Apparently, Black Women Are Making a Mistake Not Wearing Makeup

From my Timmy's Ice Capp drinking homegirl at Womanist Musings who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavored chips.

I don't know about you, but I am not particularly happy about men deciding what I should look like.  Sam Fine is a makeup artist and Fashion Fair Creative Makeup Director. He recently did an interview with Fashion Bomb Daily.  Fashion Fair's makeup is specifically targeted to WOC, which means that it is one of the few lines where you don't have to struggle to find a product that matches your skin tone. Considering that many makeup companies are hard pressed to cater to our needs, Fashion Fair is important. I do however reject the idea that I must wear makeup to be beautiful.

“I think the biggest beauty mistake is really not wearing makeup.”

I know that it is his job to sell this product, but seriously, who does this man think he is? With his explanation, he only manages to put his foot, even deeper down his throat.

“I think the biggest beauty mistake is not understanding how to enhance your beauty,” Sam added. “And I think a lot of [women of color] are scared that makeup is going to make [them] look fake, ‘It’s not gonna look like me, they’re not going to have my color.’ I think that they just tend to step away from the category when a brand like Fashion Fair, is releasing a liquid foundation in July to add to the range of colors. Nineteen shades! There will be 17 shades in liquid! And if you look at that, that’s not a range that’s broken up for general market vs. African Americans. So you really are getting a wealth of coverage options and colors. I think the biggest mistake is not participating in the game at all.”

 Silly women, with all of these choices, how dare you walk around with no makeup on your face.  Just look at what Fashion Fair has done for you.  How dare you be so ungrateful.  It's not really about your comfort level.  Don't you know that as a woman, it's your job to be beautifully made up everyday.  That's right ladies, fake it until you believe it.  Look how generous he is,  he's not even asking that you wear a lot of makeup.

“Pressed powder, mascara, and lip gloss, because I think those things aren’t intimidating,” he said. “Once you get past the shade of powder, I think that becomes easy to apply. But if I had to go two steps further, I always start out with some kind of a coverage product. A concealer, or a foundation that you can use as a concealer. Underneath the eyes is the thinnest area of skin, so you really want to make sure that any redness or discoloration can be covered.  Also powder. Powder’s going to set the foundation or the concealer so it can stay on longer. I always say powder is to foundation what topcoat is to nail polish. It really holds it in place and keeps it from rubbing off and settling in fine lines.”

With the application of these products, you can be fit to leave the house.   No one wants to see your make up free face. As a woman, beauty is your job and you are shirking your responsibilities by avoiding it and not supporting Black business.   

Yeah, I am simply not impressed by this shit at all.  Fashion Fair is great, but it's also damn expensive compared to drug store brands.  Make up as a requirement means women who already earn less than men have yet another unnecessary expense.  Please keep in mind that on average, Black women earn less than White women.  We are in the lucky position of negotiating both a gender and race based income gap. As women, we already pay more to get our hair done and more for clothing.  How far does this man think a dollar stretches? When phrased as Sam Fine did, makeup becomes a female tax.  Black women already spend a ton of money on hair due to a Eurocentric beauty ideal, and the idea of then being pressured by a man to conform more is beyond distasteful.  A WOC could spend her entire paycheck on makeup, but as long as we live in a White supremacist world, we are always going to be seen as unwomen.

Makeup should be a choice for all women, not something we need to wear to be acceptable to appear in public.  It is worth noting that men have no such requirements on their appearance. I am thankful that Fashion Fair exists, but I refuse to feel duty bound to purchase or utilize their products based in my race and gender.  As far as I am concerned, Sam Fine can have a big cup of shut the fuck up.