What is the history of makeup for black women?
The history of makeup for black women is the pivoting role of providing exclusive, innovative and transforming makeup for black women, resisting the racial tension towards black women being able to purchase beauty brand that cater to their requirements.
Where did it begin?
It starts in the early 20th century by Madam C.J. Walker and Annie Turnbo Malone, who created beauty products catering for Black women. They noticed that Black women were excluded from mainstream industry visions. In 1970s, the introduction of Fashion Fair cosmetics founded by Eunice Johnson was the first major cosmetics brand to offer the full range of specifically formulated for darker skin tones. Eunice Johnson, the visionary of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, noticed that her models had to mix different foundations to achieve the perfect blend that matched their unique skin tones. This led to Johnson to approach existing cosmetics companies, urging them to develop a line that would cater to the requirements of women with different skin tones. Sadly, her requests were met with considerable resistance, but this didn't stop Johnson and her late husband. They went to a private laboratory to create a formula based on the mixtures her models had concocted. This led to makeup being perfected curated to fit the models in the Fashion shows, Johnson created the Capsule collection, which was a delivery service for makeup in 1969 to meet the high demand for black women around.
What did the creation of Fashion Fair cosmetics lead to in the industry for black women?
The Fashion Fair cosmetics had a distinguishable elegant pink packaging and provided extensive range of shades, and the brand started strategically targeting high-end department stores for its marketing, enabling the brand to reach a bigger audience. Over time, their line expanded into skincare, fragrance, and hair care products tailored to meet the needs of Black women. In 2008, the brand continued to transform, introducing new logos, contemporary packaging and expansive range of shades. This evolution remained determined to offer products, service and educational resources to cater the distinctive requirements of different skin tones. The Fashion Fair cosmetics remains dedicated in offering education, services to celebrate and address the unique complexities of skin tones. Eunice Johnson was the pioneer to the visibility of Black women in the world of cosmetic industry.
How did mainstream brands struggle with inclusivity?
It was discovered that mainstream brands struggled to offer foundation option, specifically brands such as Covergirl, MAC, Nars, Bobbi Brown, and Makeup For Ever. This meant that finding the perfect shade matches, this included undertone, shade, and skin texture. This can vary from person to person, and by identifying a person's undertone was crucial in selecting the perfect product that coincides with the person's skin. However, luxury brands did well adjusting to this, and drugstores and discount department stores struggled to provide this. Mainstream beauty companies such as Revlon, Maybelline and L'Oréal tried to expand their foundation shade ranges, but it became apparent that majority were creating shades for lighter skin tones and darker skin tones were either excluded or limited, and this criticism was justified by L'Oréal's controversial whitewashing of Beyonce's face in a 2008 campaign. These issues came from marketing and communication strategies that came from these brands, as many have failed to adequately represent diverse skin tones in advertisements such as professional makeup brand Makeup For Ever, which only 1% sales catered to darker foundation shades, as their foundation options were only available to black women in United States, neglecting global countries such as France and the UK, and various African nations. Though, traditional advertising channels like television and magazines were the go to for some brands, independent brands found social media as a powerful platform for promotion. This became a powerful tool for promotion.
How did Social media influence the beauty industry?
Social media influenced and transformed the beauty industry, by providing women a significant following on social media by trained makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts, which garnered influence over their engaged audiences. This provided a more intimate and relatable experience compared to only relying on celebrity endorsements, which was the common approach for brands such as Covergirl and L'Oreal.
How brands today see the impact of inclusive beauty?
By brands such as Fenty beauty creating products that catered a large shade range, this broke the misconception of catering to a range of skin tones as financially risky. Fenty beauty took the support from consumers that had been overlooked and this sent a message that Inclusivity is not only demanded, but highly valued.
How does A Star cosmetics ensure inclusivity in the beauty industry?
The issues of makeup in the beauty industry still need to be addressed, as Esther Jinadu. A makeup artist in London, struggled immensely to find blushes that catered to her skin tone. As a black women, she often had to purchase online and not in-store. Still, the blushes available were not at the standard she needed. So, the first line introduced was the Star Cream which was a pigmented, Skin-loving cream blush with a cream to powder formula that allowed her to have a full face of makeup for her long shifts at work. It was waterproof, Sweat-proof and transfer-proof and allowed her to maintain her makeup look for the whole day. She wanted products that didn't only enhance beauty, but repaired and hydrated her skin. She knew that whatever she put on her face, had to be good for the skin. She also loved animals, and wanted to make sure that all products that she used was Vegan, cruelty free. That was how the Star Cream blush was born.
Purchase today, the Star Cream blush today, available in 8 shades, use STARWITHUS for 10% off.