50 SHADES OF BEIGE

Porcelain, Ivory, Warm Ivory, Sand, Beige, Warm Beige, Natural, Honey, Golden, Almond, Chestnut; 11 of the 12 shades of foundation leaving shade “Espresso” to be the one and only color that would remotely match anyone with dark skin. This actually being the one of the few cheaper brands with the most selections for dark men and women.

Every drugstore in America

Any white man or woman can walk into any drugstore and have hundreds of options to choose from, whether they want a pink or yellow undertone or matte or dewy finish, while anyone with a skin tone darker than beige is either stuck with one or two basic shades with no variety, or having to buy pricey face products from department store makeup counters. Are there any affordable products that accentuate dark skin vs just making it lighter? I asked two dark skin beauties, Shardae (@shardaebriann) and Deushina (@ZeDeushinator) to share some beauty related info with me, here's what they had to say;

When asked if she had found any brands that worked for her yet, Shardae said that she had found a tinted moisturizer that matches her skin; NYX's tinted moisturizer in "Almond". As far as Foundation, goes, even though its a little pricey, she says Sephora's #57 in Deep Chocolate is her best match. It took her about 2 years to find a foundation that is just right, not too dark, not too light.

$20 at Sephora

$9.99 at Ulta Beauty or Target

"It gets very frustrating because, you see every pale to tan shade under the sun and then for dark skin, there's 3 shades. Usually one for tan people, one for lighter tone skin and then it jumps to the deepest brown they could come up with. And it's very annoying." I asked Shardae if she had any beauty tips for people with a darker complexion; "Take care of your skin like it's your child. I am just now getting my skin back to it's nice, not broken out shape. Water, water, water", she stresses, "And cleaning your face at night & in the morning. Skills will come to you when you practice, also checking out YouTube videos never hurts." I asked her about mental and emotional advice she has for young POC growing up seeing white everywhere, with very minimal representation for people like them; 

"There's a shade out there for you. You may not find it in a store or right away but there's one out there. You're gorgeous & you have one of a kind skin that not one person can mimic even if they tried. Love yourself & your skin. Truly, truly love yourself".

Deushina has had a similar experience.

She's been wearing make up since she was 12. She jokes; "So you can imagine the amount of mistrials I've had with foundations". Deushina goes on to say, "I've tried nearly every foundation high end and low end, even to this day it's either they don't make shades for people of color or it is horribly shaded (does that make sense lol). As a make up artist this is an issue I take very seriously cause sometimes you want to beat your face and you realize certain foundations don't fit you". 

I asked if she had found any skin products that fit her yet, "Recently I've found a foundation that I'm absolutely an awe of, it doesn't match me perfectly because there's no such thing but out of every foundation I've found its the number 1 in my book, the foundation is Lancôme Teint Idole Foundation in the shade 550 suede C". She had to resort to spending almost 50 dollars on a foundation while there's hundreds of light foundations under $15 at every drugstore in america. Starting to sound a little unfair?

$46.50 at Ulta Beauty

The 18 year old tells me, "For me personally it has taken me 6 years to find a shade of foundation that I don't have to adjust. I call myself a makeup chemist because not every foundation is going match you completely, you know? So I always mix my foundation, even the Lancôme one because as some might say; I'm extra AF. But that's just my personal preference. I use to get extremely frustrated when seeing brands putting on different shades of white and there would 3 to none for people of color, but as I've grown older my knowledge in makeup has grown, and my research of the companies and their reasoning why their selection of shades sucks ass."

Deushina swears by color correcting. She said that she never understood why people color correct but now she's addicted. "Apply oil to your foundation ( you'll thank me later), The Body Shop released lightening and darkening drops to add to foundations, I haven't used this product yet but I've heard great things".

$20 each at The Body Shop

Her last bit of advice to young POC, "Society tries to white wash young people to think that lighter skin is more attractive, but I guarantee you that's not true. Your skin color is beautiful regardless of what people think or say to make you bleach or never go to the beach again. You are beautiful."

Black skin must be appreciated the same way white skin is appreciated. POC shouldn't have to resort to using colors that are lighter than their skin, there should be colors that even out skin tone instead of lightening it. Pale skin is beautiful, brown skin is beautiful, black skin is beautiful, but we need more representation and options for black skin.  

If you have dark skin, check out some of these products, watch some Youtube videos, color correct, and share your beauty secrets!! 

As Shardae said before, 

"You're gorgeous & you have one of a kind skin that not one person can mimic even if they tried. Love yourself & your skin. Truly, truly love yourself."

Your black is beautiful.