I’m a fellow makeup lover. I love the experience of toying around with different products, looking at different creations but ultimately I love the feeling of happiness and fun that it gives me. This same feeling is universal among the makeup community but this same joy is harder to come by for some makeup lovers. I was a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to the makeup game, but in the years since I started wearing makeup I’ve noticed a very upsetting realizations about the beauty industry.

There is a serious lack of inclusion when it comes to products for deeper skin tones.

When it comes to providing wide shade ranges in products such as foundation, concealer, face powder, and lip colors, to accommodate darker skin tones, makeup companies are seriously lacking.

People of color often have a tricky or difficult time finding shades that work for their skin tone, because most makeup lines include a very limited amount of shades often only included a small number for deeper skin tones. This reality leads to people of color having a very limited amount of options to choose from and simply having to “make it work.” This idea of settling for what you can get is harmful.

Drugstore shades are extremely limited when it comes to darker shades, personally, there are only two brands that have a somewhat good match for me. I know that it common for many people of color to buy two shades to mix together. This can become very costly when added up and isn’t always viable for everyone, not to mention it shouldn’t be necessary at all.

Although higher end makeup outlets supply makeup brands with wider foundation shades they come with a larger pricetag, which isn’t always an option for everyone. Even then, some higher end makeup brands still don’t offer a wide enough shade range, *cough* Tarte cosmetics *cough*.

This lack of representation in shade ranges is leaving out a large demographic of people. People of color make up 80 perent of sales going in the beauty industry, yet the vast majority of makeup companies don’t cater to people with darker skin tones.

This leaves the question, “Why aren’t makeup companies making shades for deeper skin tones?”

Although it has become standard for makeup companies to launch darker shades once they have been able to test the waters with a new product, the idea that people of color are an after thought is unacceptable.

There have been strides over the years, with brands such as Makeup Forever and Fenty releasing up to 40 different shades and showing that sales can be successful. Also, brands catered for people of color such as Juvia’s Palace have proven that to be true as well.

And, yet the status quo remains.

The lack of inclusion of deeper skin tones, signals a larger problem in our society that overlooks people of color, specifically darker skin tones. Small shade ranges aonly validate this sentiment further, thus pushing this message further.

Having a wider range of products would not only turn that idea on its head but also uplift a different message that deeper skin tones are beautiful and worthy of representation.