About Legally Black Beauty

About the Website

This website contains some affiliate links and images of products I did not purchase. On certain webpages, I have included labels at the top of certain webpages to indicate whether I purchased a product, received a product as a gift, or include affiliate links in the post. The relevant labels for each post are displayed in bold text like this:

I will earn a commission if you use my affiliate links to purchase products. Regardless of whether I include an affiliate link or received a product as a gift, my goal is always to be honest and transparent. I do not accept PR in exchange for positive reviews.

Who am I?

Hello there! I’m Day / @legallyblackbeauty (pronouns: she/her) on Instagram. This website was born out of my love for all things beauty. I am a huge makeup and nail polish enthusiast with an extra large place in her heart for indie brands. I am also a Black American with dark skin, which makes my experience in the beauty world frustrating at times, but also rewarding.

I first began this journey in 2018. I had been a makeup enthusiast for years and often spent hours researching products and looking for swatches on skin tones similar to mine. Unfortunately, such swatches were often either non-existent or extremely difficult to find. While ~~procrastinating~~ studying for the Bar, my frustration with not being able to find swatches of makeup on dark skin hit its peak. I decided to finally do what I had been too nervous to do for years. I created @legallyblackbeauty.

My goal with Legally Black Beauty is certainly to provide the types of swatches I was — and still am — looking for. But I also aim to increase the visibility of dark skinned people in the beauty community. I aim to advocate for those who look like me as well as those who don’t, calling out racism, colorism, sexism, and all of the other -isms that rear their ugly heads in the beauty sphere. I also hope for the day when swatches on multiple skin tones become the norm and token beige “transition” shades in every palette become a thing of the past.

Now that I am here, I am so thankful to the community I have found. I have connected with numerous beauty lovers — many like me, wanting to see ourselves represented in the beauty world and continually being met with a feeling of rejection. I hope that my being here makes other beauty enthusiasts feel secure in their places in the beauty world, but I know there is still much work to be done.

How I Swatch

Unless otherwise noted, I swatch eyeshadows over a very light layer of translucent or near-colorless primer. Most swatches are finger swatches, but brush swatches are marked as such. I swatch all other makeup products without a primer, although I do try to make sure my arms and lips are moisturized beforehand.

Where Can You See More?

This website isn't enough for you? Well, if I haven't made it painfully obvious enough, you can follow me on Instagram through @legallyblackbeauty. You'll find plenty of swatches, Talk Me Out Of/Talk Me Into sessions, rants, and random stories to keep you busy. And there's more! If you don't want to navigate through my whole page, you can also find swatches I've done (including some not on this website) by searching my hashtags: #lbb + [SHORT BRAND NAME]. For example, find the hashtags #lbbpmg or #lbbpatmcgrath to see all of the Pat McGrath Labs products I've swatched.