Based on an article (attached below) that I've written for Skin Match Technology, I investigated diversity in the beauty industry concerning foundation shades and the really narrow shade ranges supplied by makeup brands. I drew the attention of Vogue Business, which interviewed me and featured me in their take on the same topic. 

Link to the Vogue Article article here

In the early 2000s, foundation shades were extremely linear and non-inclusive; everyone remembers having to mix different shades of foundation together to get the perfect shade and then still not quite getting it right after seeing yourself in photos with a two-toned face and neck. However, we at Skin Match Technology Switzerland are aware that times have changed, which is why our shade finder AI, with 112 skin tones registered, educates brands about inclusivity using the latest in skin matching technology. The beauty industry has become exponentially more inclusive, with many brands offering a larger variety of shades. There is, of course, still room for improvement, but the fact that the industry has made it this far, deserves some credit.

These days consumers can find brands like Morphe, MAC Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty and IT Cosmetics who host up to 50 shades of foundation. Shade inclusivity goes hand in hand with body positivity, in most cases, the beauty industry can be seen as the culprit of planting insecurities. With more shades comes the amazing realization that we are all beautiful no matter what colour and we all deserve the products to make ourselves feel beautiful. By refusing to become more shade inclusive many brands risk ignoring a huge population of consumers and lack of revenue. A foundation shade finder helps beauty brands become more aware of the color demands of their consumers.

Inclusivity represents a shift in consumer behavior because consumers demand to be heard, and brands have to deliver or suffer the consequence of going out of business. This begs the question, should there be brands dedicated to black women or women of colour OR should all brands normalise shade inclusions by all adhering to different ethnic skin tones and introduce an all-inclusive foundation shade range?

Most covered shades out of 6’000 Products and over 100 Brands.

Well, since 70% of black and Asian women feel their needs are not met by high-end brands, the answer is this; inclusion does not only mean foundation shades but further representation in brand founders, employees, and especially their advertising, as only 22% of models, for make-up brands, are black.

Consumers are smart and can tell when brands are not sincere or just don’t know what they’re doing, therefore, becoming a brand known for inclusive foundation shades means businesses have to look inward too. If a makeup vet in the industry wants to compete with a new brand, founded by a woman of colour with inclusive shades, consumers of colour will trust the brand built by an actual person of colour. Therefore, new brands owned and built by people of colour are extremely important, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the biggest foundation brands to join the inclusion train, they just have to be transparent and engage in good research.

At Skin Match Technology we have worked with amazing inclusive brands like IT Cosmetics which uses our Foundation Shade Finder. The Foundation Shade Finder is the epitome of beauty tech as it acts as a digital advisor to consumers when they need to get their correct foundation shade, the AI works by sourcing the consumer’s current shade from their current brand from our highly extensive database of foundation shades and comparing that to IT Cosmetics shades to recommend the correct IT Cosmetics shade of their CC+ Cream Range.

Remember, inclusion in shades is only a quarter of what it means for a brand to be inclusive, variety lacks in age, gender, trans beauty and even special foundation types needed for different medical reasons.