As we transition into fall, we’re naturally reflecting on the makeup and sweetness trends that defined summer 2024. While some dubbed it the “Brat Summer,” in the wonder world, it was unmistakably a “Blush Summer.”
The “sunset blush” trend, popularized by Alissa Holmes, set the tone at first of the season, quickly followed by the “boyfriend blush” and “blush smoothie” looks that dominated throughout. Daring and radiant cheeks were on the forefront of beauty trends, with every shade of pink, coral, and berry popping up on shelves and across social feeds.
Nevertheless, as this blush frenzy swept through the wonder landscape, a glaring issue remained: the dearth of true inclusivity for deeper skin tones. Beauty brands eagerly embraced the blush boom, launching latest products all summer long. Yet, it became inconceivable to disregard that almost all of those blushes shared one unlucky characteristic—they simply didn’t work on deeper complexions.
In June, we saw Rhode Skin’s pocket blushes, soon followed by Fenty Beauty’s Suede Powder Blush, each highly anticipated. But many consumers noticed a troubling trend: despite the variability of blush shades hitting the market, the choices for deeper skin tones remained limited and sometimes ineffective.
Celebrity makeup artist & groomer Lola Okanlawon shares this sentiment saying, “The struggle of recent blush launches to cater to deeper skin tones highlight a broader issue of inclusivity in beauty.”
Amidst the thrill and disappointment, one influencer’s voice stood out amongst the remainder—Golloria’s. A Sudanese-American beauty and lifestyle content creator with deep skin, Golloria has built a status for holding brands accountable. She uses her platform to have fun those with inclusive shade ranges while calling out brands that fail to fulfill the mark.
“Golloria’s approach is especially impactful because she is forthright and unapologetic in addressing the blatant disrespect a whole community faces,” says beauty educator, influencer and global pro artist Chloe Baltimore.
Because the summer progressed, Golloria’s candid reviews and advocacy for inclusivity resonated with many, shining a highlight on the necessity for real diversity in beauty offerings. Nevertheless, her outspokenness also attracted backlash, with some arguing that not every product must cater to deeper skin tones. The launch of YSL’s Make Me Blush 12HR Blurring Liquid Blush, particularly, ignited a storm in the wonder community, pushing Golloria to take a break from social media.
Reflecting on the situation, Baltimore notes, “What happened with Golloria is each disheartening and emblematic of a broader issue in the wonder industry. Brands often project a picture of inclusivity and social responsibility, but their actions incessantly fall short.” Baltimore emphasizes that Golloria’s experience highlights a troubling reality: Black women remain amongst essentially the most disrespected individuals and consumers in the wonder space. “This discrepancy reveals a prioritization of comfort and fragility over real, transformative change.”
The blushes launched this summerall had one thing in common: they were formulated with white bases that didn’t complement deeper skin tones. Baltimore explains, “I wish I could say I used to be surprised that brands are still missing the mark on inclusivity, but truthfully, I’m not.” She continues, “There’s an enormous difference between brands which might be performative—checking off a diversity box—and people genuinely making products for consumers with deeper complexions.”
Celebrity makeup artist and noted beauty expert Nydia Figueroa echoes an identical sentiment saying, “I feel very upset with what’s happening with brands continually missing the mark in the case of inclusivity.” Out of the six liquid blushes YSL launched, one shade, “Lavender Lust,” sparked particularly polarizing opinions. This pastel, cool-toned soft lilac blush has been criticized for its lack of inclusivity and impracticality for deeper skin tones. Actually, the shade didn’t even fare well on lighter skin tones.
Makeup artist and influencer Manny MUA took to TikTok and tested the blush on his fairer, self-proclaimed alabaster skin and noted that it faded away almost entirely as he blended it. So this begs the query of, who was this blush made for? Just a few days later, beauty creator Oceanne Comtois, who has albinism, applied the blush and it showed up beautifully on her skin—demonstrating that Lavender Lust only works on extremely fair complexions.
This example highlights that inclusivity doesn’t start and stop with deeper tones—it also means catering to the very fair-skinned. But transparency is essential. Influencers Darcei and Anay Kashe, together with Golloria, made it clear that while they don’t expect every product to work for them, they do expect brands to be transparent and honest of their marketing. That’s where quite a little bit of frustration is available in.
On YSL Beauty’s website, Lavender Lust is shown on a deeper-toned model, implying that it is going to work for darker skin tones. But real-life experiences have proven otherwise—this shade, for instance, only works on ultra-pale complexions like that of Oceanne Comtois. Moreover, YSL marketed this shade and your entire blush line as “universal.” Baltimore comments, “The word ‘universal’ is the true issue here. I’m not a fan of that term because, as a rule, it means the product was primarily made for non-POC consumers, with the hope it might work on deeper skin tones.”
She continues, “I don’t understand or support this concept that each product must work for everybody. All of us have different undertones, features, and preferences. And people differences needs to be celebrated—not muted by a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.” Figueroa adds to this by saying, “I see brands labeling products as ‘universal’ on a regular basis but that term is used so loosely because there isn’t any one color product that may work on all skin tones.”
Much more critical than transparency is ensuring that products are truly tested on a wide selection of complexions before they hit the market.
Okanlawon emphasizes, “Brands’ approaches to inclusivity should involve collaborating with a various testing pool that features makeup artists, influencers, and consumers with a spread of skin tones.” She adds, “It’s crucial for beauty brands to work with makeup artists—especially makeup artists of color—during each product development and marketing. This collaboration is essential to avoiding the controversies we’ve seen, particularly around problems with inclusivity and representation.”
In today’s world, where everyone has a voice through social media, brands can not launch products without expecting to be held accountable by their consumers. “This generation of beauty consumers is well-educated and knows exactly what they need. Before social media, we had to simply accept whatever was given to us with no platform to voice our concerns. Now, we’ve that voice, and individuals are uninterested in being ignored—so we’re using those platforms to talk out,” says Figueroa.
From product development to marketing, brands must understand: we’re being attentive, we’ve voices, and we are going to not tolerate performative inclusivity. The times of simply checking a diversity box are over. It’s time for beauty brands to really listen—or risk being called out by the very consumers they claim to serve.
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