The End of Ami Colé: Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye Closes Her Groundbreaking Beauty Brand with Grace"

Four years ago, Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye set out to change the beauty industry. With Ami Colé, she created a clean beauty brand specifically for melanin-rich skin—something the market had long ignored.

Now, the beloved brand is closing. But for Diarrha, this isn’t a failure—it’s “another love letter” to the community that made it possible.

What started as a sketch in Diarrha’s Brooklyn apartment quickly grew into a movement. Ami Colé wasn’t just a beauty brand—it was representation in a bottle.

In just four years, Ami Colé:

• Landed on Sephora shelves across North America

• Won 80+ beauty awards

• Went viral for its skin-first, no-makeup makeup aesthetic

• Became a favorite of celebrities like Kelly Rowland and Martha Stewart

  
  

At its core, Ami Colé was more than a product line it was a cultural moment, giving Black and Brown women shades and textures they had long been denied.

The success story, however, came with harsh realities.

Before raising $1M in funding, Diarrha faced over 150 investor rejections. The turning point came after the BLM movement, when conversations around diversity shifted—though many investors came with conditions that rushed her launch.

“Inclusivity comes at a cost,” Diarrha said, reflecting on the pressure of proving that Black beauty was “worthy” of investment.

By 2024, the beauty market had changed. Tariffs, recession pressures, and DEI rollbacks made raising new capital harder—especially for minority-owned businesses.

At the same time, Diarrha had a newborn and couldn’t secure another funding round to keep Ami Colé running.

“Underfunded minority-owned businesses will suffer,” she admitted. “And inclusivity isn’t enough to keep a business alive in this market.”

Despite the closure, Diarrha refuses to see this as an ending.

“This isn’t a goodbye. It’s a love letter,” she wrote in her farewell post. “To every Brown girl—don’t be afraid to fail out loud. Dream big. Take risks. Dust yourself off and try again.”

For her, the spirit of Ami Colé lives on—not just in its award-winning products, but in the way it reshaped the beauty conversation for women of color.

Ami Colé may be closing its doors, but its impact on Black beauty is undeniable. Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye has proven that representation isn’t just a trend—it’s a legacy.