SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Amber Deas, who has no relation to me, is a junior studying public health here at Syracuse University. She owns a cosmetics business called Sincerely Fab. This brand features products like lip glosses, lip balms, lip scrubs and beard oils. These are just a few of her products, but she plans to expand her product line to include things like face masks, as she expands her brand as well.
This past summer, numerous protests took place in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and many other Black people killed by police brutality. As a way to support the Black community and the Black Lives Matter Movement, many people have started shopping with Black-owned businesses. Sincerely Fab is one of these Black-owned businesses.
Deas said that sometimes Black-owned businesses don’t get the recognition they deserve even though their products, like hers, tend to be all-natural and hand-made.
“They put in extra work for their business. It’s normally a one-man army and they don’t have a whole factory,” she said.
Deas also said now is the time to support businesses like hers as a way to support and uplift the Black community.
“To be very honest there’s people that spend thousands of dollars in businesses that are not Black-owned, but a lot of people won’t spend that money in Black-owned businesses,” she said.
However, this didn’t discourage her from making a name for herself and doing something she loves. She said juggling all of her science classes alongside keeping up with the maintenance of her brand is difficult at times. Each month, Deas takes up to 24 hours in a two day period to make and sort each product in her cosmetic line. But for her, it’s worth it all the time and effort.
“When things are your passion, you make time for what you really want,” she said.
Deas said she wants to keep up her brand after college, but if she becomes too busy she will gladly hand over her business to her two younger nieces.
