FAQ

The brand is inspired by and named after Ami Colé — our founder, Diarrha N’Diaye’s mother — who was born in Saint Louis, Senegal and who has been operating her own hair braiding salon, Aminata African Hair Braiding, in Harlem, NYC since 1988. Her 125th Street salon has become a cultural sanctuary where melanin-rich women can come and transform with intricate West-African inspired hairstyles, while sharing the latest in pop culture, current events, and cross-cultural beauty tips. Ami Colé represents this beauty melting pot.

In the words of our founder Diarrha N’Diaye: “Ami Colé is about discovering, defining, celebrating, and exploring the excellence of those with melanin-rich skin, and using nourishing ingredients like our hero Baobab seed oil extract–native to Sub-Saharan Africa and known to strengthen, soften, and nourish our skin cells. Ami Colé exists to sharpen the focus on those who have been in the peripheral of beauty’s global narrative for centuries. This is our ancestor’s calling.”

Learn more about Our Story.

We’ve got you covered! First, take a look at the shade descriptions below: 

Rich 1 - For rich, ebony skin with neutral undertones

Rich 2 - For rich skin with red or yellow undertones

Deep 1 - For deep, true brown skin with neutral undertones

Deep 2 - For deep skin with golden or yellow undertones

Medium 1 - For medium skin with neutral or golden undertones

Medium 2 - For light medium skin with neutral or olive undertones

Find yourself among our community members in our shade finder.

If you’re still having trouble, feel free to reach out at hello@amicole.com with a selfie taken in natural light. Can’t wait to see you! 

Our Skin-Enhancing Tint offers buildable light to medium coverage.

Yes! Our highlighter is made to work on both bare skin and over makeup.

No.

Ami Colé products work well on all skin types including oily, dry, and combination. Our products are non-comedogenic meaning they were formulated to not clog pores. Our Skin-Enhancing Tint does have a natural, satin finish meaning it won't mattify your skin, so if you are on the oily side and prefer a more matte look, you may want to finish it with a powder. You should be able to use our Lip Treatment Oil and Light-Catching Highlighter as is. 

1,4 Dioxane, Acrylates, Aluminum Salts/Powder, Animal Oils/Musks/Fats, Benzophenone + Related Compounds (chemical sunscreens), BHA (threshold of 0.1%), BHT (threshold of 0.1%), Butoxyethanol, Carbon Black, Coal Tar, Cyclic Silicones, EDTA, Ethanolamines DEA/TEA/MEA/ETA, Formaldehydes/releasing agents, Hydroquinone, Insoluble Plastic Microbeads, Lead + Lead Acitate, Mercury + Mercury Compounds (Thimerisol), Methyl Cellosolve + Methoxyethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone & Methylisothiazolinone, Mineral Oil, Nanoparticles as defined by EU, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs), Oxybenzone, Parabens, Petrolatum & Parrafin, Phenoxyethanol (under 1%), Phthalates, Polyacrylamide & Acrylamide, Resorcinol, Retinyl Palmitate, Styrene, Sulfates – SLS + SLES, Talc (unless asbestos-free), Toluene, Triclocarban, Triclosan, Synthetic Fragrances.

Read more about our Product Philosophy.

We believe that clean beauty shouldn’t be confusing, scary, or too expensive to be yours, so our philosophy is simple. We formulate our products without endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and with better-for-you ingredients that still deliver the makeup payoff you deserve. Read more about Product Philosophy.

Our goal is to be as planet-friendly as possible. Where we can, we have used materials that are either reusable, recyclable, or made of recycled materials. If you have a specific question about where and how to recycle something please reach out at hello@amicole.com.

Yes, all of our products are vegan and cruelty-free. 

Never. All of our products are gluten-free.

Yes. You may notice that the Lip Treatment Oil has a vanilla aroma (😋) but no fragrance.

Absolutely! Our products are made to play nicely with the others in your makeup bag.

Our reusable pouch is made from PVC with a vegan leather tag.

If you place an order with only pre-order items, you will be charged at checkout and your order will ship once the items are available. If you place an order with in-stock and pre-order items, you will be charged the full amount at checkout and your entire order will ship once the pre-order items are available.

Free shipping is available on orders above $60 within the US, after discounts and before taxes.

Drop us a line at pr@amicole.com for press and partnerships@amicole.com for partnerships.

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