On September 8, 2017, Rhianna launched Fenty Beauty and the beauty industry became shooketh. With her debuting foundation with a range of 40 shades, a variety of undertones and the celebration of all human beings, Rhianna had declared her presence in beauty(as well as the presence of skin tones not always acknowledged) a force to be reckoned with. What has been coined throughout the industry as “The Fenty Effect,” a few things occurred. Some existing brands took to social media exclaiming they have always had a wide range of shades prior to Fenty. And in true social media fashion, the streets of twitter, Instagram dragged them through the boulevards of the interwebs. These brands were quickly humbled as the beauty community highlighted that these brands never advertised those shades or the marketing campaigns did not reflect that range, but still upheld the Euro-centric Western idea of beauty. Other bands began to expand their range of the deeper hue end; some partnered with beauty influencers of color to assist in the development of their shades. In 2021, most color cosmetics offer at least a 30+ shade range, however they are still not getting it. Over the past five years, Black women have seen some improvement in the industry, however we still feel unseen or that our natural features are beautiful on everyone except us. It is because of this lack of acknowledgement and awareness that we have seen an increase in Black, women owned brands. Women like Melissa Butler, founder of start-up brand Lip Bar, who appeared on SharkTank with no investors, her line is now available in Target nationwide. Women like Cashmere Nicole of Beauty Bakerie, Chichi Eburu of Juvia’s Place, Iman of Iman Cosmetics, Pat McGrath of Pat McGrath Cosmetics, Kj Miller and Amanda Johnson of Mented Cosmetics (the perfect nudes for melanated folks) and the list continues. They have been able to fill voids that we experience as black women shopping for cosmetics. So what are the larger beauty brands and retailers missing? The number one opportunity these brands are ignoring is the failure to create a beauty experience that is authentic for black women. It is not enough to put black faces on displays and posters with the reckless pandering that your product includes Shea butter, etc and expect Black women to feel valued as a consumer. This can only happen if Black women are a part of the conversation from beginning to end, especially in the C-Suite. The absence of Black women in making those executive decisions is what leads brands to going on an apology tour, donating to nonprofits or investing in businesses of the offended audience to only make that mistake a few years down the line. Ultimately, if you listen to Black women your consumer experience will be better received. In this day in age, if we are absent in your day to day business, your products will be absent in our carts. Other opportunities include stop naming our foundations after food (cocoa, chocolate, caramel; there are other names that describe brown hues), include black women needs in your market research, develop palettes that complement a wide range of skin tones, etc. BET’s Glam Gap did an incredible job in capturing the items I mentioned in my musings, If you really want to understand how Black women are still being ignored (yet constantly an inspiration) to the beauty industry. Please check out the video below: In what ways do you believe beauty brands in color cosmetics are ignoring black women? If there is a brand that gets Black women and our lives, what is that brand doing ?
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