Ashleigh Alli is creating colour with a cause
Written by Marianne Olaleye, JAIKU
After founding nail polish brand ASHE London in 2021, the entrepreneur is building her beauty platform for social good.
Photographed by Krystal Nuevill
Working in beauty was Ashleigh Alli’s calling. She snagged a Saturday job at her local nail salon in Reading when she was 14, and worked her way up as a nail tech. Learning a trade so young exposed Alli to a world of financial empowerment while spurring her ambition.
“I always refer to it as my passport,” she says. “I saw so many women with incredible careers, and somewhere in the back of my mind I just felt like wow, that could be me.”
Alli grafted hard. Following night school she got her degree and became a lawyer, but even while working at a top city firm, she never lost her love for nails.
Enter ASHE London, a vegan nail colour brand, rooted in social good. The name “Ashe” (pronounced Ash-ay) is Yoruba, meaning “power”, a nod to her Nigerian heritage. It perfectly embodies her skillset and strength.
Source: Ashe London, Mabel Polish
In 2021, Alli released her first product line of eight varnishes – just two weeks after giving birth. “I had no connection list,” she says. “I was just cold calling and sending emails... It took about two years before I could get the formula the way I wanted.”
But this was no regular brand. She knew that she wanted this to be a vehicle to support people past and present. Not only is each shade inspired by a different pioneer (Mae Mallory, Alexander P. Ashbourne, Olive Morris, etc.) but 10% of all profits go to good causes. Charities that Alli supports include Cianna’s Smile – that offers hope to those living with Sickle Cell and Bloody Good Period – which fights for menstrual equity in the UK.
“I just kept thinking if I don’t do it and I see someone else doing it, I’m going to feel a way”, she adds, “So let me just go for it.”
Photographed by Hannah Faith, Delika Studios.
And it’s a good thing she did. In 2022, just a year after launching the business she won Cosmopolitan’s Beauty Awards and with a new found incentive, Alli applied for BGF and Glossier’s Black Beauty Grant Programme and won in 2023.
“It gave me the confidence to think bigger... How do I scale? What are the limitations and how can I get rid of them?” she says.
Currently Ashe London is stocked in 16 lifestyle stores across the country, but her big goal is to be in Boots and Sephora.
Until then, she’s dealing with the realities of running a small business. “It’s not beautiful,” she says, “It’s me in a spare room, still, packing orders at midnight... juggling children, juggling stress. It’s not for the faint hearted.” But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thank you so much to Ashleigh for sharing such inspiring words with us.
Connect with Ashleigh here or read more about the Black Beauty Grant programme here.
We’re eager to learn, collaborate, and share knowledge, so if you’re interested in working with us, say hello@blackgirlfest.com
BGF x
