Preview: Beauty Mavericks

17.06.2016 Beauty Futures Forum : Inclusive Beauty : Neutral Culture
LS:N Global case study Eleanor Barkes. Film and photography by James Maiki

Global – As an industry, beauty has taken small steps towards inclusivity in the past couple of years, but there are those who remain on the periphery of the mainstream.

  • In 2015, Marc Jacobs launched Re(marc)able, a new range of foundation with 22 shades, only three of which were for darker-skinned women
  • ‘It’s not a black and white issue,’ says Jihan Forbes, associate editor at Yahoo! Style. ‘Women of various races and ethnicities come in deep skin tones. They exist, have money and want to spend it on a proper foundation’

Introducing our latest tribe, the Beauty Mavericks, who have gone their own way, creating products and services to cater for when they have been ignored by the sector.

The Beauty Mavericks don't let the tunnel vision of the industry stop them from defining their own version of beauty. When Ofunne Amaka, 26, couldn't find the right shade of foundation at the drugstore, she created an app, Cocoa Swatches, for make-up colour swatches. Fashion student Patrick McDowell, 20, uses art supplies to create his graphic make-up looks because he feels uncomfortable with the feminine vision of beauty at most make-up counters. And Eleanor Barkes, 34, had to create her own products to cater for her natural hair texture in a landscape in which relaxers are still the norm.

The Big Picture

For more on why the industry needs to stop ignoring these Beauty Mavericks and others like them, see our latest tribe report.

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