According to the cosmetic giant’s general manager Desiree Reid, “Asian, Latina or African women may have uneven lip color or pigmentation issues where a lipstick or foundation can appear as two different colours when applied." And are therefore seeking out a similar type of product, exclusive of the shade, that can even tone and distribute evenly for example.
Cosmetics Design caught up with the GM after her presentation at Beyond Beauty in Paris this week, whose talk involved educating global industry professionals on recognizing the needs of multicultural customers.
According to Reid, the brand was the first to launch six shades of the phenomena that is the BB cream, to include SPF and lightening elements. A range she stresses was developed based on international consumer feedback.
Earth, Sand and Clay ranges for every ethnic group
Established by Iman in 1994, the former supermodel says the brand was initially developed as she: "could never find exactly what I needed for my own make-up" and noted that prior to the company's launch women with skin of colour were considered an "invisible" consumer group.
Since then the range has evolved, with the help of global consumer feedback and blogger reviews to include make up in 20 shades, cleansers and toners, moisturizers and lipsticks - all of which are formulated and marketed exclusively for women with "skin of colour".
Furthermore; within a range dedicated to each of the ethnic groups, Reid says the brand found there is also subgroups of skin tones and shades which require variations of products that drove the brand to create earth, sand and clay shades and tones within each of them.
"We have three basic shade ranges: "Sand" for Olive Skin, "Clay" for Dark Olive to Light Brown Skin and "Earth" for Medium to Ebony Brown skin," she explains. "We have in this instance also created 'Find Your Shade' tools for consumers to find which foundations and powders work best for their skin tone."