Working in beauty journalism, you get to see a lot of how the sausage gets made. Those perfect catwalk shots you’re seeing from fashion week right now with models perfectly preened from head to toe? Well, I’ve seen the chaos backstage just moments before – the hair and makeup teams appearing through layers of hairspray and powder to finish looks and adding final touches to 25 girls with five minutes to go. I’ve been to the factories and labs where your favourite serums and hair straighteners are created, tested and packed up.
I’ve also swatched countless foundations and concealers pre-launch, only to find out that the darkest shade leaves an ashy grey tint on my skin. I’ve then lamented, on the way back to the office with half-done makeup, and been saddened that yet another brand seemingly doesn’t care about the Black consumer.
Luckily, in the past decade, things have improved on that last point. I would love to think this is because of lots of ‘listening and learning’ from 2020, but ultimately, it’s probably down to one thing, Black consumers buy. According to the Black Pound Report, ‘Consumers from multi-ethnic backgrounds spend 25% more on health and beauty products than any other consumer’. We are willing to invest and try all sorts to keep up with ever-unattainable beauty standards and finally, brands are waking up and raking it in. Brands like Fenty Beauty set the bar when it comes to mainstream brands that offer diverse shades (BlackUp and Iman were catering to Black skin tones way before this though) and now, most brands have followed suit offering up more than just one or two deep shades next to the 20 shades of ‘natural’ and ‘tan’.
Yes, there are still instances where brands miss the mark, but most of the time my siblings, friends and I can go into any Boots or Space NK and know there are brands in there that work for our skin tones. However: when it comes to having makeup applied to our skin, that is a whole different story. In the past week, two separate incidents have sprung up – one on TikTok, one on TV – that left me perplexed. How have we come so far with Black beauty, only to keep stumbling on application?
First was model Megan Milan’s TikTok video. She was prepped for a shoot, but the makeup artist used the completely wrong shades for her base. She was left with a greyish tone. “Yeah, I look like a ghost,” she says in the video. Disheartened, she wells up on Facetime to a loved one as she shows them the makeup. The comments section on the video swells with kind words; ‘OMG this is unacceptable in 2023!!!’, ‘How is this still happeningggg’, ‘What year is it?’ asks another.
Thing is – this isn’t shocking because it’s happened for decades. Black models, singers and actresses have had to make do with subpar hair and makeup with artists who weren’t capable enough to stretch their knowledge to tighter coils and deeper skin tones. Many would have to bring their own foundations and work with whatever hair the stylist could manage. The shocking thing is that it is still happening.
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As a break from continuous doom-scrolling this weekend, I flicked on the news (from doom scroll to doom staring, you might say), to be greeted with Lizo Mzimba reporting on BBC News with a pasty coat of product all over his face. Whether this was powder, SPF or foundation, I don’t know. I also don't know who applied this product (we have contacted the BBC for comment) but it left a nasty-looking flashback on the screen and resembled a clay mask. I posted the image to my Instagram story in dismay, and it was met with DMs aghast at the sight.
“I always give a big sigh when I see Black skin mismatched,” makeup artist Joy Adenuga tells Cosmopolitan UK. “I have over 14 years in the beauty industry and seeing this still happen in 2023, makes me feel sad. It’s like no effort was made. It feels as if we don’t matter.”
With the wealth of information and products available nowadays, it does feel like a lack of care. There are no excuses for not having the right shades available in your kit when there are now so many options. You can even buy pigments now to adjust and adapt when needed. There are countless training courses and guides on how to match deeper skin. If you are still getting Black skin wrong in 2023, your lack of care is screaming out. Here’s hoping some more listening and learning will be done when it comes to utilising shade range and varying undertones.
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
