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The beauty industry has come a long way in terms of inclusivity in recent years. But it’s far from perfect. The latest scandal with the launch of Youthforia’s new foundation goes to show that there’s still much more work to be done.
After facing backlash last year for lacking inclusive shades for deep skin tones, Youthforia recently unveiled their expansion on their Date Night foundation. The darkest shade, 600, caught many people’s attention for essentially being straight up black pigment in a bottle. And Black beauty creators reacted immediately.
@wumi.afuye @Youthforia are yall okay?!? @golloria I would LOVE to see you try this shade !❤️ #youthforia #makeup #blackgirlmakeup ♬ original sound – Wumi.Afuye
It just goes to show that people won’t stay quiet when brands refuse to listen to their consumers — or in this case, disrespect them. No one deserves to be considered “an afterthought.”
If you’re looking for inclusive makeup products, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some examples of companies that have products with shade ranges for diverse types of skin tones.
Higher-end Brands
Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown was launched by Bobbi Brown in 1991. When Bobbi Brown’s Skin Foundation Stick first launched in 1992, it was a quite “expansive” for that time period with 10 shades. Though obviously it was not inclusive by today’s standards, it was moving in the right direction and overall incentivizing other brands to release products similar to theirs. And now, the foundation stick’s range has a total of 43 shades.
Fenty Beauty
Before other shade-inclusive brands became available, the undertones for foundations were predominantly pink or orange to suit fair-skinned people. Arguably, Fenty Beauty was the company that led the shift to include more inclusive undertones when it launched in 2017. The brand’s first release included the Pro FIlt’R Foundation, which now has 51 shades ranging from very fair with neutral undertones to very rich with neutral undertones. Fan favorites include Glass Bomb Lip Gloss, Invisimatte Instant Setting + Blotting Powder, all the released highlighters and Hella Thicc Volumizing Mascara.
Rare Beauty
Rare Beauty, launched by Selena Gomez in 2020, is now a household name in inclusive makeup. Rare Beauty went viral for their extremely pigmented blushes in shades suitable for all skin tones and undertones. Their standouts in the shade range were uncommon purple blushes and shades Faith and Grace, which are very well suited to dark skin tones. The brand also went viral for their matching lip oils in the exact same shades as the blushes, so clients can match their blush with their lip oil.
REM Beauty
Another celebrity brand is REM Beauty, which was launched by Ariana Grande in 2021. Her concealer has 60 shades of light to deep from “fair 2 n” to “rich 9 c.” The launch of the Sweetener collection (Sweetener Concealer and Sweetener Foundation) surprised consumers with the large range of shades.
Affordable Brands
Juvia’s Place
Juvia’s Place is a Black-owned brand by Chichi Eburu and launched in 2016. They’re known as a more affordable option for makeup with a focus on products for deep-toned skin. This brand went viral for their liquid blushes being a dupe to the Rare Beauty liquid blushes. Juvia’s Place provides a long-lasting pigment for darker skin tones and is a great alternative to more expensive brands.
Milk Makeup
Milk Makeup was founded by Mazdack Rassi and Dianna Ruth in 2016. The brand has been a staple for makeup lovers, and is praised for their matte bronzers and twin contour sticks, which come in five shades varying from pale to rich tones. The shades of these products are dark enough to be used on deeper skin tones.
NYX Cosmetics
NYX Cosmetics was launched in 1999 by Toni Ko. NYX makes lip products, such as lip liner, lip pencil, lip gloss, and lipsticks in a large variety of colors. Not only does NYX Cosmetics carry a variety of inclusive lip products, but they also continue to release shade-inclusive foundations including Bare With Me Blurring Foundation.
Nina Tan Pernice (she/her) is a high school student from Oakland, California.
Edited by shaylyn martos and Amber Ly