Remember that time Youthforia, the fresh new makeup brand on “Shark Tank” that promised a more inclusive foundation range? Well, their attempt at inclusivity landed them straight in the makeup fail Hall of Fame. Black beauty influencers are fuming over Youthforia’s new dark shade, which looks more like black paint than a shade for melanin poppin’ queens.
The drama started last year when influencer Golloria George, with her 1.4 million strong TikTok following, spilled the tea on Youthforia’s initial “Date Night Skin Tint Serum” launch.
The brand boasted 15 shades, but George said they needed to be more to cater to a diverse range of skin tones. Fast forward to some serious backlash, and Youthforia decided to expand their shade range with a whopping ten new additions, including the darkest shade dubbed “600.” Here’s where things get messy.
George put Youthforia’s shade 600 to the test in a now-viral TikTok video. In a side-by-side comparison, she placed the foundation next to jet-black face paint on her cheek. Shockingly, the two looked nearly identical. Also, the second-darkest shade, number 590, was way too light for her complexion.
“When we say that we want you guys to make shades for us, we don’t mean to go to the lab and ask for minstrel show black,” George said in her video, referencing the racist theatrical practice of blackface. “What we mean is to take the browns that you have already made, add some depth, some undertones, and do what you need to do in the lab so it’s a darker shade of brown!”
This California-based brand faced similar criticism for its initial shade range last year. Youthforia CEO Fiona Co Chan apologized and aimed to create a “safe space” for celebrating all forms of beauty.
Following George’s video, beauty fans and creators across the internet express various opinions about the product. While OG beauty guru Jackie Aina expressed her disappointment with a simple “deep, heavy spiritual sigh” comment, others debated the brand’s intentions. Some defended Youthforia, claiming there are people with very deep skin tones or who use dark shades for contouring.
But George shut that down with another TikTok post.
“It’s biologically impossible to be PURE black. There is no pigment in this foundation other than pure BLACK oxide. This was not a mistake,” George said.
Adding fuel to the fire, Youthforia previously shared a video about their struggles to find someone to model their elusive shade 600. They claimed to have held an open casting call, but no one showed up within that shade range.
Their solution? Street casting two men and filming an impromptu photoshoot. While some praised their effort, many beauty fans still needed to be convinced that the foundation catered to deep skin tones.
As of now, Youthforia remains silent on the entire controversy.