Key Takeaways
- Ami Colé founder Diarrha N’Diaye is joining Skims as their Executive Vice President, Beauty & Fragrance.
- The announcement came Monday, bringing immediate excitement for the not-yet-launched Skims Beauty brand.
Since its 2019 launch, Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand has proven time and time again that they know how to do a collab. Think Lana Del Rey for a Valentine’s Day campaign, any time they work with the WNBA, or when they had Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Candice Swanepoel model their “Fits Everybody” collection.
Aside from the faces of any given photoshoot, what makes everything work so well is that they know how to tap behind-the-scenes talent. From photographers to makeup artists, the brand always picks the best of the best. And now, they’re bringing the same genius to their beauty sector. It’s not just a collab, either. They have a star in charge.
On Monday, November 3, the brand announced that Diarrha N’Diaye will step up as their Executive Vice President, Beauty & Fragrance. According to a press release, the beauty genius will “lead product development and brand strategy of Skims Beauty.” It’s fantastic news, made even more fantastic by how truly devastated the beauty world was in July when we heard N’Diaye’s own brand, Ami Colé, was shuttering due to operating costs.
About Skims’ New EVP, Diarrha N’Diaye
N’Diaye made a name for herself when she launched Ami Colé in 2021, and the brand quickly became a cult-favorite for truly inclusive shades and products that celebrate the beauty of brown skin. But N’Diaye has been in the beauty game long before the brand’s birth, and she could be found consulting in the beauty world and on staff at Glossier, L’Oréal Paris, and Rebecca Minkoff. She grew up surrounded by beauty, as her mom owned (and still owns!) a salon in Harlem: Aminata African Hair Braiding.
“I have sat on salon floors, worked eight-hour shifts at beauty retailers, started a company, and am now taking an executive seat at a beauty brand promising to bring a fresh approach to beauty,” N’Diaye told The Cut on Monday.
“Skims is for everybody, and now we’re trying to create beauty for everybody,” she added in the press release. “I’m excited to bring in best-in-class formulas and customer-first mentality to Skims Beauty.”
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About SKIMS Beauty
Over the years, we’ve seen Kardashian play with many beauty brand concepts. There was KKW Beauty, which closed in August 2021 before becoming the all-skincare (until they decided to share some old beloved lip liners) operation SKKN by Kim. In March, she bought back the rights to the brand from Coty and decided to bring it into the Skims brand portfolio.
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Now, it’s going to be something else… and something brilliant, I have to assume.
“Diarrha’s modern and community-forward view on beauty aligns perfectly with the ambitions of Skims Beauty,” explained Skims’ Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jens Grede in the press release. “Her entrepreneurial background and ability to determine customers’ untapped beauty needs will be instrumental in driving forward our business.”
