Diversity in Makeup: Why It Matters
Two of the most popular makeup brands in the United States have recently released new foundations, both of which have already been called the most widely anticipated releases of 2018 within the beauty community. Unfortunately, less than a week after both releases, they’ve already been named the most anti-climatic releases of 2018.
The releases I’m talking about are, of course, the Taste Shape Tape Foundation, and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Nude Water Fresh Foundation (That’s a mouthful). What made these releases such disappointing flops, you ask? Simple; their shade ranges. The Makeup industry as a whole has always been exclusively beige-centered, which shade ranges including such diverse colors such as, and I quote, “Fair Sand”, “Fair Neutral”, “Fair-Light Neutral”, and “Light Neutral”, just to name a few.
I won’t lie, I’m one of, if not the whitest girl I know. I’m the lightest shade in every foundation and concealer I own, and many brands lightest shades are even too beige for me. However, I won’t say I relate to the problems people of color face in the beauty community, because I don’t. At the end of the day, brands cater to white people with light skin tones, which I have. It’s one thing to not cater to my paleness, but it’s a completely other thing to not cater to an entire race, which is what Tarte and Estee Lauder have done. For such prestigious brands so well known for their products, you’d think they’d be able to choke up more than four or five “kiiinda-dark” shades.
Both releases have faced severe backlash, and both companies reactions to the backlash have been remarkably lackluster. Estee Lauder simply removed the announcement post, but the product is still on their site for sale. Tarte issued a half effort apology, not even worthy of an Instagram post, on their Instagram story, and announced that ten “unfinished” shades will be added to the lineup in the coming months.
In their apology, they said, “We want to let you know we hear you… You all know by now that we revealed our much anticipated shape tape foundation & the final shade range that we launched was definitely not representation of all of you. It may be too little too late, but we can assure you this was not meant in any kind of malicious way. We all just got so caught up in #shapetapenation and seeing your tweets asking for it… We wanted to get the product out as fast as possible, & we made the decision to move forward before all the shades were ready to go. We know there is no excuse, & we take full responsibility for launching this way. We lost sight of what’s really important in this industry, & for those who feel alienated in our community, we want to personally apologize. We’re doing everything in our power to bring those unfinished shades to market as fast as we can, at any cost. We CAN and WILL DO BETTER.” (Quote Courtesy of Stylecaster.com)
