I stay ranting, friends.
I do.
Truthfully, I haven’t been in a fluffy “OMG, let’s talk about makeup even though there’s been serious craziness happening in the world.” kind of mood. Who cares about makeup?
But I mean, if I can rant AND talk about makeup, I suppose I can make this work.
Listen.
It’s a freaking shame how hard it is trying to find suitable drugstore foundations for dark skin. Why? It’s 2017! We’ve got cylindrical devices that can tell us the time just by asking it. Drones can be purchased on Amazon! But y’all can’t give dark skinned folx like me MORE options at affordable prices? It’s ridiculous. It’s unfair. It’s annoying.
Do better, brands.
Most brands don’t even care. Most barely go past Tan and if they do, it’s by one shade. Some brands try and fail. And then you’ve got a handful of brands that give us a few goodies. I’ve highlighted 20 of my favorite foundations for darker skin but most of them can’t be purchased at drugstores. Let’s talk about the decent ones that can be scooped up at drugstores.
- Black Opal True Stick Foundation ($9.95, here) – I can’t say enough of this one. It is one of my favorite drugstore foundations. I haven’t owned it in a few years but they STILL have so many shades for darker skin.
- IMAN Cosmetics Second to None Liquid Makeup ($16, here) – But you knew this, right? It’s pricey for a drugstore makeup but it WINS in terms of shades that they’ve got. However, it’s hard finding this in most drugstores. I’ve only spotted this at a few Target stores in my neck of the woods.
- NYX Stay Flat But Not Flat Liquid Foundation ($7.50, here) – I’m lucky enough to have NYX Cosmetics in a few of the drugstores near me and while they may not have all THIRY of the shades, this foundation has, it’s nice to know you can at least get a decent foundation for darker skin at $7.50.
- Black Radiance True Complexion BB Cream ($4.99, here) is only 5 bucks. FIVE DOLLARS! It’s hard trying to find any foundation with a price that good and this bad boy happens to have one for me? YES! I’m still on the BB cream team. I’m not the only one, am I?
- Shea Moisture CC Cream ($15.99, here) – This CC cream was love at first swatch and while it only comes in 5 shades, they are five DARK shades.
See! I’m looking out for you. I’m the first to admit that 5 foundations isn’t enough – especially since so many of these are iffy depending on where you live. If you can’t catch them in your area, they’re all available online.
But still…it’s frustrating, right? There should absolutely be more options. *sigh*
Oh! And if you think looking for a foundation for darker skin is tricky, concealer is even MORE tricky. I’ve already got you covered with this post of both drugstore and higher-end concealers.
We should really start holding brands more accountable for their lack of darker shades. Tweet them! Email them. Call their offices! There are so many ways to show off our frustration. And you ain’t got to be dark skinned to do it.
In the meantime, check out some of the other foundations my fellow Makeup Wars sisters are using and loving…
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Preach.
I couldn’t agree more! I think that it is ridiculous that drugstore, and so many department store brands fail miserably in creating a wide range of shades from the lightest to the darkest shades!
It’s insane.
I noticed too, while shopping for the foundation post, that even the brands that do have a decent range only sent the stores lighter shades for a new display. I mean the shades were LIGHT. I’m light, sometimes even fair (depending) and the darkest shade the store was sent barely matched me! $$$ wise it doesn’t make sense for brands to not cater to EVERYONE.
Right? I mean, doesn’t it make sense? The more people you cater to, the MORE MONEY YOU CAN MAKE.
I don’t wear foundation. Yes, I’m a makeup lover. No, don’t shoot me or judge me. But I feel the same way about eyeshadow palettes. As an NC50 brown beauty, I’ve decided that I’m only buying shadow from brands that dare to formulate shadows with enough pigment to show up on my skin tone. I think MUFE & UD do a pretty good job. And even though I still consider myself a MAC girl, their formulas can be so hit or miss. I purchased a palette from Juvia’s Place last year, and lemme just say, GAME CHANGER! And I get it, they’ve had horrible reviews with customer service, S&H, PR, marketing, and what not. I was crossing everything that could be crossed when I ordered from them & was pleasantly surprised when I received my palette without a hitch. Would love to see a review on brands with eyeshadow singles/palettes created with brown skin beauties in mind.
Thank you SO much for your suggestions. I’ve never heard of Juvia’s Place but thanks so much for letting me know about them.
Be prepared to find mixed reviews on customer experience. They got such a bad rap last year, and deservedly so, that I think they completely revamped how they respond to their customers. But their shade quality is UNPARALLELED! And formulated with brown skin beauties in mind.
Uh oh. Thanks for the head’s up!
Have you tried the new Nyx Total Cover Drops? I think they’re available in 24 shades 🙂 You’re entirely right (and I touch on this in my blog post), very few drugstore brands are recognizing all global shades of beauty. Very few acknowledge deeper skintones. 20 shades of beige doesn’t cut it!
I haven’t tried their drops but I’ll check them out and LOL!! 20 shades of beige makes me giggle.
I totally agree. Brands are sadly lacking for darker skin and there is no excuse!
It’s ridiculous this is such an issue still. RIDICULOUS
I knowwww!!
I absolutely agree and this is why I appreciate the black owned brands who cater to our skin type.
You and me both!
As far as I’m concerned, the issue isn’t only the brands (which may or may not be making the shades, which OBVIOUSLY have a market, so why not?), but also the stores which might purchase only a small (white) fraction of the product shades. Even in much more diverse areas. I’m glad to see that the problem is getting more attention, but wish the attention was resulting in more change 🙁
Yes, definitely the stores too! I didn’t even think about this.