Given everything that has happened in the last week, well past 300 years, my heart is pretty heavy. The only way to be triumphant in anything is to keep pressing. Since my blog is called “Make up in Black and White” and addresses gender, class, and race as those topics apply to the vast world of beauty, I thought it would only be right if I discussed race this week. I am going to be very specific, and discuss one uber frustrating thing. Gift with purchases that major companies give out for earning points, birthdays, holidays or for spending a certain dollar amount never include products that women of color can use when it comes to color!
Every year when Christmas season pops up, I am always working in a retailer that provides amazing goody bags chock full of skincare, haircare, and makeup. When ever I service a client that has a deeper skin tone who has earned one of those goody bags, they always ask if the bag is even worth them spending the extra money to earn. Depending on what brand/retailer I am working for, the bag is 25-75% useful, and obviously if they can use only a small fraction of the products, they choose to pass on the gift or GWP as we call them in the retail world.
Out of sheer curiosity, I would love to know how much it costs a company to make lets say a tinted moisturizer sample? I happen to freelance for a company that makes the best tinted moisturizer but when ever there are samples made it is always in the third to lightest shade that the company offers. Realizing that the shade is the most popular, I can’t help but to wonder what would happen if that same company made a test run of a deeper shade, put it in magazines geared towards women of color i.e. Ebony and Essence to see what kind of return on the initial investment of making the samples in the first place. I tell people all the time that just because you build it doesn’t mean “they” will come. So for all of the cosmetic companies that offer make up for deeper skin tones, samples must be made in a broader range of shades, and marketed specifically to the demographics that speak to those women who have deeper skin.
To put it plainly, all lives matter so companies should do whatever they can to accommodate all people who do and could potentially become loyal supporters of their brands. This for many of these companies would appeal to demographics that have tremendous spending power and have the ability to positively impact their bottom lines.
Bottom line? Make the samples in a broader range of shades and market the hell out of them, its time!
makeupinblackandwhite 