Our Story

I Didn't Build This for Everyone. I Built It for Us.

This brand wasn't born in a boardroom. It was born out of frustration — out of being overlooked, out of walking into beauty aisles that weren't designed with us in mind. Rise & Slay is what happens when a Black woman gets tired of waiting for the industry to catch up.

Let me be honest with you — I almost didn't start this brand.

I spent years buying into the idea that "luxury beauty" wasn't for me. That I needed to modify, adjust, or straight-up settle when it came to products that were supposed to nourish my skin. I bought into brands that promised to "work for all skin tones" and watched my melanin-rich skin stay ashy, irritated, or just… unbothered by the whole thing.

I was done.

"I didn't have a gap in the market. I had a wound. And I turned it into a business."

I grew up watching my grandmother tend to her skin like it was sacred. Shea butter, oils, rituals passed down through generations — there was a whole culture of beauty in our homes that the mainstream industry kept pretending didn't exist. Or worse, they'd package it up, slap a premium label on it, and sell it back to white consumers.

I wasn't about to let that keep happening without building something in response.

So I started researching. I went deep on ingredients that actually work for darker skin tones — batana oil, plant-based formulas, moisture-locking actives that our skin actually needs. Not watered-down versions. Not "inclusive" as a marketing buzzword. Real, intentional formulations.

I launched Rise & Slay out of my apartment with less money than most people spend on a handbag. No investors. No corporate backing. No safety net. Just me, my research, and a deep knowing that Black women deserve products that treat them like royalty — because that's exactly what we are.

It hasn't been a perfect journey. There were nights I questioned everything. Moments where I wondered if I was out of my mind. But then I'd get a message from a customer saying her skin hadn't glowed like this in years, that she finally feels seen by a brand — and that's when I remember why I'm doing this.

Rise & Slay is not just a beauty brand. It's a declaration. That our skin is not a problem to be solved. That we deserve to shine — unapologetically, loudly, fully.

And that's exactly what we're here to help you do.

What We Stand For

01 — Made With Us in Mind Every product we create starts with one question: does this actually serve melanin-rich skin? If the answer isn't a clear yes, it doesn't make the cut. Full stop.

02 — No Filters. No Fluff. We don't hide behind corporate language or vague promises. You'll always know exactly what's in our products, why it's there, and what it's going to do for your skin.

03 — Black-Owned. Black-Proud. This brand is a product of Black excellence, full stop. Every dollar you spend here goes back into a business built by and for our community. That matters to us deeply.

Tiffany Monae Founder, Rise & Slay Beauty

I built this for the woman who's been overlooked, undersold, and underserved by the beauty industry. The one who knows her worth even when the shelves don't reflect it. This one's for you, sis.

You were always meant to rise. And you were absolutely born to slay.