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As someone with melanated skin, it’s been difficult to find the right skin products for me. From walking down aisle after aisle in beauty shops trying to match my shade to a foundation to feeling frustrated by pimple patches claiming to blend seamlessly into your skin, I’ve been left disappointed time and again. My journey with my skin as a woman of color hasn’t been easy, but coming across EADEM has finally made it easier.
This clean beauty brand is specifically centered around women of color and their beauty needs. EADEM creates gentle-yet-powerful skincare products that are designed with the unique needs of melanin-rich skin in mind, using a combination of science-backed ingredients and heritage botanicals to effectively care for skin of color. Highly accomplished co-founders Marie Kouadio Amouzame and Alice Lin Glover realized long ago how much ‘adjusting’ they had to do for their specific skin concerns, and decided to combat this deep-rooted issue with the creation of this unapologetically loud brand: EADEM (pronounced ‘ee-dem’ in Latin, meaning the same or all. They chose this name because we share invisible bonds and stories that bind us together and define our daily existence).
Made for us, by us, EADEM is redefining beauty standards and challenging the industry to push beyond representation based on tokenism.
DREAMS DEW COME TRUE
Meet the newness EADEM has blessed us with: the Dew Dream Hydrating (Makeup Removing) Cleansing Balm ($30), which was launched in August. This cleanser is everything you’re looking for – it looks radiant on your bathroom counter with its sunshine-colored packaging, and feels soft on your skin while still removing all the dirt accumulated throughout the day. Its gentle, bouncy, yet effective consistency leaves your skin feeling hydrated and thriving. The texture transforms from a silky, jelly-like oil to a milky blend that soothes and nourishes your skin, while still stripping away any waterproof eyeliner and mascara.
Whether you use it in the AM/PM, a dime-sized amount goes a long way. Each time, I’m left smelling like flowers in bloom. I simply can’t go back to using any other cleanser. And knowing that founders Amouzame and Glover made it for skin like mine makes it that much more trustworthy. I don’t have to worry about this product aggravating my hyperpigmentation or causing inflammation, because I know they’ve taken these concerns into account. With a nourishing blend of Tiger Grass, Moringa, & Melon, this dewy dream gently deep cleans while also helping to prevent dark spots and melasma.
MILK MARVEL MAGIC
The Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum ($68) is by far my favorite product because it has successfully done the unimaginable: gotten rid of my hyperpigmentation. When I tell you various friends from different social circles have told me that my skin has never looked better, I am not exaggerating.
This absolute gem was the brand's first product to market: a 3-in-1 milky gel serum clinically proven to fight hyperpigmentation without altering the skin’s natural, healthy color. It is made and tested specifically for women of color and it shows! The star ingredient of the serum is amber algae, a unicellular microalgae sustainably harvested and proven efficacious on skin of color; it targets only excess pigment without bleaching the skin. Thus the melanin in my skin has not been stripped away in any way, instead it’s been accentuated through an even-skin glow. This product has been thoroughly tested, and the results show that dark spots fade within 14 to 28 days and it visibly increases skin radiance and luminosity, as well as the fineness of your skin texture. Goodbye skin-lightening products, hello to my all- natural brown shade!
CLOUD CUSHION CANDY
To finish off my new 3-step skincare routine, I use the Cloud Cushion Airy Brightening Moisturizer ($58). Truly the cherry on top, this plush-to-touch moisturizer instantly soothes, deeply hydrates and rapidly repairs my skin barrier. I stopped using cream moisturizers a long time ago, when I noticed that my skin tends to react much better to oils (I also liked that natural fragrance that face oils have). So, although I was skeptical when trying out this product, I was pleasantly surprised when my skin ate up this smooth and lightweight moisturizer both morning and night. Its fragrance-free formula sinks right in, revealing velvety and supple skin. With its unique and highest grade ingredients like Peptides, Ceramides, and Snow Mushroom, the Cloud Cushion is formulated for people of color to restore and protect our skin.
What I love most about EADEM is its brave and warm-hearted nature. In an industry where women of color have always been an afterthought, we really needed one loud beauty brand to have our backs, and EADEM does that with such a strong sense of intention. When you create something magical, but for a rather ‘niche’ category of people, there’s always an underlying fear of failure. Instead of focusing on all those that might be left out of this specific conversation, EADEM decided to show up for those that have always been left out of discourses surrounding beauty.
Most products ‘made for us’ contain unsafe chemicals that lighten and harm our skin. With the existence of this badass beauty brand, we can finally say goodbye to meeting white, Euro-centric beauty standards and instead embrace all the facets of beauty outside of that. From the models used on EADEM’s website, to the thoughtful and wholesome articles shared on this online journal, I have never resonated more with a brand. Thank you for taking the phrase ‘we deserve better’ and making it tangible.
