Colorism in the Beauty Industry

The beauty industry in many ways is an outlet of creative expression. The beauty industry is a platform for many to express themselves and to feel comfortable in their own skin. However, the beauty industry lacks this expression for black women. The industry in many ways cater to lighter skin-tones and Caucasian standards of beauty. In the industry, colorism is very prevalent and notably affecting how black women are perceived. In short, colorism is the discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone.

Colorism is Everywhere in Society

Colorism appears everywhere and many take a blind-eye in noticing the discrimination among makeup brands contributes to darker skin tones. It is important to notice the subtle but noticeable variations brands advertise that are very exclusive. For instance, the cosmetics aisle in drugstores such as Walmart, Target, and Walgreen's display make-up that appeal to pale skin tones. Often times, when going into the stores name above have the darkest shade appear to be caramel or toffee. Next time you go into a drugstore, take notice of the beauty aisle and whom their demographics are marketing towards.

As a black women, it is very frustrating and a let down when shopping in stores to see the darkest shade of foundation resembling for someone whom is light/fair skin.

Also let's not forget, colorism is notable in the media world such as television commercials, magazines, and social media. Companies want to market and have a person whom is usually European descent promote their products. This makes zero sense to me. In the beauty industry, brands needs to display diversity and appeal to a wider audience. I believe marketing towards a well diverse audience will help profit and sales goals. Importantly, marketing to a well diverse audience will bring accountability and a strong influence in the industry.

Darker women of color are rarely accounted for in the beauty industry. I believe representation matters and if darker skin tones aren’t represented this affects those women whom are such. Representation and diversity are crucial and need to be present in the beauty industry. Colorism has an impact on self-esteem, beauty standards, and even personal relationships. Specifically, black women are very affected by colorism. I recall growing up and valuing lighter-skinned people rather than my own skin. Actresses like Lupita Nyong’o, Gabrielle Union, and Keke Palmer have addressed colorism has made them feel unattractive growing up. This is very subjective as Lupita Nyong’o graced the cover of People Magazine's Most Beautiful in 2014. The stigma of colorism is noticeable at a very young age in girls and this oppresses them. I cannot stress this enough this is why representation matters.

Beauty Brands Addressing Colorism

Moreover, I believe the stigma of colorism is now being brought into the conversation more. Beauty brands such as Fenty Beauty and Huda Beauty have become influential pioneers in the beauty industry. I am going to address, Fenty Beauty in this portion. Robyn Rihanna Fenty launched Fenty Beauty back in 2017. Rihanna created the brand “so that women everywhere would be included,” which focuses on a wide range of skin tones that are typically underrepresented among other beauty brands. The brand is very groundbreaking and is representational to for us black women, as well as other minority groups. The brand is all about inclusion and freedom of expression and other brands are slowly following the marketing behind Fenty Beauty. I like to call this the Fenty Beauty affect, which I will address in a future blog post.

The Standard of Beauty Does Not Exist

Overall, the beauty industry needs to accept all various skin tones and represent everyone's beauty. I believe there is not a certain standard of beauty nor do I like this term. There is not a such thing as ''standards of beauty". Every individual is unique to the next person. Especially in the beauty industry uniqueness should be valued, diversity, and representation among all should matter! Just remember you matter and you are beautiful!

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