Black-owned beauty brand Ami Colé has announced plans to shutter operations this September, with brand founder Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye saying she couldn’t compete with “the deep pockets of corporate brands.”

N’Diaye-Mbaye, who founded Ami Colé in 2021, cut her teeth at L’Oréal and Glossier before creating her minimalist makeup brand for “melanin-rich skin.”

In the last four years, Ami Colé drew investments from L’Oréal’s Bold venture capital arm, True Beauty Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, Greycroft and Debut Capital.

In 2022, the brand inked a milestone retail partnership with LVMH-owned beauty retailer, Sephora, across the U.S. and Canada.

​In 2024, at the time of its L’Oréal investment, the brand was said to have grown its revenue 75 percent the previous year, according to a press release.

In a letter written for The Cut, N’Diaye-Mbaye said that part of her company’s downfall was competition from more prominent companies that had bigger financial backing.

“I couldn’t compete with the deep pockets of corporate brands; at retail stores, prime shelf space comes at a price, and we couldn’t afford it,” she said.

The entrepreneur went on to thank her fans and investors via her brand’s Instagram account.

“After four powerful and soul-stretching years, l’ve made the hard decision to wind down Ami Colé. What started as a mission to create clean beauty for melanin-rich skin became a movement and a metaphoric home for so many of you (just like what my mother built with her salon). We were a brand rooted in purpose, storytelling, and the bold celebration of who we are,” said N’Diaye-Mbaye.

“Let’s not forget bomb ass products! This moment is bittersweet. You’ve witnessed me start from a sketch in my Brooklyn apartment to the shelves of every Sephora in North America in four years. Thank you for everything you’ve taught me about living your dreams out loud.”

The announcement comes after beauty heavyweights Estée Lauder, Coty, and Shiseido Americas announced plans to reduce their workforce, signalling industry-wide headwinds.