Although many beauty brands have worked to extend their cosmetics shade ranges in the past decade, we’re still not where we should be. Unfortunately, beauty content creator, Golloria has found that some of the most popular brands on the market are still not catering to all complexions – particularly, those with deeper Black skin – and she recently proved this to ring true with Hailey Bieber’s brand, Rhode.
In early August of this year, Golloria shared a TikTok video reviewing the brand’s viral 2024 launch, the Pocket Blushes. In her video, she tried three shades: ‘Juice Box’, ‘Spicy Marg’ and ‘Toasted Teddy’ and although loved by many (including myself), Golloria found all three to leave an ashy grey tint on her skin.
“I feel like in 2024 if you’re going to drop anything ‘complexion’, it should be able to work for any skin tone and complexion.”
Now, this isn’t just a problem with Rhode but a number of other brands, too. In the past, Golloria has taken to social media to call out beauty industry giants Fenty Beauty, Estée Lauder and MAC, after finding that their ‘deepest’ cosmetics shades did not work for her.
As a caucasian woman myself, it’s easy to ignorantly appreciate these products that Golloria criticises – after all, they work for me. But this is where we’re going wrong; having such a privileged mentality contributes to the dismissal and lack of shade matching. Clearly, more listening and learning is to be done when it comes to utilising shade range and varying undertones because as Golloria so rightly puts it herself, if you’re going to drop a complexion product in 2024, it should be able to work for any skin tone and complexion.
Having said that, just short of a month on from Golloria’s initial video [September 1, 2024], the creator has taken to TikTok once again but this time, to praise Rhode. “This is why I ‘complain’,” Golloria says when applying what we’re assuming to be new Rhode Pocket Blush shades to her face.
“You see how beautifully flushed I am without looking ashy,” she continues. “Oh, and you thought we were done? This is another one.”
“This is why you advocate for yourself. You see what happens whenever you’re not complacent?” Golloria’s original video received over 11.1 million views and over one million likes, underpinning that when there’s an issue like an oversight in tones, one should never be complacent; every voice, including yours matters and can lead to change.
“And that’s what we call redemption,” Golloria says. “Hailey, thank you for reaching out and listening to me and treating me like a human. This is redemption.”
So, while there are still instances where brands miss the mark on inclusivity, Rhode and Hailey herself have demonstrated how a lack of shade range can be rectified. We’re all for handling constructive criticism with thought and grace!
Cosmopolitan UK has reached out to both Golloria and Rhode for comment but is yet to receive a response.
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