Melanin Beauty Awards: Beauty Influencer — Chichi Eburu

Sing of a Black woman’s beauty. Her dark moon and her light air. The way a deep gold-bronze sits on her cheekbones at sunset, and the natural-rose color in her lips when resting lets her blush. Oh, sing, sing a song of Solomon, and let the canvas of her life look something like a Juvia’s Place Warrior Palette: warm, neutrals, browns, glimmering-metallics, clay-red. Both earth-grounding and sky-inspiring pigments. Chichi Eburu, CEO and founder of Juvia’s Place, told HelloBeautiful that creating a makeup product that looks like our skin and feels like our homes was an ancestral undertaking that began humbly in 2016, with $2,000 and a dream. Eburu laid the foundation for her now multi-million dollar makeup line from inside the confines of a small two-bedroom apartment she shared with her two kids (her children, “Juwa” and “Olivia” form the brand’s first name, Juvia). Eburu calls her family and community her living “moodboard,” as their taste in “rich, bold, unapologetic colors like deep reds, warm browns, and golds that sparkle,” live as hues in Juvia’s expanding color-swatch — and that home-grown inspiration is why the makeup just looks so damn good on our skin. 

Juvia’s Place broke into the now estimated $450 billion global industry a little less than a decade ago as one of the pioneers of makeup inclusivity for darker-skinned women. In other words, Eburu was thinking of us before anyone in the industry really was (for context, Fenty Beauty didn’t launch until the following year in 2017). The founder’s commitment to classic reds and the right neutrals for deeper skin-tones grew from her own frustration with makeup that muted out her dark skin or cast a white or greyish veil over her warm undertones. Now, at Juvia’s place, every shade of brown beauty gets to feel beautiful, and the brand’s devotion to our melanin continues with Eburu’s “skin-first” company mission. She said the brand is prioritizing “high-performance formulas that nourish as deeply as they enhance” explaining that “too many complexion and color products still compromise on care, especially for textured, acne-prone, sensitive, or melanin-rich skin.” With this charge, the CEO opens another palette, ahem, chapter, carrying the torch of what it looks like to balance beauty and building with grace — a generational gift from Queens, I’m sure. 

HB: Describe where you are right now. What was your work week like? What are your self-care moments looking like these days?

CE: Right now, I’m in a space of focus and fast pace. It’s the end of the year, so there’s a lot to wrap up. We’re in the process of launching so many amazing new products for 2026. I’m constantly moving forward and with the holidays being everyone’s favorite time to shop, we have to make sure our community gets their beauty essentials on time and that nothing sells out! It’s been a whirlwind of meetings, product development sessions, lots of travel for vendor meetings. We’re shaping launches that feel meaningful and true to the brand. Have you seen the girls heading out to grab their coffee and coffee shop collection? The vibes are immaculate. My self-care has become quieter and more intentional these days. A few minutes of stillness in the morning, stepping outside for fresh air between calls, praying, hydrating, breathing. Simple things that help me tune back into myself. In a season this busy, those little moments are everything.

HB: What beauty practices are sacred to you? 

CE: For years, I’ve moved through different phases of beauty practices that have become deeply sacred to me. It always starts with my crown,my hair. I love braids, and the stories woven into each design feel ancestral. My hair and my braids don’t just style me… they tell a story. They hold memory, culture, and the most personal parts of my journey as a Black woman. Next comes my skincare ritual, simple but intentional. Cleansing, exfoliating, and sealing my skin with rich African butters. It’s a moment of grounding, a reminder to nurture myself with softness and delicate care. Makeup is my adornment. On busy days, I keep it light. On days I want to explore, I go bold and expressive. It’s my way of celebrating my features, my femininity, and my mood. And I finish with aromatics and scents that wrap around me like an aura, fragrances that shift with how I feel and who I am becoming. I take pride in smelling good and very welcoming.

HB: Who shaped your ideals of beauty? 

CE: The women in my family, without question. My mother and aunties had this unshakeable elegance and a fearlessness in how they carried themselves. They taught me that beauty is not just how you look; it’s how confidently you show up. It’s the authentic version of self that you constantly have to show up for.

HB: Biggest pain point as a founder right now?

CE: The balance. The beauty industry evolves at lightning speed, and there’s constant pressure to innovate by evolving with the times and the trends and the markets. My challenge is ensuring every move remains thoughtful, rooted in quality, and authentic to the community we built this brand for.

HB: Biggest excitement about this next professional season and what you love about being a founder right now?

CE: I’m excited for expansion and new product innovation. We’re exploring new categories and new ways to meet the Juvia’s Place consumer. What I love most right now is witnessing how our community uses the products. This year, we took that from being exclusively in Ulta Beauty stores and our website to seeing it live in-person in massive ways like creating our very own brand event for the first time. Seeing our Tribe ride and express themselves beautifully and boldly is the greatest reward.

HB: Advice you would give your younger entrepreneurial self? 

CE: I’ve always been a very driven and highly ambitious person. If I could give my younger entrepreneurial self advice, it would be this: Protect your peace. Not every noise deserves a response, and not every opportunity is aligned. Your focus is precious. Your energy is sacred. And your mental well-being must always come first. Just breathe.You will be great in this land. You are highly favored.

HB: How do you honor your melanin? 

CE: I honor my melanin with dignity and pride. I celebrate my melanin loudly and without apology. I am my skin. I adorn my melanin in colors that make it pop even more. I care for my melanin through thoughtful care and routines. I show up for my melanin. I respect my melanin. I break boundaries with my melanin. I speak life into my melanin. My melanin is a safe haven. I adore it. My melanin makes me That Girl. Unapologetically Beautiful in my skin.

HB: What do you love about being a Black woman and having beautiful brown skin? 

CE: What don’t I love? I love the depth of being a Black woman, the way our beautiful brown skin holds stories, culture, and impact. That will forever keep us connected to each other and make us the culture curators to everyone around us. Being a Black woman is indescribable, you just have to live it; and I am so grateful God made me a Black woman. The softness and strength, the creativity, brilliance, hardwork, dedication and power is mind blowing. What is there not to love? When did you fall in love with your beauty? I am constantly falling in love with my beauty. When I became a mother, when I built Juvia’s Place, when I realized how powerful I can be each time I decide to do something that I want to do; all of those monumental moments, even when they are small, are beautiful to me. They are moments when I honor myself and it’s a constant reminder of loving myself and that defines my beauty.

HB: ​​What products are you most excited about in your makeup line right now? 

CE: Omg!! I love our Peptide Lip Balm. It’s moisturizing, it’s nourishing and it gives that perfect pout! I’m also incredibly excited about our new Longwear Continuous Fix Spray. I can’t stop telling everyone how much it snatches you, like your face is snatched the whole day! I’m also absolutely obsessed with our eye innovation. We are known for the captivating eye from palettes, I love our Culture Palettes. They feel modern, elevated, and deeply aligned with the trajectory of makeup and beauty. They carry that signature Juvia’s Place cultural artistry.

HB: Have you ever felt pressure to close up shop? What kept you going?

CE: Of course. Every founder has those moments where they are being pushed to unbelievable limits, but then you make lemonade with those lemons. What’s kept me grounded has always been our Tribe. They always show up for us sticking to their OG products, running to grab new ones, telling everyone what they’re wearing or how to use a product. Community is a powerful motivator. 

What Does It Mean to “Glow from Within”? 

It’s the kind of radiance that doesn’t come from makeup or lighting alone, but from confidence, care, and how you feel about yourself. It’s the softness that grows from nurturing your skin, honoring your well-being, and showing up as your fullest, truest self. It’s when your natural beauty, your undertone, your personality, and your confidence shine through effortlessly and authentically. Makeup simply enhances it but the glow begins within. At Juvia’s Place, we hold true to the belief: “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7.

HB: What do you think is the future of the makeup industry (especially with AI), and how is Juvia’s Place a part of it? 

CE: The future of beauty is skin-first and ingredient safe. You can’t get the skin-like finish if you don’t start with it first. We’re moving toward a space where consumers demand truth, transparency, and representation that reflects real people. We’re entering an era where transparency and trust are the new luxury. Consumers are reading labels, asking questions, and holding brands accountable. They want to know not only what is in their products, but why it’s there and how it benefits their skin. That’s why we’re continuing to evolve our approach, balancing bold artistry and pigment with advanced skincare technology and conscious formulation practices. At Juvia’s Place, we’re leading that evolution with every tone and texture top of mind. The next era of beauty is where artistry meets integrity, and we’re proud to be setting that standard.

AI will help consumers understand their skin, tones, preferences, and needs for sure; but no entity is perfect and some things AI just won’t know how to capture. For Juvia’s Place, the goal is to continue to fill that gap and have a real space for real beauty. Technology will evolve, but our mission remains rooted in visibility and artistry.