Remember when you were little and roamed the toy section of Walmart for a doll, while looking around all that you are able to find are blonde haired, blue eyed and pale skin dolls. Not a single doll with a tan or deep complexion to be found. For a few minutes in that toy aisle, it feels like there are no people of color, only Barbie and her army of perfectly beige friends.  People of color have been around for centuries, in fact, most of our early civilizations weren’t Caucasian. People of color refers to more than just the African descent but to all ethnicity’s out there with a deeper, darker olive’ complexion.

The makeup community consists of so many artist sharing their tips and tricks on makeup and the proper techniques. Of course, makeup has no rules and as Patrick Simondac also known as PatrickStarrr on YouTube and all his other platforms says “makeup is a one size fits all.” Everyone is different and will have different techniques and opinions on how things are properly done but at the end of the day, it’s more about personal preference.

There are about 7.6 billion people on this earth, and with each individual comes a new shade to recognize. Although the makeup industry- for the most part is an exciting and welcoming place to be- there is always room for improvement. Limited shade ranges for people of color is a problem that is not talked about enough. This happens in the drugstore and high-end makeup brands, where makeup brands have 10 shades or less usually more than half will be light to beige and they will have little options for people of a deeper complexion.

The makeup industry still struggles with accommodating to all their customers. Last year in 2017 luxury brand YSL came out with their new “All Hours Foundation” with 22 shades. But for whatever reason  20 out of those 22 shades were light, vanilla and ivory. For a brand that is luxurious, high end, and high quality their shade selection is disappointing. There were many complaints and questions about why only 2 shades out of 20 shades were for darker skinned women.

April Victor, one of Tahoma’s Spanish teachers, had some thoughts about limited shade ranges and went on to say, “It is a problem, it’s either the shades are too light or too dark,” said Victor. Though Mrs.Victor herself doesn’t wear makeup, she feels as if some brand do a poor job at making foundation for a universal market.

In an online article called “A Letter To The Makeup Brands Who Don’t Carry My Color,” the author shared a story about a customer who was upset about the shades ranges from the brands Almay and CoverGirl. The author states “I want 50 shades of brown not 50 shades of porcelain, ivory, and beige, and then three shades of brown as an afterthought.” A lot of drugstore makeup brands like Almay, Neutrogena and Rimmel London struggle with satisfying their customers’ needs with wide shade ranges.

Sophomore Paris Riley had some thoughts about limited foundation shades, “Being Jamaican, it is hard to find shades, not all brands have enough shades for women of the Jamaican descent.”

  This has been a problem for the makeup industry for ages, and it is disappointing to those of darker complexion to see that after all this time it is still a continuous problem today. It is very unprofessional that brands whether its drugstore or high end will come out with shades of something whether it’s foundation or concealer and will only bother to create four or five shades. If you’re going to advertise your products on television, ads, anywhere that is publicly accessible then you have to keep an open mind and be able to create different shades for all your customers worldwide.

Social Studies teacher Ashley Dandridge said it wasn’t a problem that she had but her daughter, who has a darker complexion, has a problem with finding her foundation shades at drugstore locations. “It’s definitely a problem, but it has been better within the last five years.” Dandridge also stated that her daughter has a hard time finding a shade to contour with.

  Earlier in 2017, hit star Rihanna created her own makeup brand introducing her audience with “Fenty Beauty.” She launched an entire collection of products from lip gloss to highlighter to the most popular product her Fenty foundation which came in forty shades. Everyone in the beauty world was hyped up. A huge following of people tweeting pictures of it, beauty gurus made videos on it and reviewed the product. After reading reviews on Sephora, it was a pleasantly positive comment section about the foundation’s longevity and what it looked like as well as people talking about how they were able to find their perfect shade. Rihanna was not the first person to make a foundation with a wide shade range by any means. However, she really hit it out of the park with launching an entire collection with different products then giving us the cherry on top with forty shades in the foundation.  

Sharon Wright, one of Tahoma’s counselors, had some interesting thoughts on this topic. “Sometimes brands develop based on needs, they only create what they think will sell and what is in high demand.” As far as going to the drugstore to shop for her makeup, Wright stated: “I don’t really shop at the drugstore for makeup, I wouldn’t want to waste my time and end up looking orange.” As far as having trouble with finding her shade, Wright said “I do have darker skin and have a problem finding my shade at the drugstore, they tend to make me look orange.”

In 2016 Tarte Cosmetics released the Shape Tape concealer and had the whole world in love with the amazement of it being full coverage and creaseless. Early this year on January 15th, they released their Shape Tape foundation that has the entire makeup industry talking about its controversy over the shocking foundation range. The foundation currently comes in 15 shades mainly advertising it for people of a lighter skin tone.  Many customers are complaining about the shade selection being so limited.  Tarte Cosmetics have announced that there will be 10 new shades being added to the collection making people of a darker complexion feel as if they matter less and are nothing but an afterthought.

Many people will argue that it’s just “makeup” and we as a society should be focusing on more important things such as poverty and politics. However, it really is more than just “makeup”; It’s the lack of production for people of color. This isn’t an issue to people of a lighter complexion. So they might not understand it and think nothing of it but there are so many brands that aren’t acknowledging the fact that they’re more shades than snow, light, and natural. People of color exist and are living, eating and breathing on this earth as well as everyone else. It seems as if people of color really are an afterthought after all due to the fact that brands only want to release darker shades a little while after its released. Which means that they are not even done making and perfecting the foundation before it is advertised out to the public.

Do companies need to up their game on making more shades for women of color? Do brands simply eject catering to women of a deeper complexion? Milani, NARS, Makeup Forever, Maybelline, and MAC are some of the brands that make shades dark enough for people of color. They’re few brands that cater to everyone but should be applauded for their much-needed recognition for darker complexions. The makeup industry has changed and become better over the past few years and has made a wider variety of shades for people of color. There is always room for more and hopefully, over the next few years, makeup brand owners will learn that they’re more shades than just porcelain, ivory, and beige and learn to cater to all skin tones.