Misrepresented In The Beauty Industry

1312 Words6 Pages
The old English proverb, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” efficiently conveys that there is no one concrete definition of the word “beauty” despite what’s written in a dictionary. The word is not meant to be universal but rather subjective, differing person to person. However, society dictates what it considers the epitome of beauty. Over time the ideal model has shifted, at one point the ideal person who was considered beauty was someone with fair pale skin, bright blue eyes. Despite there being a shift in what makes someone beautiful, a whole demographic of people are still being misrepresented in the media, in society, and in particular in the beauty industry. Women of color, even today to some extent are being mispresented through…show more content…
How is it possible for make-up companies to create twenty shades of beige and ivory but only a handful of dark foundation shades are thrown in to appease people of color. When black women for one spend more than $7.5 billion annually on beauty products. That’s more than eighty percent of the general population that invests in make-up. Women of color must shelf out more money just to find their shade of foundation with the correct undertones when both drugstore and high-end brands are still not catering to a wider range. When such companies are called out, their response is that they can’t make afford to a wide range of shades, that people of color won’t buy the shades or that they will extend their range on a later date. Fenty Beauty is a beauty line founded and created by Rihanna. When the line first released their collection, they released a diverse range of forty shades. The darkest shades of the foundation were the very first to be sold out everywhere. This was unimaginable because for so many years the beauty industry’s number one reason to not make darker shades was that nobody would buy them and that it is a bad investment. According to celebrity make-up artist Rea Ann Silva, “Some companies actually feel that some women of color don't have the credit to purchase their products, so why manufacture them?” This issue is not simply just about make-up, it’s about numerous people feeling misrepresented in a certain industry which results in being excluded in society. It’s about wanting to feel beautiful and it’s about inclusivity. Make-up is not synonymous with the concept of “beauty” even though it does beautify and enhances a person’s appearance. True beauty lies from within and make-up is a powerful tool that helps people gain confidence and make them believe they are beautiful too. Times have changed, and society is progressing at a relatively fast rate, it’s important that
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