Emolyne Ramlov is a British entrepreneur with African heritage, a philanthropist, a mother of four, C.E.O and founder of Emolyne Cosmetics, the inclusive British beauty brand. She has created a multi-award winning business since launching two and a half years ago.
Born in Uganda, to a Mutoro mother and Munyankore father, Emolyne is from a large family. She is the first girl child, and the sixth born of her siblings. She moved to Denmark with her family when she was thirteen.
It took two years for Emolyne to integrate into the Danish education system. She had to navigate the many cultural differences in Denmark, and learn a completely new language.
‘When I moved to Denmark, it was a huge culture shock. Everything was different; the weather, the food, the language. It was two years before I joined the mainstream school because they teach in Danish, and I had to learn Danish before I could join,’ says Emolyne.
One day, at school, she noticed that her classmate was wearing full makeup and glitter nails. She was shocked as, in Uganda, makeup was largely interpreted as an invitation to men, and distraction from school work. That day she discovered in Denmark the rules were different.
Emolyne loved this newfound freedom to express herself with makeup. Exploring makeup was exciting, but she soon faced a new obstacle. In the early nineties, Danish culture was not very diverse and Emolyne was a minority as a black person. In Denmark, there were no makeup products for black skin and no black hair dressers. The Danish beauty industry was not inclusive and did not cater for her skin tone. Emolyne could not find the colors that suited her.
Emolyne moved to London in 2008. In the multicultural city of London, she was surprised to find that once again, the UK makeup industry did not cater for black skin.
‘I went from brand to brand, store to store, and I still saw the same gap in the market. I started thinking: Why is no one catering to black skin? Then I said to myself, I am going to fix this,’ Emolyne said.
‘I started with the colors I use the most. My favorite shades are nude and red, so I created an inclusive brand that focused on these shades. I developed 15 reds and 15 nudes that now match across four products categories. We have a range of lip liners, lipsticks, and lip glosses, so when you find your perfect shade, you can match your makeup colors. People are loving it!” reveals Emolyne.
‘I had a brief, I had an idea and I had a vision. I knew exactly how I wanted my brand to be and with the help of my cosmetics expert, I was able to finally make my dream a reality.’
Emolyne Cosmetics launched in May 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. After spending months planning a press event at a pop-up shop in Covent Garden, everything had to be cancelled due to the UK lock down. Nevertheless, she decided to go ahead and launch and it wasn’t long before she was creating a buzz in the cosmetics world.
Emolyne Cosmetics was created out of a need for inclusivity. It is made for all genders, skin tones and ethnicities. It is also a vegan brand, cruelty free and formulated without parabens. Recently, Emolyne launched her first ever range of lip glosses, so her customers are all set for summer!
Emolyne is proud to be from Uganda and to honour her heritage she named her products after African countries and cities. ‘I wanted to celebrate everything I love about Africa,’ she said, adding ‘I love its warm people, phenomenal weather, natural beauty, food, music and culture. I feel so blessed to have this incredible heritage.’
It is essential for Emolyne that her products look, feel and smell good. The brand’s nail polish dries quickly with a high shine and Emolyne lipstick has a high pigment and is long lasting.
Her business has been recognized for inclusivity and won multiple awards, including the Cosmopolitan, the Sunday Times, Get The Gloss and Green Beauty Awards. Soon, Emolyne intends to expand her product line and move into global markets, including Africa, the Middle East and USA.
Aside from building her business empire, Emolyne Ramlov is a philanthropist. She is a Goodwill Ambassador and donor for the Whisper Children’s Hospital in Jinja, Uganda. Whisper Hospital was founded by Veronika Cejpkova, a Czech national.
The hospital offers low-cost treatment to over 1,000 children per month. With the support of donors like Emolyne, Whisper has been able to employ more highly qualified medical professionals, streamline managerial systems and employ nutritionists to treat malnourished children.
‘In Uganda, children’s hospitals are struggling and they are not funded as well as they are in Europe. I am helping the hospital to raise money and because I grew up here I can connect with the families and the children, I can feel their pain. I am a mother of four, I know what it takes to raise a child to be happy and healthy. Whisper is helping more children start life with the best possible support,’ said Emolyne.
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