Beauty blogger and Youtuber Jackie Aina made a video a little less than a year ago discussing some of the worst foundations for people of color (PoC). Aina has not been the only makeup-enthusiast and woman of color to talk about the lack of diverse shades in makeup.
There are various makeup brands—both high end and drugstore—that have failed to consider diversity whilst creating their products.
It is not always easy to find foundations, concealers, powders, and pressed powders in darker shades, especially at the drugstore. A lot of the makeup brands have very limited options for their products, and in the case of drugstore makeup, consumers can’t always test them to see if the shade is suitable for them.
For instance, Almay, a drugstore brand, lacks a reasonable amount of shades in both its foundations and concealers. They offer a whopping three shades (Light, Light/Medium, and Medium) for their Skin-tone matching foundations. Similarly, three out of four of the brand’s concealers only offer these three shades. The Age Essentials concealer adds Medium/Deep as a fourth shade.
The issue with Almay’s Skin-tone matching foundations and their concealers is that what the company defines as medium, and what I define as medium are completely different. I consider my skin to be warm-toned and somewhere between medium and tan, but Almay’s Clear Complexion concealer in Medium (the darkest shade for that product) was too light for me. If it is too light for me, then what about all the men and women who have darker complexions than I do?
I understand that there could be different interpretations of Medium and Deep, but what I do not understand is why the concealers make it seem as if Medium or Medium/Deep is the darkest shade possible. Almay is not the only makeup brand that does not offer diverse shades, and that is a truly concerning aspect of an industry that has been praised for its rapid growth.
One of the main reasons why many beauty brands do not offer as many diverse shades is because much of the beauty industry is under the impression that women of color are not willing to spend money on cosmetics. However, Refinery29 reports that, according to WWD, black women spend about $7.5 billion annually on beauty products.
So what’s the deal?
There have been many brands, however, that have been trying to counter this lack of diversity. Maybelline’s Fit Me + Matte Poreless Foundation offers 40 shades, which is amazing for a drugstore brand. The beauty brand Koyvoca has a collection of foundations they label as “21 Shades of Brown.” specifically catered towards women of color.
Furthermore, in 2014, Balanda Atis helped created L’Oreal’s Women of Color Lab, which is a lab solely dedicated to creating new shades for women of color. The lab’s members traveled the country to gather data on different skin tones, and upon examination of said data, they were able to find Ultramarine Blue, a colorant that can help create deeper, truer shades for women of color.
To add to her first video about the worst foundations for PoC, Aina created a follow-up video recommending some foundations she believes are best for PoC.
The makeup industry is constantly growing because of more and more consumers becoming interested in the products different brands have to offer. If there is a diverse population of consumers looking to invest in beauty products, then why shouldn’t beauty brands offer as many diverse shades as they can?