Saving Face: Discrimination Towards People of Colour in the Cosmetic Industry

From UBC Wiki

The cosmetic industry has traditionally disregarded people of colour in their products and marketing through implicit and explicit means which Sami Schalk, a professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains contributes to the “consistent erasure of people of colour” [1]. However, recent years has shown the slow progression from cosmetic companies towards inclusivity in beauty.

People of colour have consistently been neglected by the beauty industry through lack of product inclusivity and discriminatory marketing.

Lack of Shades for People of Colour

Within the makeup industry, there is a lack of products that cater towards people of colour. Face products such as foundation, concealer, bronzer, and powder have traditionally favoured lighter skin tones. As a result, nearly 80% of beauty consumers struggle to find a foundation that matches their skin tone [2].

Most makeup products are not offered in extensive shades ranges for deep skin tones in comparison to the shade ranges available for lighter complexions [3]. Global brands including Tarte, It Cosmetics, YSL, and Beauty Blender have all been criticized for their lack of inclusive shade ranges [4]. The absence of makeup shade inclusivity is apparent in affordable brands and luxury companies. On average, drugstores carry around 10 shades of foundation while brands in department stores generally offer 20 - 30 [5]. Within each of these ranges, there is a large amount of shades dedicated towards fairer complexions, whilst the number of shades for deeper skin tones is dismal [6]. Makeup for tan and dark complexions is usually limited to a handful of colours while the shade spectrum for lighter skin tones accounts for almost half of the line [6].

Rimmel London is a global drugstore cosmetic brand that currently has 6 different foundation lines on the market [7]. However, the available shades for each foundations varies from 2, 3, 5, and 7, each containing one or no shades for deep complexions [7]. Their largest shade spectrum is a foundation with 24 shades, but only six of these colours are for dark skin tones [7]. NARS, a renowned department store brand, sells their “Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation” in an assortment of 30 shades [8]. Yet, their shade spectrum only designates 6 products to deep skin tones while offering over 15 light shades [8].

The lack of inclusivity in the cosmetic industry is not exclusive to foundation products. Concealers, bronzers, and powders all have an inadequate shade spectrum. Nyma Tang is a beauty influencer on YouTube. In March 2019 she created a video sharing her experience finding a bronzer for her deep skin tone [9]. She bought the darkest bronzer available from every brand at Sephora and tested a total of 17 products [9]. Ultimately, every bronzer she tested was significantly too light for her complexion [9].

Racist Marketing

Too Faced Cosmetics is among the beauty brands that engages in racial fetishization by using food to label their products for darker complexions. Their "Born This Way Foundation" features the shades "Truffle", "Tiramisu", "Cocoa", and "Ganache".

Corporate companies have been witnessed to create controversial marketing to draw attention to their products and the beauty industry proves to be no different. The cosmetics industry discriminates people of colour, particularly the Black community through product names.

Racial Fetishization

Makeup and cosmetics are often named in one of two ways: as a word that describes the product (Maybelline blush in the shade Coral), or as a classification system comprised of letters and numbers (MAC foundation in the shade NC45). When a product is labeled by a word or phrase, its name is influenced by the cosmetics colour, texture, or other factors. Within the cosmetic industry, racial fetishization is witnessed in the shade names of face makeup products. Racial fetishization is a micro-aggression that objectifies a person based on their race, culture, and/or skin colour, often used for sexual gain [10]. Racial fetishization appears in cosmetics when products in deep shades are named after foods [11]. This food label is recognized in the common racist analogy comparing Black people to chocolate [12]. Foundations for darker complexions are named after desserts such as “Tiramisu”, “Ganache”, and “Mocha”, whilst products for light skin tones are named after colors or objects including “Ivory”, “Nude”, and “Snow” [11]. Naming only dark shades of makeup after dessert fetishizes the Black community because it dehumanizes an individual by linking a person to a sensual desire [13]. Additionally, when beauty companies compare Black people to goods one buys and consumes, such as cocoa and coffee, it highlights links to colonialism and the slave trade [13].

The Future of Inclusive Makeup

Rihanna launched the "Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation" in 40 shades which revolutionized the cosmetic industry known as "The Fenty Effect".

The Fenty Effect

In September 2017, musician Rihanna launched the cosmetic company Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty's first collection included a foundation with 40 shades that was completely inclusive: the entire shade spectrum “evenly support[ed] a greater range of skin tones, excelling on both the darkest and lightest ends of the spectrum” [6]. Effectively, the number of shades available in the "Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation" for deep skin tones was equivalent to the amount of shades for light skin tones. The launch was considered revolutionary for the cosmetic industry [14]. Fenty Beauty was one of the few beauty companies at the time to hold a 40-shade range of foundation, and a 40-shade range that was available from its initial launch [15]. Fenty Beauty highlighted the absence of makeup products for people of colour and the negligence of inclusivity that the entire cosmetic industry had ignored for years. The launch of "Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation" was applauded by consumers for its inclusivity which gained the attention of brand competitor. Cosmetic companies began to extend their shade ranges and launch new collections that matched or exceeded the 40 shades of Fenty Beauty [15]. Armani Beauty, Lancôme, KVD Vegan Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Urban Decay, and Clinique now all carry at least one foundation line with 40-70 shades [5]. Even drugstore brands such as Maybelline, Covergirl, Revlon, and NYX began to produce collections with dozens of shades [5]. The “Fenty Effect”, has set a new standard for the makeup industry and inclusive beauty.

Increased Inclusion or Saving Face?

While the Fenty Effect has revolutionized the cosmetics industry, cosmetic companies are still failing people of colour. Beauty brands efforts to create inclusive products reflect motives to preserve their brand image rather than truly focusing on inclusion [3]. Consumers point out that while makeup lines have produced a greater number of shades in response to Fenty’s debut, an increased shade range does not equal increased inclusivity [3]. Some cosmetic companies that have expanded their makeup lines still showcase a preference to lighter complexions [4]. Beauty Blender launched their first product line in 2018 with the "Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation" which featured 32 shades [4]. However, many critiqued Beauty Blender because while their collection had a substantial shade spectrum, there were many shades missing for dark skin tones [4].

Additionally, while more brands are seen to be expanding their cosmetic lines to larger shade ranges, these expansions are restricted to a few products rather than entire collections. Maybelline is a drugstore cosmetic brand with currently 13 foundations on the market [5]. In 2017, the company expanded their best-selling foundation “Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation” from 24 shades to 40 [16]. Their inclusive line was applauded, however three years since that expansion, Maybelline has yet to develop the shade spectrum of any of their other foundations.

  1. Bhasin, Kim (June 13, 2020). "In corporate reckoning on race, a skin-deep industry stands out". Company News. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  2. Payne, Taryn (August 24, 2018). "Makeup for Melanin Girls Isn't Just Making Products for Women of Color. It's Listening to Them". Glamour. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Levy, Genelle (February 23, 2020). "The makeup industry is still failing people with dark skin". Global News. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Moné, Brianna (July 30, 2018). "4 times beauty brands were dragged for having a 'limited' range of foundation". Insider. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Face". ULTA BEAUTY. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Li, Jason (June 2018). "Beauty Brawl: How Inclusive are Beauty Brands Around the World". The Pudding. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Foundations". Rimmel London. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "NARS: Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation". Sephora. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Tang, Nyma (March 26, 2019). "I SPENT $800 at Sephora Looking For A BRONZER || Nyma Tang". YouTube. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  10. McWilliams, Leta (April 29, 2019). "McWilliams: Fetishizing people of color isn't a compliment, so don't act like it is". Collegian. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Larbi, Miranda (June 18, 2018). "It really is time to stop naming darker skin tones after foods". Metro. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  12. ""A White Woman Dipped in Chocolate" Misogynoir and Cocoa Throughout History". Chocolate Class. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Colette, Mod (August 27, 2014). "Part 1: POC & Food Comparisons". Writing with Color. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  14. Vogue, Par. "How Fenty revolutionized the beauty industry". Vogue. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Rodulfo, Kristina (May 31, 2018). "For New Foundation Ranges, "Fenty 40" Is The Magic Number". Elle. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  16. Simmons, Shea (May 30, 2017). "Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Just Became More Inclusive". Bustle. Retrieved July 25, 2020.