The Problem with Tarte Cosmetics
The Problem with Tarte
Let’s talk about Tarte. Unless you’re a true beauty enthusiast, you may not be aware of the recent drama surrounding the cosmetics brand Tarte Cosmetics. Tarte is a company that sells relatively high end makeup that is typically sold in Ulta, Sephora and on its own website. It’s a highly regarded brand, and they have been around for awhile. About a year and a half ago, Tarte released a line of concealers called “Tape Shape”, which ultimately transcended into the top selling concealer of all time. In short, the concealer is supposedly fantastic. I’ve never used it, so I don’t know. But people of all ethnicities and diverse skin tones rave about this concealer. So imagine the excitement when Tarte announced that they were releasing the new “Tape Shape” skin foundation. Folks were about to lose their mind, they were so excited. But then Tarte made the mistake of posting a picture of the shade range of the foundation. Take a look below. And notice the color names. They correspond from lightest to darkest.
pic courtesy of Pop Sugar
Fair
Fair Neutral
Fair Beige
Light
Light Sand
Light Neutral
Light Medium Honey
Light Medium
Medium
Tan
Tan Sand
Deep
Rich Mahogany
The internet went nuts and rightfully so. They dragged Tarte from here to kingdom come because of the limited shades for darker skin tones. Yes, you can say that the release of Fenty Beauty and their initial release of 40 shades of foundation raised the bar and people’s expectations. But let’s be real. I don’t expect every company to release extensive shade offerings initially for every product launch. So I will go on record saying that I have zero issues with this brand only releasing 15 shades during the product’s first release. Plenty of brands regularly expand their shade range after the product’s initial launch. However, the initial shade range should be balanced. At least five of those shades should have been deep shades, not two and a possible. Instead, Tarte decided to go over and beyond and release 50 shades of beige with varying undertones, while WOC or women with deeper skin tones got a measly two shades with the same red undertones. And if you were blessed with truly medium toned skin, then you were completely out of luck, because there was nothing for you honey. Sorry.
After the numerous Twitter and IG mentions, Tarte finally released a statement through Pop Sugar saying that they already had planned to release 10 additional shades later, because people tan and tend to be darker in the summer months. Okay girl. We believe you. (Side eye) As a woman of color, I’m use to this, so I raised no immediate eyebrow when I first saw the shade range. This is the story of our life. But I am glad that tons of beauty vloggers of all ethnicities had the courage to use their platforms to call them out about it. One beauty vlogger even took down her YouTube video reviewing the product. These are the types of actions that will illicit change. Because best believe, brands are going to think three times before they decide to release complexion products that don’t have a diverse shade range again. Folks are no longer having it. And I honestly think that a lot of people have begun to open their eyes to the struggles of POC in everyday life. Racism isn’t just about being discriminated against on the job or in a place of business. Black women can’t find simple complexion products that suit their skin to make them feel good about themselves, because some brands treat us like we’re invisible. That’s a privilege that non WOC don’t even realize they have. And it doesn’t stop there. How hard is it to find nude shoes or a nude bra that is actually nude on our skin tone? The list is long.
And let me say this about Tarte. I wasn’t surprised at the 50 shades of beige because their entire brand is 50 shades of beige. Most of the makeup they sell is beige friendly and simply not very flattering on women with deep skin tones. I challenge you to go to their IG page and find a person of color. It’s like playing Where’s Waldo? There is not one woman or man featured that can even wear their 2nd deepest foundation shade, let alone their deepest shade. In 2018, how is that even possible? Black women may only represent about 14% of the female population, but we spend about 80% more than non-blacks on cosmetics and about 100% more on skincare. So even from a sheer business standpoint, it makes no sense to ignore the Black female consumer. So why would any beauty brand be so whitewashed when we have all long been informed that Black women tremendously over index every other consumer base in the cosmetic industry? Tarte, I’m not saying you’re a racist brand, but you clearly don’t check for WOC. So you’re a problem brand. Nevertheless, Black women are not bothered and we will spend our massive beauty industry dollars on brands that are inclusive. Black women are invisible to Tarte, so we will treat Tarte like they don’t even exist. Tarte can keep doing what they are doing because we don’t check for folks who don’t check for us anyway. Never that. Never Tarte.