Buying a foundation when you’re not white is a very difficult and frustrating experience. As a student, I can’t always splash out on more expensive brands that offer matching services so have to rely on local drugstore brands such as Loreal, Rimmel and Maybeline. It is almost humorous how the majority of shades are so much lighter than my skin- and I’m mixed race. Black people stand no near to no chance finding a foundation, concealer or even a contour shade sold by the drugstores or even many of the high end beauty retailers. 

However, since the release of Fenty Beauty, which featured 40 shades of foundation on its first release, it is like brands have finally realised people of colour exist. Only a week or so after Fenty was released, Mac were bringing out adverts with many black models as if they had always been so celebratory of all shades. Fenty definitely must be applauded for planning and releasing a full spectrum of shades in one go, as is seen on their advertising it is inclusive of models from all ethnicities, sizes and looks.

Why is it that so many brands get away with ignoring such a large part of society? Such a large part of the makeup economy? Inclusivity must pay off as Fenty had huge success with most shades selling out online and in stores. Any public uproar on the lack of diversity in makeup is responded to with a promise that they will release more shades as soon as possible.  Twitter, Instagram and Facebook seem to be the only way that this type of injustice is recognised even though many brands happily display their 30 shades of white/porcelain/snow/powder in shop windows and advertisements (as can be seen in the Yves St Laurent foundation shades which feature 12 white shades with 2 designed with darker skinned people in mind.

There is also the slightly less obvious ignorance in the makeup industry where shades of products such as lipstick are designed purely and solely for lighter skinned people. Recent backlashes include disgust over the Kim Kardashian Beauty's choice of model to represent the 'deep dark' product, a model who is no where near a 'deep dark' skin tone. Kim was accused of legitimising and replicating colourism by completely cutting out dark skin women. However, the product still sold out and Kim Kardashian Beauty made $14 million in 5 minutes. So why would KKB ever decide to appeal to all tones when they're making profits of that size?

Personally, I will be making sure that I support inclusive brands that remember that black people wear makeup too and you should as well!  This is 2017 and the makeup industries ignorance should no longer be tolerated.

What do you think?

Since starting on my Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Nottingham Trent, our first focus has been on colour. This topic, at first glance, seemed limited to just the obvious colour connotations, however from our lectures and seminars I now can see how colour is an almost never-ending topic.

One particular shade can be traced back through history, the variations having complete different meanings and evoking different emotions.

This can be seen particularly in red, it is a colour which is very interesting to analyse due to cultural and generational differences.­

In western society, red is seen as sensual and passionate which can be traced back to Medieval England, red tights on a male in the era aimed to highlight his body, representing his sexuality. This meant red was almost seen as promiscuous.

Fast-forward to modern day and this association of red is still tied to love and lust, brands still use red to bring out sexuality in garments. Valentino is a designer strongly associated with red, a passion that began when he had witnessed the drama of female opera characters that often dressed in long red dresses. Therefore, he uses red to represent the passion that he witnessed in the Spanish Opera, using the dark toned red to bring out the drama of his dresses further.

These connotations are very different in Asian Cultures, red represents good luck, joy, celebration and general happiness. This makes red a popular colour for a wedding dress or special occasions. 

­­­­­

Red also can be viewed ­negatively; during the rise of communism wearing red would have had you labelled as a communist synthesiser. The colour alone would evoke fear in some who feared the regimes and pride for those who supported it. Red would be used very differently in print adverts today as red no longer automatically links the viewer to communism.

This autumn/winter, one of the new seasons biggest trends is the colour red. On tops, dresses and jumpers it is being seen across stores on clothes of all occasions. Dresses, jumpers, trousers and accessories are all seen in a myriad of red shades, from orange tones to deeper purple tones, there is a red to suit everyone.

Although just a colour, red has the power to change emotions with its use. I see it as especially popular this season due to its easy change from a brighter summer red to a deeper and more wintery red. I am excited to take a look at the history and impact of other colours throughout my course.

What's your opinion on red for autumn/winter 2017?