Model Khoudia Diop Spills Her Makeup Tips for Dark Skin Tones

Darky. Daughter of the Night. Mother of the Stars. When it comes to her nearly onyx complexion, Senegalese model Khoudia Diop has heard it all. After relocating to Paris at age 15, not only did Diop find herself in a foreign country but in a region where those around her had seldom seen someone with a skin tone as deep as hers. "I would get so angry whenever I'd notice people looking at me weirdly," she says in an interview with Beauty Atlas

. "They'd even stop me on the street and ask questions about my skin color."

With her family's encouragement to disregard comments from bullies, Diop, now 19, has learned to embrace her skin tone, even coining a new nickname for herself that celebrates her dark complexion: Melanin Goddess. "I began thinking of some names of my own," she says. "I knew Melanin Goddess would be cool and could help educate people about darker skin tones."
Under her new alias, Diop has signed with the "C" Girl, an organization founded to celebrate black beauty. She's also gained nearly 350,000 followers on her Instagram page, (@melaniin.goddess), where she shares campaign images and selfies that showcase a natural glow only Snapchat filters can create for most. There, the tone of conversation surrounding Diop's complexion is largely positive and almost always respectful. #BlackGirlMagic. Insert all the brown fist emojis.