📕 THE FULL RECEIPTS — 17 pages, $4.99: https://declassifiedhistory.gumroad.com/l/shelf-audit-18-the-mane-choiceThe deal broken down, the buyer's collapse, and who owns the brand today.In 2019, the nurse who built The Mane Choice from five hundred dollars sold it for a reported sixty-one and a half million dollars. Four years later, the company that bought it was bankrupt, and a private-equity firm owns The Mane Choice now. Here is exactly how that happened, and what it cost us, told through your own comments.This is a deep dive, not a lecture, and it stays on one axis the whole way: who owns the brand, and where your dollar goes. It is not a claim about whether any product is safe or whether it works.Courtney Adeleye built The Mane Choice at a kitchen counter in 2013 and grew it, by her own account, into a roughly hundred-million-dollar name in about six years. In 2019 she sold it to MAV Beauty Brands. The reported price was about sixty-one and a half million dollars, but only around thirty-eight million of that was guaranteed at closing. The rest, up to fifty-two and a half million more, was a performance-based earnout tied to the new owner.And the new owner was not really a beauty company. MAV Beauty Brands went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2018 at fourteen dollars a share, raised about a hundred and twenty-six million dollars, and used borrowed money to buy brand after brand. By 2023 it was carrying more than a hundred and twenty million dollars in debt it could not pay. It filed for creditor protection in Canada, its shares were delisted that December, and its brands, The Mane Choice among them, were sold out of the wreckage to Nexus Capital, a Los Angeles private-equity firm, for less than the company owed.The Mane Choice is still on the shelf today, rebranded, owned by a fund. Courtney Adeleye started over with a new line, Watch & Sea, that is hers. This video follows that whole arc and asks the harder question underneath it, the one you keep asking in the comments: how do our brands keep selling out, and what does it actually cost us when they do.Chapters:0:00 The Comment We Get Every Time1:00 A Nurse, Five Hundred Dollars, And Instagram3:00 The 2019 Sale4:30 What MAV Beauty Brands Really Was6:45 The Earnout Almost Nobody Reads8:15 Why Our Founders Sell At All10:45 What Happens After The Sale12:45 The Collapse, And Who Owns It Now14:45 Who Got Paid, And Who Didn't16:15 The Answer You Already Wrote▶️ The ownership list that started this — These 6 'Black-Owned' Beauty Brands Aren't Black-Owned Anymore: https://youtu.be/iayN_3CZmvk▶️ The same private-equity fund, a different aisle — the shea butter ownership breakdown: https://youtu.be/lQsl67GeCTIEverything here is ownership and money, drawn from public filings and the companies' own announcements. Nothing here is a claim about what any product does.⚠️ Some links here may be affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes a word of what I tell you. (FTC 16 CFR 255.)📚 SOURCES:MAV Beauty Brands Q3 2019 results and acquisition of The Mane Choice, Nov 2019: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mav-beauty-brands-reports-third-quarter-2019-financial-results-and-announces-acquisition-of-the-mane-choice-855396453.htmlMAV Beauty Brands completes IPO (14 dollars per share, TSX), July 2018: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/07/10/1535395/0/en/MAV-Beauty-Brands-Completes-Initial-Public-Offering.htmlMAV Beauty Brands receives court approval of asset sale to Nexus Capital (CCAA), Nov 2023: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mav-beauty-brands-receives-court-approval-of-sale-of-substantially-all-of-its-assets-to-nexus-capital-management-803832862.htmlMAV Beauty Brands restructuring proceedings — Goodmans LLP: https://www.goodmans.ca/expertise/case/mav-beauty-brands-inc.'s-restructuring-proceedings

📕 THE FULL BUYING GUIDE — 16 pages, $4.99: https://declassifiedhistory.gumroad.com/l/shelf-audit-17-the-makeup-counterAll five brands, who owns each one, and what every product costs.Beauty Bakerie and Mented Cosmetics, two makeup brands most people would swear are unrelated, now answer to the exact same private equity owner, inside the exact same portfolio, plus three brands where the founder never sold at all.This is a buying guide, not a takedown. Every verdict below is ownership and price, checked and re-checked against the companies' own paperwork and live product pages — never a claim about what any product does or whether it's safe on your skin.THE REVEAL:• Mented Cosmetics (the callback) — already named a villain on this channel: acquired by West Lane Capital Partners in 2024, co-founder KJ Miller stayed on as Brand President. Lipsticks have historically run $12–$20, foundation around $30 (verify current pricing before you buy — no new ownership evidence here, same skip as last time).• Beauty Bakerie (the new reveal) — founder Cashmere Nicole built it in 2011, closed it herself in April 2024 by her own stated account, then it was acquired months later in 2024 by the same firm behind Mented, West Lane Capital Partners, joining the same Blooming Brands portfolio Mented already belonged to. Lip Whip: a flat $22.00 a tube, every shade, confirmed live off the brand's own site. Buy direct: https://www.beautybakerie.comTHE THREE THAT NEVER SOLD:• Juvia's Place — founder ChiChi Eburu, since 2014, fully bootstrapped, no funding round or acquisition found on the public record. Nubian, Warrior, and Coffee Shop palettes, $25.00 each. Buy: https://www.juviasplace.com (also at Ulta)• The Crayon Case — founder Raynell "Supa Cent" Steward, since 2017, self-funded off her own audience, no outside investor found. Hall Pass Lip Gloss Collection $12.99; Matte Book Palette $21.98 (currently sold out — check restock before you click). Buy direct: https://www.thecrayoncase.com• LYS Beauty — founder Tisha Thompson, still founder and still CEO, took an eight-figure Series A ($15M) from Encore Consumer Capital in early 2025, its first outside money ever. Founder-led, still CEO, took growth capital — never self-funded, and this isn't a buyout; no equity percentage is publicly disclosed. Chapters0:00 One Wallet, Two "Black-Owned" Labels2:30 The Villain Named: Private Equity3:29 #1 Mented Cosmetics, The Callback4:31 #2 Beauty Bakerie, The Full Reveal8:49 #3 Juvia's Place11:03 #4 The Crayon Case13:06 #5 LYS Beauty, The Asterisk15:59 The Buyer's Tell16:54 Recap: Three That Never Sold▶ Mented's full reveal: 6 Beauty Brands No Longer "Black-Owned" [VIDEO-ID-TBD]▶ Same playbook, different aisle: 5 Black-Owned Beauty Brands You Can Buy Direct (Skip Target): https://youtu.be/wTKJyr2lo-ISome of the links above may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which brands make this list, and it never will.Everything in this video is ownership and price — public records and the companies' own paperwork.Nothing here is a claim about whether any of these products work or are safe on your skin.SOURCES:• PR Newswire, West Lane Capital Partners Acquires Beauty Bakerie, 2024-07-10 (primary): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/west-lane-capital-partners-acquires-beauty-bakerie-to-add-to-its-beauty-platform-302191993.html• Beauty Independent, West Lane Breathes New Life Into Beauty Bakerie: https://www.beautyindependent.com/west-lane-capital-partners-breathes-new-life-into-beauty-bakerie-with-acquisition/• Fashionista, How One Beauty Investor Acquires and Grows Indie Brands (Blooming Brands roster), 2024-07: https://fashionista.com/2024/07/beauty-acquisition-strategy-blooming-brands-west-lane-capital• Beauty Bakerie, Lip Whips collection (live pricing), checked 2026-07-23: https://www.beautybakerie.com/collections/lip-whips

📕 THE FULL BUYING GUIDE — 15 pages, $4.99: https://declassifiedhistory.gumroad.com/l/shelf-audit-16-founder-ownedAll six priced per ounce, from 38 cents to $68, with the ownership record on each.Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula has never been Black-owned, not once since the Neis family bought the company in 1971. Here are the five Black-owned skincare brands where the founder never sold the pen, checked against the actual ownership record and the real price per ounce.This is a buying guide, not a lecture. Every verdict below is ownership and price only — it is not a claim about whether any product here works, clears anything up, or is safe for your skin.THE ONE NUMBER THAT DECIDES THIS LIST: divide the price by the ounces on the label. Palmer's 33.8 fl oz bottle runs $12.99 at Target — that's $0.38/oz, the cheapest number in the video, from a company that's been white-owned for 55 years. The rest of this list runs $10.50/oz to $68/oz, and every bottle is still signed off by the person who started the company.THE FIVE STILL-OURS PICKS:• Bolden — founders Chinelo Chidozie & Ndidi Obidoa, self-funded per the brand's own record, no acquisition found. Dark Spot Fix serum, 1 fl oz, $19.00 = $19.00/oz. Buy direct: https://www.boldenusa.com• Buttah Skin — founder Dorion Renaud, owned via Buttah Enterprises LLC, no funding round or acquisition found. CocoShea Revitalizing Cream, 2 oz, $21.00 = $10.50/oz, the cheapest crown on the list. Buy direct: https://www.buttahskin.com• Hyper Skin — founder Desiree Verdejo, self-funded per Essence, AfroTech, and Beauty Independent. Hyper Even Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum, 1 fl oz, $36.00 = $36.00/oz (full size currently on back order). Buy direct: https://hyperskin.com• Eadem — founders Marie Kouadio Amouzame & Alice Lin Glover retain CEO and operating control; founder-led, took outside investment (Fable Investments, backed by Natura & Co, plus Glossier, JLabs, and Sephora Accelerate) — never self-funded. Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum, 1 fl oz, $68.00 = $68.00/oz, the highest per-ounce figure on the list (currently out of stock, waitlist only). Buy direct: https://eadem.co• Topicals — founder/CEO Olamide Olowe and co-founder Claudia Teng; founder-led, took outside investment (a $10M Series A led by CAVU Consumer Partners, investors include Marcy Venture Partners, Kelly Rowland, and Gabrielle Union) — never self-funded; majority-equity retention is not publicly confirmed either way. Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum, Full Size, 30 mL / 1 fl oz, $28.00 = $28.00/oz (currently out of stock). Buy direct: https://mytopicals.comBuy direct where you can — more of your dollar goes to the founder, not a markup.The habit to run yourself before you buy anything in this aisle: divide the price by the ounces printed on the back of the bottle, then search the brand's name plus the word "acquired." Ten seconds, right from your phone, and you know exactly whose company you're paying into.▶ Watch the buy-direct video (Pholk Beauty + Rose Ingleton MD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTKJyr2lo-ISome of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which five brands make this list, and it never will.Chapters:0:00 The Jar That Was Never Ours0:45 The One Number That Decides This List3:10 Palmer's: The Actual Paperwork 5:10 #1 Bolden6:45 #2 Buttah Skin8:15 #3 Hyper Skin10:00 #4 Eadem 11:55 #5 Topicals13:45 The Buyer's Tell14:45 Recap and the Full ListSOURCES:• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion, 33.8 fl oz — Target, checked 2026-07-23: https://www.target.com/p/palmers-cocoa-butter-formula-lotion-bottle-33-8-fl-oz/-/A-75665787• "Community connections have led to long-term success for Palmer's" — Drug Store News: https://drugstorenews.com/community-connections-have-led-long-term-success-palmers• Bolden — About (founders, self-funded) — boldenusa.com: https://www.boldenusa.com/pages/about