One day, when I was 13 years old, I went to buy my first makeup product. I’m sure some of you can understand the excitement that I must have been feeling… like your first step into the teenage years of your life. I went to Manor, and found a skin tint that was recommended to me. I was met with one of the cosmetic assistants in Manor, trying to help me. I told her I wanted my shade in this skin tint, and she reached for the DARKEST SHADE. While I am aware I may not be the typical skin tone for Switzerland, I was alarmed by her choice. However, it was clear that it was either this option, or a shade that would make me look like a ghost – there was no in between.
However, the real message behind the story is not really her ignorance, but the lack of knowledge that people and brands have for brown skinned consumers. While brands have diversified to fit the skin tones of white and black toned people, they have inherently forgotten to consider the massive range of in between that exists. Although there has been progress in providing products that suit darker skin tones for Black consumers, people of other ethnic backgrounds, including Hispanics, South Asians, and Middle Easterners, who have brown or olive undertones, still struggle to find appropriate makeup.
Being an Indian myself, I notice that well known brands such as MAC, Dior and L’Oreal, truly struggle to understand the nuances and variations in brown skin tones, leaving these communities underrepresented. All my peers end up finding makeup that makes them look flawless, while I have to wake up earlier, mixing up a concoction of concealers to make my perfect shade. I truly believe that the cosmetic market needs to cater to the needs of brown people.
However,there are brands which are made to cater to brown people like Kulfi, for example. The makeup line honours South Asian culture and offers a wide range of skin tones and undertones to suit the needs of its many different customers. Another is Nykaa, which is a brand created in India, made to cater to the variety of skin tones present within the community. Nevertheless, it would be reassuring and more inclusive to see the big companies within the industry cater to their wide range of consumers.
It is important to remember that inclusivity in makeup doesn’t only mean catering to the black skin toned people, because there has been more media attention on the lack of inclusivity there.Why would they not cater to all markets to lift up profits as they are leaving out so many consumers by solely focusing on two groups?If diversity, inclusion, and increased profits is truly something that companies want to achieve it is important they understand that in the makeup industry, inclusivity and representation should honour and accommodate all skin tones, ethnicities, and marginalised communities equally, making sure that no demographic is overlooked or underrepresented.
