Why Is Ami Colé Closing? Inside the Devastating End of the Viral Black-Owned Beauty Brand

Black women are undoubtedly among the most influential tastemakers in the beauty industry. Our skin, our hair, and how we apply our makeup are often replicated, though no one does it better.

The role of Black women in the beauty industry has substantially grown from consumers of brands to many becoming entrepreneurs and launching their own collections. In the wake of Rihanna shifting the culture with her inclusive makeup line, Fenty Beauty, other companies have followed suit.

Since 2021, Ami Colé, an award-winning beauty startup founded by Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye, has been a trusted makeup line for Black women and women of color with darker skin tones, many of whom struggle to find makeup that matches their skin tones. The brand's products, including its viral lip oil, stood out among the competition.

Unfortunately, after just four years in business, Diarrha announced that Ami Colé was expected to shutter. Here's what to know about why and when the brand is closing.

Ami Colé's closing was confirmed by Diarrha in her July 2025 essay for The Cut. In her piece, the entrepreneur stated that she had exhausted all of her efforts to keep her brand afloat.

"After looking at every option, it became clear that continuing in this current market wasn’t sustainable," Diarrha explained.

The former Glossier writer also noted that her startup's lack of disposable income played a factor in Ami Colé's abrupt ending, stating they lacked the “deep pockets of corporate brands” and that “prime shelf space comes at a price” that she couldn't afford due to scarce resources.

And although her brand joined the ranks of multiple Black-owned beauty brands whose businesses saw record numbers in the early 2020s following George Floyd's murder in May 2020, allowing her to raise $1 million to launch it, she noticed a decline in support in later years.

"My beauty brand offered Black women shades they couldn’t find elsewhere,” she wrote. “Why wasn’t that enough?”

The Trump Administration also reportedly played a role in the beauty brand's closing. In an interview with Essence several months before announcing Ami Colé's closure, Diarrha stated that the economic market, the rise of tariffs, DEI rollbacks, and the overall increase in day-to-day living costs affected her business's success. She admitted to the outlet that while the economic crisis of 2025 left many brands suffering, brands catering to minorities often have even less of a fair advantage.

“Under this administration, tariffs can be as high as your cost of goods and breaks through marketing comes with expensive price tag,” Diarrha explained. "The unfortunate news is that when the economy feels uncertain, funding becomes even more risk adverse which often means underfunded minority owned businesses will suffer.”

Diarrha confirmed in her The Cut feature that Ami Colé would be ending its sales in September 2025. As of this writing, the brand is available for purchase on its website and is also sold through Sephora. Following the news of its closure, many beauty lovers have expressed their grief for the brand on social media.

Diarrha shared that her focus leading up to her brand's closing was to prioritize her employees before she eventually goes on the job market herself, adding how "rest" was at the top of her to-do list.

In addition to being beloved by many, including Kelly Rowland and Mindy Kaling, the entrepreneur received over 80 awards for Ami Colé's products, including a spot on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list. The brand also had several angel investors, including Hannah Bronfman and a minority investment from BOLD, the corporate venture capital arm of L’Oréal.