Cosmetic brand under fire for making jet black foundation in an effort to be more inclusive
CULTURE
Is the beauty content creator right to "throw shade" at the Youthforia"
By Mona Austin
An influencer's claim about foundation inclusivity has put Youthforia Cosmetics in the hot seat. Golloria George told over a million followers that Youthforia failed to understand Black women's needs for inclusive foundations after they allegedly created a shade of liquid make up that is supposedly too dark for human use. The video, which was made on April 30, went viral. with over 7 million views to date
George is a popular presence on social media who reviews foundations for dark-skinned women on her Tik Tok and You Tube channels to see which make up brands are best suited for deeper-hued Black women's skin tones. For years many brands lacked the color spectrum and/or undertones for all shades of women and Blacks began to create their own (i.e.m Fenty, Mented, Uoma, TLB, Pat McGrath Labs) and demand that others offer a broader range. George was clearly disappointed that Youthforia did not seem to understand what Black women meant when they ask for more shades, but not for the usual reasons. Ironically, the shades were provided yet she seemed to be offended by a color being too dark. Companies do research before putting products on the market. Youthforia apparently felt they created a shade that was a fit for someone.
Youthforia, a clean planet-friendly line offered at Ulta stores, had been previously criticized for only having 15 shades when it launched. The company said they limited the number of shades in the initial launch and later released 10 more colors including some for deeper skin tones in response to the demand.
In her review George demonstrated that they did not get it right when it comes to the darker end of the spectrum. Swatching one side with Youthforia foundation and the other with black face paint, she pointed out their exaggerated shade, which appeared to be shoe-polish black. She called it "tar in a bottle" adding that it should be pulled form the shelves.
Youthforia is not the only brand that has gone deeper with their make up offering. Gucci, YSL, Anastasia Beverly Hills. MAC, Clinque, Revolution and many other prestige and drug store brands have shades that may be relatively off the charts in some people's opinion.
The vlogger claimed, "Its biologically impossible to be PURE black. there is no pigment in this foundation other than pure BLACK." She also claimed that the color had not been tested on anyone. This criticism ignores that fact that the range of dark skin is broad and can go up to a natural jet-black color. Sudanese, Senageles and people in Sub-Saharan African can be incredibly melinated. Vogue featured highly pigmented models who appeared to require extra-dark foundation. Their skin tones were indeed rare. In the article, iconic African supermodel Iman shared and inspiring message about embracing all shades of beauty saying:
To the models: “If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then let the beholder be you.”
To the world: “All hail our African models with their jet-black skin, impossibly long limbs and natural hair, full of joy and absolutely no compromise.”
"Black" like "White" is a racial category not a literal color. Both dark and light skin color has evolved over time, adjusting to climate and geographic location. Equally albinism is a condition where people have an extreme absence of pigment and may appear to be white. Make-up artists and users have also complained of a lack of shades for pale-skinned people. Getting a "proper" range of foundations shades in a perpetual problem make up brands face and were it not for people speaking out finding a swath of colors to serve more needs may not change.
However, there may be more at play from George rejection the Youthforia color labeled 600. Not only did she criticize the company, but also her complaint may speak to the insecurities of very dark-skinned people. She seemed to intentionally stir the tar pot by picking a shade that was far outside of her range to say that no one is that dark. This can be an insult to people who are close to that shade. It is as if she is saying what so many dark skinned people have said within the Black community, "I'm dark but not THAT dark." This insecurity is something that has to be addressed within the culture, but it is worth mentioning when there are people who are darker than the usual spectrum. What about their needs?
Being "off the color wheel" goes way back for Black people. For generations post-slavery Black people have struggled with the complexities of colorism, which ties social constructs to preferring lighter skin color. People with very dark skin in various cultured have encountered colorism been mistreated almost as if they were cursed. Infact, the term "tar baby" was used to insult dark skinned people. This history goes as far back as the slave trade where a higher value was placed on lighter skinned slaves.
Make up foundation is intended to blend with a person's complexion and typically we select the shade that looks like it is close to our color. It was obvious that the shade George chose was not a match. Perhaps she chose it to make her point, but she may be wrong about literal black is biologically impossible. The online personality who caused the firestorm in the press may was not close to shade 600 I noticed. But just because the color was not for her and Americans may not be accustomed to seeing very dark skinned people it does not mean the brand should be canceled.
I went to a local Ulta and Sephora to speak to beauty advisors about the controversy. They all said the shad in question was unusable. one associate suggested that it could be used as a contour color but not a foundation. Most felt the color should be removed from shelves. Their main complaint is that it was more black with zero pigment added.
Make up foundation is intended to blend with a person's complexion and typically we select the shade that looks like it is close to our color. It was obvious that the shade George chose was not a match. Perhaps she chose it to make her point, but she may be wrong about literal black is biologically impossible. The online personality who caused the firestorm in the press may was not close to shade 600 I noticed. But just because the color was not for her and Americans may not be accustomed to seeing very dark skinned people it does not mean the brand should be canceled.
When I tried on the Youthforia foundation myself, I noticed the shade range was very broad. There was room for several more colors in between the shades. Although the formulation of the foundation was light and wearable I was unable to go up or down a shade to get a closer match. The 10 new shades they added require more improvement. Eliminating the darkest foundation will not solve their problem entirely.
HOW DARK IS TOO DARK"
