SINGER RIHANNA RELEASES INCLUSIVE MAKEUP LINE
By Mia Wise, Staff Writer
On Sept. 8, singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty released her makeup line, Fenty Beauty. The line was highly anticipated by makeup lovers, especially after it was announced that the line would include 40 shades of foundation.
“The beauty industry for so long had just carried the shades they deemed ‘normal,’ which basically meant a lot of shades for white people. I think this new line is inclusive for darker skin, and I’ve even seen it including albino skin tones, which is a huge step. But, I do think it is ridiculous that it has taken until 2017 for something like this to exist,” sophomore Liz McArdle said.
For some people finding their shade was a difficult task with other makeup lines. After the 40 shades were announced other makeup brands including Marc Jacobs, Kylie Cosmetics, and Estee Lauder took to social media to remind users of what they offered.
In particular, Kylie Jenner’s line, Kylie Cosmetics, was criticized for posting about a new lipstick shade called “Brown Sugar Matte.” Some felt that it was a ploy to seem inclusive.
“I think it was a ploy. Kylie had so much attention with her lip kits for the longest time, and now the spotlight has been taken away from her. I don’t think Kylie Cosmetics’ move to create their new shade was genuine. If it were, why didn’t they make inclusive shades to begin with?” senior Melissa Wilson said.
Others felt that it was a coincidence and that Jenner has always been inclusive. “As someone who has bought Kylie Cosmetics products and who follows her accounts on social media, I feel like her makeup line has always included diversity. When showing new lip kit shades she will post multiple pictures of the shade on people of different races and skin tones,” senior Alicia Muir said.
According to CNN, just five days after Rihanna’s line hit stores, eight of the ten deeper shades sold out. This incident, for some, demonstrated how necessary it was for the darker shades to be created and how those with darker skin tones were not being catered to previously.
“I think that having more inclusive shades is extremely important. We all come in different shades, some of us have pink undertones while some have red or yellow undertones. Not to mention we all are different base shades. I know women who buy two or more foundations to mix together to make a shade fit for their skin because they can’t find a brand that makes their shade. That’s ridiculous and conforms to the ideology that beauty only comes in one shade which is completely untrue,” junior Allison O’Neill said.
On the Fenty Beauty website, Rihanna wrote that she noticed a void in the makeup industry for products that included all skin colors. She wanted all women to feel included so she focused on universally hard to find skin types and tones.
“All women are beautiful and deserve to feel like it. I don’t want women or young girls to think that they are not beautiful because they aren’t a certain skin tone. I think as a society we are progressing to be more inclusive and it’s about time the makeup industry does too,” O’Neill said.
Photo by Michelle Gardner
