Hello Beauty

Hello Beauty..

7 MAKE-UP BRANDS WITH INCLUSIVE FOUNDATIONS

2020 was a defining year for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Founded in 2013, it made international headlines last year when millions of people protested despite the pandemic. It started as a grassroots movement against police brutality and grew to highlight a fractured system, inherent with racially motivated violence and discrimination against black people and their communities.

In addition to overt racial abuse, there is something far more detrimental to society, and that is `systemic racism`. This is when racism affects the very structure of society, and this can be hard to detect. Systemic racism is about everyday decisions that are made by people who may not even think of themselves as racist. It is when there is a lack of representation of BAME in the decision-making process. This filters into all parts of life and is prevalent in the beauty industry.

Last year when BLM protests were in full swing, a lot of beauty companies posted the black square on Instagram in solidarity with the movement. However, people called this out as performative wokeness in some cases. This put simply is a superficial show of solidarity in order to benefit from it without taking the necessary steps to combat injustice and inequality. Brands need to be held accountable for their actions and it’s us as consumers that can call them out on their policies and inclusivity.

As a person of colour, one way that systemic racism became apparent to me was when I encountered problems finding the correct foundation shade; I always seemed to be in between shades, or the colours I wanted were not stocked in the shops. Especially when it came to BB or CC creams there was a lack of choice in colours. Some brands have diversified their colour ranges but certain large outlets don’t stock all of the colours available, so you end up in a catch 22 situation.

I’ve compiled a list of brands with a wide selection of colours, and provided links for where they can be purchased. I really hope you find this useful.

1. FentyBeauty–ProFILT’RSoftMatteLongwearfoundation

- £21.60 save £5.40

Rihanna’s Fenty beauty has 40 shades and caters for the fairest to the darkest skin tones. Rihanna herself said “Foundation is one of the areas in the beauty industry that has a big void for women at extreme ends of the shade spectrum. There is this middle ground that is covered really, really well. But then if you’re pale or if you’re very dark, there aren’t a lot of options. And so, I wanted to make sure that women of all skin tones were covered”.

2. NYX Born to Glow – Naturally Radiant Foundation

- £8 save £2

It has an inclusive range of 45 colours. I like this foundation because it is buildable, good value formoney and has a great shade range.

3. Urban Decay - Stay Naked Foundation

- £23.60 save £5.90

This comes in 50 shades and is vegan with medium coverage.

4. Bobbi Brown - Skin Long-wear weightless Foundation SPF 15

- £27.20 save £6.80

Bobbi Brown was one of the first brands I discovered as a teen that actually catered to my skin tone. Bobbi Brown is a makeup artist and one of the pioneers in creating foundations for a variety of skin tones. This is one of my all-time favourite foundations and it comes in 43 shades.

5. PatMcGrathLabs–SkinFetishSublimePerfectionFoundation

- £61

Pat McGrath is a legendary British makeup artist. The foundation comes in a range of 36 shadesacross five levels, Light, Light Medium, Medium, Medium Deep & Deep.

6. Huda Beauty - #FauxFilter Foundation

- £33.60

Huda Beauty was one of the first beauty bloggers. She created her Makeup Business as well as launching her skincare brand `Wishful`. The foundation comes in 30 shades.

7. Estee Lauder – Double Wear Stay-in-Place SPF10

- £27.20 save £6.80

This is a great full coverage foundation that has a matte finish. It comes in 57 shades.