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Yuvana Beauty fills a long-ignored gap in makeup for aging Black and Brown skin
Yuvana Beauty was created to address a challenge many Black and brown people face: beauty products that fail to complement their skin tones and overlook the realities of aging.
Founded by Guyanese-born entrepreneur Priya Thomas, the New York-based cosmetics brand is designed specifically for women over 40, blending color precision with skincare-infused formulas.
“There was a big gap in the market,” Thomas said. “A lot of shades didn’t complement our golden and olive skin tones. And as we age, our skin changes, but the makeup hasn’t.”
A selection of Yuvana Beauty’s long-wear liquid lipsticks, lip glosses and brightening lip oil formulated with clay and nourishing oils to complement deeper and olive undertones. Photo by Raymond Lee/Whitty Media
Yuvana Beauty launches with 20 long-wear liquid lipsticks formulated with clay and nourishing oils, eight lip glosses, and a brightening lip oil designed to address fine lines and loss of lip definition. Their foundation line and skincare collection will be launched soon.
“A lot of makeup isn’t infused with skincare,” she said. “Especially for mature skin. I wanted to create something that enhances beauty while caring for it.”
Thomas’ journey to launching the brand was shaped by resilience and reinvention. She migrated to New York as a young child and was raised in Brooklyn in a traditional Caribbean household where education, stability, and practical career paths were strongly emphasized.
Like many first-generation daughters of immigrants, Thomas felt the weight of expectation.
“For my parents’ sake, I went into nursing,” she said. “They wanted something secure for me. But that wasn’t my passion.”
Though she respected the profession, she knew her creative instincts pulled her in another direction. The tension between cultural responsibility and personal purpose would define much of her early adulthood, until she ultimately chose to pursue the path that felt authentic to her.
Priya Permaul Thomas created Yuvana Beauty to address the lack of skincare-infused cosmetics designed for Black and brown women over 40. Photo by Raymond Lee
Her creative calling emerged while working at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she observed professional makeup artists preparing on-air talent. She enrolled in beauty school and began working professionally, but quickly noticed shortcomings in available products.
“I was constantly mixing pigments and adjusting foundations to make them work,” she said. “And clients complained about irritation or oiliness.”
She considered launching her own line in 2012 but hesitated. Years later, a severe lupus flare-up following the birth of her daughter forced her to pause her career. High-dose steroid treatments caused joint damage that required multiple surgeries, including hip and shoulder replacements.
Clients wear Yuvana Beauty foundation, lip gloss and lip liners during a promotional event in New York. Photo by Raymond Lee
“There were days I couldn’t walk,” she said. “But I refused to stay in that space mentally.”
Inspired by faith and a renewed outlook, Thomas returned to entrepreneurship with clarity and purpose.
Today, Yuvana Beauty is available online (yvanabeauty.com) as she works to expand into retail spaces. For Thomas, the brand is more than cosmetics; it is affirmation.
“When women see themselves in the shade, in the formula, in the mirror, that confidence comes back,” she said. “That’s why I do this.”
Yuvana Beauty is located at 145-06 243rd St., Suite 220255, Rosedale, NY 11422.
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