Black women are pioneers in the world of beauty, and the makeup industry would be nothing without their innovation and history. We at dome BEAUTY believe it is important to recognize that our industry, just like countless others, are as successful and unique as they are because of Black people, despite the fact that this is often overlooked. 

Makeup Artist @jenlaprincesse         Model @@kaylabrownc      

Black people create so many of the trends that we see popular today, often ripped off and toned down with no credit given. That contour you think Kim Kardashian made so famous? Think again. You can thank Black makeup artists and drag queens for perfecting the technique and making it popular enough to enter the mainstream. Long acrylic nails? Black women were the first to do that, and now it’s what half of the clients entering a nail salon want. The dark outlined lip liner with clear gloss? Black women, once again. As you can see, so much of what’s “trending” in the beauty industry was pioneered by Black women, and unfortunately, this goes unknown.

Makeup Artist @jenlaprincesse 

This Black History month, dome BEAUTY wants to make our community aware of these things. To us, Black History month isn’t about free products or giveaways. It’s not about using the month as a marketing promo. All we want to do is make sure that as a community focused on solidarity, we give credit where it is due and help spread the message. 

Despite the Beauty Industry being seen as one of the more inclusive places to express oneself, the truth of the matter is that it isn’t always for Black artists. Makeup artists like Jackie Aina have been called racist terms by white influencers. Some of the most popular and influential makeup companies still don’t have inclusive shade ranges for their products. They make sure to contain a wide array of light shades and maybe four or five dark ones. There’s the whole issue with nude lipsticks being only “nude” for white people, because nude is different depending on someone’s skin tone. 

Sadly, the racism and exclusion in the beauty industry goes beyond makeup. Full lips and big pouts are all the rage now. But why is it that when black women, who are known for naturally having these features, people make fun of them? There is nothing wrong with lip fillers and wanting fuller lips. There is something systematically wrong, though, if the people who inspired this look were shamed in the past for naturally possessing it.

 

This erasure, racism, and lack of inclusion, our industry has a lot of work to do. At dome BEAUTY we are not proud of ourselves to recognize that we acknowledge these disparities, but instead hope that our community can as well. By working together to acknowledge the faults in the system, as well as finally give credit where it is due, we can foster change. Being inclusive in shade ranges, using diverse models, none of this should make a company stand out. It should be the norm. By working to make this the standard we can try to make the industry so many Black women have carried on their backs feel safe and inclusive. 

We hope that you all are more aware of the disparities between Black people in the beauty industry, and this Black History month you take time to recognize biases and flaws within yourself, but also within the brands you are supporting. It is not hard to be inclusive, and it shouldn’t be something out of the ordinary. This month we vow to push for solidarity and continue to spread awareness. Thank you to all the Black people in the beauty industry for helping shape our world as we see it. We vow to help the industry to better, not just this month, but always.

Here are two interesting reads you can check out if you want to further educate yourself on the subject: https://www.milkmakeup.com/how-women-of-color-shape-beauty-trends.html

https://time.com/5233414/black-women-american-style-beauty/