In the world of beauty, people of color have spoken out about equal representation in the industry, from broadening foundation shades to accurate nude nail polishes. Now the hot-button issue is the lack of showcasing how makeup will look on different skin tones. For anyone that’s ever taken a color theory class, you know about the bezold effect where colors look different when placed next to or on top of different colors. Makeup is no different. A deep purple lipstick may pop on fairer skin but look subtle on a darker skin tone.
Cue in Cocoa Swatches, a new app that aims to solve problems facing people of color when shopping for makeup. It started off as an Instagram page where beauty blogger Ofunneamaka posted images of herself and others swatching makeup to get an idea of how it would look on their skin. With beauty brands and other bloggers only showing how makeup looked on fairer skin tones, it left much to be desired for people who didn’t look like them. “It’s no secret that the beauty world has a problem with diversity. In addition to darker complexions being underrepresented in advertisements, they are also often ignored in product development,” Ofunne states. “It’s really infuriating when a new foundation or concealer comes out and there is only one dark shade meant to encompass all dark complexions.”
Now that the app has launched it features tutorials, user-submitted swatches and product reviews. It is available for iPhone and Android users so everyone can enjoy the inclusionary app.
