If you still haven’t caught up to all the news of 2018 yet, you’ve probably missed the biggest conversation about a new makeup release since Rihanna slayed us with Fenty Beauty in September 2017. A couple weeks into 2018, Tarte released their new ‘Shape Tape Foundation’. Everyone knows that the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer has been a top favorite in the beauty industry, but some makeup lovers had mixed reviews about the Shape Tape Foundation. Specifically, women of color have had a hard time finding their perfect shade match and took to social media to speak their mind. Here’s what some of your favorite Black Beauty Gurus had to say:
“Tarte has to be one of the most white-washed brands out there…This brand embodies the exact opposite of everything that I stand for. Sorry, but they don’t do anything that makes people feel included. I look on their Instagram and I don’t see anyone who looks like me, remotely close to anyone who looks like me, rarely,” – Jackie Aina (via YouTube)
“While I’ve been told that Tarte already plans to ‘add more shades’, they have literally been ignoring people on the disappointment of the foundation range and has also turned off commenting on the foundation post which is NOT okay,”- Alissa Ashley (via YouTube)
“You’ve failed. You got it wrong, Tarte. I know you’re coming out with 10 additional shades. We’re waiting, the pressure is on. The important lesson is that the more we all speak up, the better it is. This is an emotional reflection on how people feel about themselves in the beauty industry and if you don’t see yourself represented or being considered important, it can affect self-esteem for groups of people. But to be honest, I know Black girl’s self-esteem are not impacted by any of this. We just won’t be buying your product,” – Patricia Bright (via YouTube)
To add on, even non-women of color addressed the issue about the lack of shade range for women of color.
“I know they will have my colour in this foundation but I refuse to buy it until they release more appropriate shades. I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t wait until they had all the shades perfect, and more of them before they put them up for sale. It’s actually ridiculous, hopefully, other brands will learn from this mistake,”- Ciara Hynes3 (via YouTube)
Well, there you have it. Being excluded, or being an afterthought, in the beauty industry is not a new phenomenon for any woman of color. Many of us know all too well how it feels to not be able to find our right foundation shade, or too not have an option at all! The point is, beauty is universal and everyone deserves to look and feel their best without worrying if they feel included or whether they were considered in the next makeup product launch. Hopefully, this is a lesson for all beauty brands who haven’t caught on to the melanated bandwagon. Needless to say, it is 2018 and women of color are no longer waiting for products to be created for us. Fenty by Rihanna has already set the bar for makeup brands who have consistently excluded women of color in their product launches. According to the Fenty website, Rihanna states that “Fenty Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races. I wanted everyone to feel included. That’s the real reason I made this line,”. Rihanna definitely did not disappoint the beauty community with shades varying from 100 to 490. Women from all backgrounds were able to find their perfect shade match and unfortunately, Tarte missed the memo. As a woman of color, I appreciate that Fenty by Rihanna made a statement that all women deserve to be included no matter who they are or where they come from, it’s time for all major beauty brands to start recognizing that.