As a young woman, there are times when I would primp and put a little more effort into my appearance. In my world, this calls for makeup. I love to watch YouTube videos to get ideas on different ways I can do my makeup for different occasions. I especially love when the beauty gurus focus on drugstore products because let’s be honest, that is all I can afford as a college student. It just sucks because when I go into Walgreens, Target and Walmart, I can’t seem to find anything that is quite right. It all makes me look like a ghost or like I didn’t take the right amount of time to blend, blend and blend some more. It is the most frustrating thing in the world when I see the experts using things like foundations, highlighters, and contour palettes but when it is time for me to go get mine in time for the party tonight, there is nothing because my skin is “too dark.”

Brands, this is not ok. It is mind boggling that deeper skin tones are not thought of more often. It should be a given that when shades are being created, brands should go to the end of the spectrum as far as skin tone is concerned. The first thing that comes up when I search for makeup for dark skin is Bobbi Brown. I don’t know about you but Bobbi Brown can get pretty pricey real fast. I need something that is less than $20. I know drugstore makeup brands are getting higher and higher in quality, so I should not have to drop $40 for a good foundation.

This is a call to action. All drugstore brands need to do better. I want to be able to chisel my cheekbones too. As beauty brands, it is your job to help young women like myself feel beautiful. Right now I feel as though you don’t care, and I never want to assume that. So I need you all to a better job at making me feel included. There is too much going on in the world right now that is trying to keep me out. I don’t want to have to worry about my makeup too.