Riean Knight | Founder Honey to Cocoa
Riean Knight Is Building Beauty Tech With Deeper Skin Tones at the Center
For years, Riean Knight stood behind the makeup chair listening to women describe the same frustration: even as beauty brands expanded their shade ranges, many clients with deeper skin tones still struggled to find an accurate match.
That experience stayed with her.
Riean spent more than a decade as a makeup artist and another decade as a senior leader in fintech. Honey to Cocoa brings those two worlds together, using biometric data to recommend makeup products designed specifically for women of color.
What makes the company stand out is not simply the technology. It is the perspective behind it. Riean is building from the assumption that women with deeper skin tones should be the starting point of the experience, not an edge case added later.
Today, Honey to Cocoa is part of a growing wave of beauty tech companies focused on personalization, inclusion, and data-driven product discovery. Based in Atlanta, Riean continues to build while also pursuing her creative interests, from styling clients to making wine.
Her work is grounded in a belief that beauty should feel personal, accessible, and fully seen.
“Beauty does not reserve itself for special elite moments or instances; it does not wait for perfection but is present already secretly in everything.” - John O’Donohue
Website:https://www.honeytococoa.ai/
Instagram: @honeytococoa
TikTok: @honeytococoa