Online backlash over Blackface-like foundation shade forces makeup brand to disable social media comments following influencer’s video

A makeup brand is being forced to take extreme steps to silence backlash online after being called out when an attempt to expand its range of foundation shades crossed the road into racism.

Youthforia, which describes itself as a “universal” clean and sustainable makeup company that believes makeup needs to be an extension of skincare, was founded by Fiona Co Chan.

Chan launched the brand in 2021 and it quickly became a viral sensation, with the color-changing pink taking over TikTok and Chan securing a $400,000 deal from Mark Cuban on the positioning Shark Tank. Unfortunately, all that good publicity got here to a halt when the influencer realized the brand was struggling within the inclusion department.

Impact on beauty Golloria George is understood for reviewing makeup for darker skin tones on TikTok. She’s a deeper-skinned girl herself, and plenty of people trust her expertise when it comes to cosmetics and skincare recommendations. On September 27, 2023 she reviewed the Youthforia “Date Night Skin Tint Serum”.

The darkest shade (on the time) that she assumed would suit her was 495 Deep – neutral with cool tones. Although the shade looked like a match on the corporate’s website, once the product arrived, Golloria wasn’t even able to match it. It was actually a number of shades lighter than advertised.

“It’s the darkest shade. Is the supposed shadow here, in the room, with us? This happens all the time because considering tone isn’t something that beauty companies worry about. They don’t care,” said a really irritated content creator.

Several people within the comments were amazed at the colour difference between what the brand advertised on its website and what Golloria saw in her video.

“It doesn’t even look like the color on the box, what the heck,” wrote one commenter.

Another asked: “Did they send the wrong product?”

“It’s not fair that they advertise like that… it’s a lie. They need a True Tone shade and a free shade because they advertised badly,” wrote a concerned observer.

At that point, Youthforia foundations only offered 15 shades. Now in 2024, the corporate has a whopping 25 shades, thanks to the addition of 10 latest shades in March. After hearing the excellent news, Golloria decided to check out her newest dark option – 600 Deep Neutral.

According to Golloria, this shade is definitely worse than before. Instead of being too light, it actually resembles black face paint. In fact, compared to black face paint, it may very well be darker.

She checked out the black face paint on one side of her face and the Youthforia foundation on the opposite side, which provided a visible representation for her followers.

He asks, “Which side of my face is the black face paint or the Youthforia foundation? Tea. You can’t tell. Tar in a bottle.

He then goes on to show that there is no obvious difference between Youthforia and the face paint that can be used for blackheads. Beginning in the 19th century, white performers painted their faces black to imitate enslaved Africans in minstrel shows. Blackface degraded and dehumanized African Americans.

“When we say we want you to make shades for us, we don’t mean going to a lab and asking for a black minstrel show,” he adds. “What we mean is you take the browns you’ve made, you create the shades, and you do whatever you need to do in the lab to get a darker shade of brown.”

Since George’s video, social media users have noticed that this is not the primary time Youthforia has received lots of attention due to its lack of diversity.

“Youthforia has already been called out about their range, but the founder thought it was funny and tried to be funny by offering a black shade” said considered one of X’s users.

Others claim that Youthforia intentionally released this color to slap those that had previously criticized the brand.

“Youthforia releasing a foundation that doesn’t suit any human skin tone because they didn’t bother to develop a more comprehensive range of shades is the most embarrassing thing I’ve come across on the internet today, insulting an entire sector of customer potential,” replied one other X user.

Youthforia has not issued a public comment for the reason that backlash. Instead, the brand turned off comments on all social media, and the founder left a message in her Instagram bio saying she was to Dubai for a number of months. As for Golloria, the sweetness content creator continues to share recommendations for the very best foundation and makeup products for dark skin tones.