted sporting a bold, vibrant eye look paired with her favorite lip gloss. She is met with kind comments and looks of awe, but there is more to Brown than a pretty face.
Lauren B. Brown is a 18-year-old beauty influencer, full-time Howard University student, and a Washington, D.C. native. She is also a sophomore, business management major. She has been a beauty influencer for 2 years and recently celebrated reaching over 50,000 instagram followers. She has been sponsored by Bh Cosmetics, Colourpop, and Anastasia Beverly Hills. Lauren Brown brings creativity and spunk to everything she does.
African-American women constantly question the inclusivity of the beauty industry. From not having their shade showcased by different brands to not seeing someone with their complexion review mainstream beauty products. In 2018, beauty influencer Jackie Aina collaborated with TooFaced and expanded their foundation shade range. This was a light stride in a long battle that still continues today. Racked reported that, “Black women shell out $7.5 billion on beauty products every year, spending 80% more on cosmetics and twice as much on skincare as other consumers.” This time more than ever Black beauty influencers are fighting for inclusivity and won’t stop until this goal is reached.
Brown was given her first makeup kit at the age of three and the rest is history. While growing up she fell in love with makeup and decided to invest in something that she loved, which was beauty. Brown said, “When I started this, I was never going to tell myself ‘you have to do a look at 5 o’clock’ that feels like work and as soon as it feels like work it takes the fun out of it.” Brown never wanted to lose her passion and she wanted to be a beauty influencer on her own terms.
Brown created her prominent instagram account, @raggedyroyal, at the age of 15, which she considered “way later than everyone else”. She wanted her instagram to be true to her and her brand in the making. “I knew I wanted alliteration so I went to the name generator and I’m typing stuff in and then I was like raggedy royal, okay,” said Brown. She wanted something unique but easy to find for her viewers.
One thing Brown is proud of is using her platform to advocate for black women. “My goal is to help black women have the confidence to play in color,” Brown said. Often times the simple idea of wearing bright colors frightens black girls all across the shade spectrum. Brown said, “Sometimes women of color people say ‘oh that’s ghetto or I can’t do that on my skin’ sometimes women have to see somebody do it.”
She believes that representation is everything in the beauty world. She understands that she inspires other women everyday to step outside of their comfort zone.
She breaks eurocentric beauty standards and has created a name for herself. “I am a woman of color playing in color,” said Brown.
Brown is a resource for life, school, and makeup. She wants to empower other women to reach for the stars. She details about how in the beauty community there is not a “guide book.” Brown quickly made a name for herself without this non-existent “guide book”.
2 years later and her passion has only been heightened. Her advice for anyone that wants to make a name for themselves is “Quality is key but quantity can not be sacrificed.”