Inclusivity in the World of Beauty
Inclusivity in the World of Beauty
By: Agoo Azcuna-Bengzon
LOOK Ph is home to 8 cosmetic brands that are breaking beauty barriers and celebrating individuality.
When it comes to sheer, tinted moisturizers, few can be as well-loved and widely known as Laura Mercier’s, and because the brand recognizes diversity, and the need to cater to a multitude of skin tones, the number of shades has now increased to 20 (from an original number of 15). Beauty aficionados will be happy to know that there is now more definition between warm, cool and neutral undertones.
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector, P2595
NARS has, from the very beginning, always made an effort to be inclusive. NARS Cosmetics founder Francois Nars has always said that he believed foundation should be for everyone, and he was one of the first to feature Naomi Campbell and Alex Wek in his ads. Today, NARS continues to champion diversity with an impressive 35 shades. Their iconic Orgasm blush? It now comes in 32 glorious varieties.
Benefit Cosmetics
Benefit made waves when it highlighted a brilliant woman with Down syndrome to celebrate its new Roller Lash eyeliner in 2019.
Kate Grant took the modeling world by storm while encouraging other women with disabilities to follow their dreams. The 22-year-old model born with Down syndrome continued to serve as an inspiration for many today. That move by Benefit marked a serious step toward inclusivity which aimed to include women of different abilities.
Benefit Cosmetics Roller Liner Black Matte Liquid Eyeliner Mini, P800.
Make Up For Ever has always made it a point to create genderless makeup made to fit everyone's beauty needs. Many of its groundbreaking campaigns feature stunning imagery of the LGBTQ community and more to showcase diversity at its best.
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Loose Powder Sparkle Limited Edition #01 Translucent, P2,250.
Glossier launched its Body Hero line late in 2017, and it was a most-talked about campaign which showcased women of all shapes and sizes via plus-sized models and even a pregnant Olympian to prove that their products are for every single person out there because, after all, products don’t care about anyone’s shape and size. Today, Glossier continues to use models of different ethnicities, and even goes as far as featuring makeup products worn by those with different skin tones and features so that you can imagine what the product will look like on you, depending on your particular skin tone.
L’Oréal Paris’ campaign for its True Match foundation in August of 2020 targeted men for a change. Their pick for this monumental campaign? Male blogger and makeup artist Gary Thompson, aka ‘The Plastic Boy’, as one of its brand ambassadors. L’Oréal recognized the upward trend in more and more men wearing makeup, and decided to reflect that in their ads. The brand’s UK general manager Adrien Koskas says, “The power of the campaign has been phenomenal and helped True Match to become the best-selling foundation for at least five months.” The campaign has laid the groundwork for more beauty companies to follow suit. Finally, one can look at a foundation ad, and be able to relate to it—no matter what gender they were born with.
L’Oréal Paris True Match Foundation in N7 Nude Amber, P899.
Milk
The brand collaborated with a men’s beauty authority site, Very Good Light to come up with, “Blur the Lines,” a campaign which touched on gender fluidity, and self-expression through makeup. Milk Makeup Creative Director Georgie Greville shares, “My main objective in my work is to create unity and equality by representing the spectrum of self-expression," She says the name, “Blur the Lines" comes both from literally blurring the lines of rigid gender expectations, and from Milk Makeup's Blur Stick which targets pores, and provides a literal blurring effect. It’s an incredible pore and line blurring product that works for any gender or skin tone—it truly is the universal face filter.”
Milk Makeup Highlighter in Lit, P1900
Shiseido believes that beauty knows no race, gender, and age. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or how much wealth you’re sitting on, their campaign slogan “Beauty lies within, and every time we bring it to light, we make the world a little brighter” is making waves in the beauty industry. Its latest campaign features its Global Ambassador since 2020, actress Hunter Schaefer who has been open about being transgender from the very beginning of her career which began as a ramp model. In the ad, Hunter can be seen alongside women of different ages and ethnicities, and a man as well.
Shiseido Bio Performance Glow Revival Serum, P5,300.
