Complexion Perfection

with a lot of lines on the market, no matter how wide their ranges, the undertones always seemed a little bit off for my skin.” Her foundation woes even occurred when she’d shop from Japanese or Korean beauty brands, which are purportedly made for Asian women. During her own product development process, Shih would come to learn why: It’s because of colourism and the fixation with complexion correction within the Asian community. “I learned that these beauty brands are really big on correcting,” she explains. “Women want to look pink—they want to look porcelain. They want to eradicate the yellow undertones in their skin. I’m someone who, in the Asian world, is considered dark. So, at the end of the day, none of these foundations matched. Skin tone is a very sensitive topic for the Asian community. We’ve been taught that fair is beautiful.”

“The wrong undertones make you look like you have a mask on,” chimes in Rea Ann Silva, founder of Beautyblender, the beloved egg-shaped pink beauty sponge. “Rihanna did a fantastic job of really bringing attention to the shade range issue that we all knew existed.”

A veteran celebrity makeup artist, Silva has keyed the makeup for many iconic ’90s Black-lead films and TV shows, like Set It Off (think Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith) and Moesha (hello, Brandy), and therefore is no stranger to the frustrating lack of foundation offerings over the years. “In my career, I became known for working with people of colour, and I started to realize just how limited the cosmetics companies had been with their shade ranges,” she says. This pushed her to get creative on-set, mixing foundations with other makeup, like lipsticks, blushes and concealers, to get the colour she needed for her clients. These scenarios, coupled with her own makeup experiences as a Latina woman, would propel Silva to launch Beautyblender’s first-ever makeup product in 2018: Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation, available in a broad 40 shades.

The conversation around acing skin tones doesn’t just stop at undertones, though. Importance also needs to be placed on testing efforts. “Overall, there’s a lack of thought and research in terms of skin tones,” declares Shih. Her first factory visit for Orcé is proof. “When I was developing my shade range, the manufacturer I started with gave me a Pantone skin colour book and said, ‘Just pick however many shades you want from this book and we’ll make them for you,’” she recalls of the meeting, which left her dumbfounded. “My customers are not pages of a book. They’re real people. Why am I picking from this to create foundation shades? At that moment, I knew we were not the right partners.”

Thorough testing is something Boehmer knows well, having put Shiseido’s foundation to serious work before officially launching it. The makeup pro and his team took sample shades to every possible industry gig, from photo shoots to fashion weeks. He also tested them on various colleagues. “Foundation is a mindset,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to do better in the arena.” n

Discover some indie and mainstream makeup brands acing the diversity department with accurate skin tone matches.

NICHE PLAYERS

This oil- and fragrance-free formula is suitable for breakout-prone and sensitive skin. Orcé Cosmetics Come Closer Skin Perfecting Foundation, $119

This Black-woman-owned makeup brand caters to women of colour with dark skin tones. Black Opal True Colour Pore Perfecting Liquid Foundation, $18

ROBUST RANGES

This sweat- and oil-resistant complexion enhancer was formulated to last for 24 hours. Shiseido Synchro Skin SelfRefreshing Foundation, $62

The packaging here is worth noting: The concave front of the bottle acts like a mini mixing tray. Beautyblender Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation, $54

Makeup icon Charlotte Tilbury tested her 44-shade foundation collection on over 600 faces. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation, $53

Famously launched in 40 shades, Rihanna’s coveted foundation now comes in a whopping 50. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, $45