Has Milk Makeup Made the Same Mistake as Bare Minerals By Excluding Dark Skin Tones?

Women of color are asking why they’re not represented in Milk Makeup’s new line of skin tints. (Photo: Getty Images)

We’re noticing a disappointing trend in the makeup industry when it comes to skin-color inclusiveness. Earlier this month, bareMinerals was accused of excluding dark shades from its new 16-foundation Complexion Rescue line, as Yahoo Beauty reported. Now, cosmetics company Milk Makeup seems to be guilty of the same offense.

In a photo posted to its Instagram account, three arms reveal swatches of the eight skin tones offered by the company’s Sunshine Skin Tint line.

Only one or two shades seem dark enough for women of color. It didn’t go unnoticed by the brand’s 47K-plus followers. “Let’s make those DARK SHADES for the women of color that already have been neglected time and time again!” proclaimed @angeneris. “There are dark skinned men/women in this world…” said @confusedbrowngirl, while @vaxeen added, “You need at least three darker and two lighter shades.

While it’s unclear why Milk Makeup chose to stop at eight shades — there are obviously more on the skin-color spectrum — other brands include a wider array of options in their foundation lines. Lancome, for instance, has a tool called Foundation Finder, which helps identify your ideal shade. The majority of its foundations — including the Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick and Rénergie Lift Makeup Foundation — come in 20 shades.

MAC Cosmetics offers so many shades in its foundation lines — including tones like warm, neutral, and cool — that shopping for the right shade can be baffling (in a good way). And Make Up For Ever includes an impressive 47 colors in its Ultra HD foundation line, including five or six tones that would match the various skin shades of black women.

IMAN Cosmetics, by former supermodel Iman, lives up to its tagline, “Beauty for Your Skin Tone,” with 16 foundation shades for “African American, Asian, Latina and multi-cultural women,” plus a handy Color Signature app that helps you figure out which color is right for you.

While Milk Cosmetics has not addressed the controversy, according to the brand’s website, it has “long-lasting shades from bold to bare, whatever your look, we’re into it. At Milk Makeup, there are no rules.” It looks like Milk’s customers think having a few rules wouldn’t hurt after all.

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