you may know her as the founder and CEO of dark skinned-friendly sunscreen brand
UnSun Cosmetics. you may know her as the proud mother of Frank Ocean and Ryan Breaux. i simply know her as my sweet pal Katonya Breaux. the first time i met her was for a brand partnership for a skincare company i used to work for. if you work in the skincare or beauty industry, you know that it's not always easy - oftentimes, landing a partnership with a successful company is harder than you think. sometimes, however, you might get lucky. i'd say i struck gold with Ms. Katonya Breaux, one of the warmest, kindest people i've had the pleasure of meeting. ever since then, she's been my go-to for questions on navigating the skin care industry as a woman of color (as a cosmetic chemist myself), or even a good friend to go to when a good sunscreen company is needed for a partnership or a shoutout.
last week, i sat down with Ms. Katonya Breaux on Instagram Live for
MÜD, an online tech-based skincare platform made with people of color in mind. i interviewed her for MÜD's first birthday celebration in which we discussed self care, being an entrepreneur, how she stays so beautiful, and mom life. not surprisingly, the interview picked up a lot of attention from a few outlets such as
Complex,
Bossip, Worldstar, and Snapchat due to the controversial Frank Ocean question she answered in the latter half of the interview.
AJ Addae: tell us a little bit about UnSun Cosmetics.
Katonya Breaux: Well, I moved to LA after working in a construction company. A friend of mine has a haircare company and I said "hook me up with your chemist." I just wanted to create a formulation for me so that I didn't have to deal with [dark splotches on my skin]. Once I learned this information, I wasn't even going outside to get the newspaper without sunscreen because I didn't want a face full of moles in my 40s, or my 50s. Hell, I don't want them at all! Now, I know the way to curb that. So, I became obsessed with sunscreen.
AJ: On May 16, 2013, you tweeted, "Can someone make brown sunscreen? Please? Must I look like a clown to protect my skin? #BlackFolkBurnToo". I remember a few months you were actually telling me about this - today, UnSun is the winner of GQ accolades, an Allure Breakthrough Beauty Award, and much more. How did you go from that tweet to the empire of a whole company?
Katonya: That's a message to you young people. What you put out there in the world, it can be found seven years later!
It was a tedious process. It wasn't an intention. I spent 20 years in construction, and I knew that when I moved home, I wasn't going to do construction anymore. I didn't know what I was going to do. When I sought out this sunscreen, I really wasn't thinking a business. I was thinking something easy and clean for myself. Most large black families, we have shades and skintones from the "redbones" all the way to the "chocolate, chocolate chip." Between my sisters and my cousins, this formulation was weird because it just blended in with so many different skintones. That entrepreneurial brain started thinking "Hey girl!" It manifested into UnSun, and that's how UnSun was born.
AJ: Tell us a little bit about navigating the beauty and cosmetics community as a woman of color. How would you say it's impacted your experience?
Katonya: I'd like to think that UnSun came on the scene as one of the first to really see this whole diversity thing start to happen. I'm not Rihanna, so I didn't get that kind of splash, but when Fenty came it exploded. You know, being a woman of color is a thing where people are trying to get on board. We need to be considered in the board rooms and in the labs, and all of that. The thing is though, you can't give us garbage, or sunscreen with a bunch of poison in it. Give us tinted sunscreen that we can wear! Don't just give us something to cater to women of color. Give us the good ish. We want to make sure that we're not only being thought about, but we're being thought about in ways that matter.
AJ: Did you see yourself ten years ago where you see yourself now? Have you always had plans for being in the beauty industry?
Katonya: I had a masters in arts administration - I was either going to be a museum curator or a label exec. I started my construction company right before graduation, and it happened so randomly. We have to live with an open heart and an open mind. When an opportunity comes, it may not be what we thought would happen, but we just have to be open. Things don't always go according to plan. If that doesn't happen, then you're blocking your blessings! You have to just really say, "Huh! That's an opportunity, that could work!"
AJ: So you mentioned that you wanted to do museum curation. Would you say art runs in your family?
Katonya: I'm not creative. I'd say my boys are creative. Ryan sketches beautifully, he's in fashion, he has style. I have this older son, you guys don't know him, but he's creative. He's nobody important. ;) I guess I have some creativity, but nothing like that!
AJ: So, you're successful, beautiful, a mom of two, a dog mom, and have a skincare company. That's a lot! How do you indulge in self care?
Katonya: Girl, I went swimming the other day, I have at least biweekly massages, I love to read, I love quiet time, I love to travel! And when I travel, I just walk. I was in Paris in December and it was 42 degrees, and I walked 18,000 steps. It was just so beautiful! I do not cosign the belief that you should work so hard that you neglect yourself. Whatever brings you a little calm and allows you to reflect, I'm all for it. I'm not a big shopper or anything like that. The things that I like to do are things that involve touch or activity. I love a massage, honey!
AJ: What are you reading right now?
Katonya: Oh, I just finished American Dirt! I just had a book club about it! It's so good. We live in California, so we live around a lot of people from Mexico, and migrants period. I'm generally sympathetic, and it allows you to be more empathetic to their stories, their plights, and what they're going through, and what they're trying to achieve in their lives.
AJ: You look beautiful, by the way. What are some of your holy grail beauty products? If you had to go on a deserted island and only bring five products, what would they be?
Katonya: One that I've been using for years is the
Skinceutical C E Ferulic Acid. It's really, really great and it fights free radical damage, sun damage, and it's made a different in my skin. And then, I use UnSun. In the winter, I use a moisturizer, but I haven't committed to one yet. As long as there's a hyaluronic acid in it, I'm good. I just started using the
African Botanics Retinal Night Cream, and Mara makes a
Retinol Serum. So, when you get to my age, retinol makes a huge difference because it just helps the skin cells turn over. I mean, if I'm deserted, I'll be rescued at some point, and I want my skin to be fresh and supple!
AJ: So, tell us a beauty secret that you swear by!
Katonya: Well honestly, I don't even know what you'd expect me to say differently - wear sunscreen! The sun can wreak havoc on your skin. You cutie pies may not see it at 20 or 30, but the early you start including sunscreen in your regimen, the longer your skin is gonna look great. Check on me in 20 years and thank me!
AJ: So, let's play a game of this or that. For example, Coke or Pepsi?
Katonya: Ew, soda? My lips would never touch soda. But Coke. I like their logo better.
AJ: LA or NYC?
Katonya: I love NYC but LA is home.
AJ: 80's fashion or 90's fashion?
Katonya: 90's had the big jeans right? 80's.
AJ: Would you never wear skincare again or never wear makeup again?
Katonya: Girl, makeup! Look at Alicia Keys, she doesn't wear makeup and her skin is poppin.
AJ: Gold jewelry or silver jewelry?
Katonya: Chocolate skin in gold? Girllllll, gold honey!
AJ: Blonde by Frank Ocean or Channel Orange by Frank Ocean!
Katonya: Channel Or-- hmm. Oh shoot. Ummmm, Ch-. Blonde. No, wait. They were both so good! This is crazy! But, I will probably say Blonde. I love Pink + White. Okay, Blonde. I love Pink + White, Beyonce's on Pink + White! And I love Nights! Oh, White Ferrari? What?? So, okay. We'll say Blonde.
AJ: Only get your nails done for the rest of your life, or only get your toes done for the rest of your life?
Katonya: Does that include a foot massage? Toes.
AJ: Vacation in Paris, or vacation in Venice?
Katonya: Paris. That's my favourite city.
AJ: Winter or summer?
Katonya: Summer. The summer's in LA. Even though it's really hot during the day, by the time you get off, the evenings are so beautiful. Winters in LA. I just love LA.
as y'all can see, this is the most precious, and most lively person ever! i had such a wonderful time interviewing Ms. Katonya. if it's tl;dr for you, or you simply need some takeaways: