Did you know black women spend about 80% more on beauty products and twice as much on skincare than non-Black consumers? Despite a large amount of money spent in the cosmetics industry, women of color are still often underserved, and that has only begun to change partly due to the social media era we are currently in. We can all remember the launch of Rianna’s Fenty beauty line where she launched 40 shades of foundation across a range of skin tones, making it one of the most diverse beauty brands in history, which proved that darker shades of make-up are 100% marketable and in demand.
Now, beauty brands we wouldn’t have thought possible make and, are making the step to invest in expanding their products for a wider range of variety and colors. A lot of brands are also launching an extended range of foundation but the question is: are brands doing the outreach and initiatives? It’s not only presenting a woman of color for that particular launch or campaign but the stock has to be present and people at the counter need to learn the skills including shade matching, finding the right formulas for skin types, and working with who is actually in front of you.
Hello YouTube. Since 2013, the average daily views of beauty videos have increased, and in 2018 there were reportedly more than a million daily views of beauty videos where black women such as YouTube hit Jackie Aina, and Patricia Bright, to name a few, inspire and give that bit of extra confidence to women of color discussing inclusion and diversity.
The growth in the number of tutorial videos available has created a generation of make-up users who are confident and experimental with make-up. Women have embraced new products, and are confident bringing them into their daily looks but customers still value going to the shops and trying out new products for themselves.
Moving forward to a more inclusive world I would really love to see more women of color in beauty product collaborations, and more representation regarding trips and branding opportunities.
That said, I am looking forward to working with and supporting black-owned beauty brands in the very near future. We’ve got this! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Amanda Rijff