While I might not be African American, I do have darker skin and so I do have some degree of understanding of the plight of makeup for darker skin colors and tones. Generally the biggest complaint I hear about and that I have personally is finding the right color. An interesting Huffington Post article from 2011 lists some concerning facts about the number of foundations that are for darker skinned ladies and let me tell you, it’s not good. However I will say that from my personal experience, things today are better than they were even 5 years ago so turn that frown upside down! Nowadays, there are many options to choose from!
Another complaint we here often is finding a foundation that truly matches and plays with the undertones in your skin. Some may have a blue undertone (seriously, you could) or your skin might have more of a pink undertone. If you can’t tell, it might be time to head to one of those fancy makeup counters and have a beauty expert evaluate your undertones. It will help tremendously when picking out a shade that will work for you!
Word of warning. There are still many mineral makeup brands available on the market that simply do not do a darker skin lady justice. Before tredging out to the stores, look the brand up online to get an idea of shades available. You’re not looking for a true match online but simply variety . If you’re seeing a brand that only provides a small number of choices, it might be likely that you won’t find your match. Darker skin ladies may be better off going with a brand that has the right variety.
And also beware – some brands just do not go dark enough. That is why I advise a quick search online – that way you are not wasting your time in the stores looking at brands that won’t work for you. Well, unless your goal is to harass the beauty experts in to explaining why their products don’t cater to ladies of your skin color and tone!
Last, there are some brands that design mineral makeup specifically for African American skin. If that peeks your interest and/or you’ve had luck with specialized brands in the past, you may want to look there first. Those that are producing a brand specifically for a type of skin, generally have researched, tested and targeted their products specifically for your skin and hence, that may end up working better for you. Some great examples are B.L.A.C. minerals, Valana Minerals and Sterling Minerals. If you are a woman of color and would like to provide a review on any of these products, please contact us!