A reader, Nitya, brought this subject up in the comments section, and I have to admit, it isn’t something I’d paid any attention to until now, despite consistently trying to push for more shade varieties that include women of colour. But now she’s said it, it’s been bothering me. And, it’s the fact that beauty brands are still using the term Shade Natural to descripe light coloured foundation. Clearly, it is only ‘natural’ for one section of society and as we are a global multi-cultural community, it’s completely inappropriate. Nitya commented, “naming any shade ‘Natural’ does a disservice to both fairer and darker women, who should not have to feel there is something unnatural about their skin colour.”
When I did my research on this, looking at brands that still use the term ‘natural’ to denote a fair skin tone, I could only come up with Max Factor and Boots 17 Photo Finish, although Maybelline use the term Natural Beige, as do some other brands with terms such as Natural Rose. Clinique have used ‘neutral’, which is inoffensive, and many brands, such as YSL Youth Liberator, and of course, MAC, use a number system.
When I looked at shade names, such as linen and caramel, they are descriptive of the colour, which is what you need in a foundation (easier to remember than numbers, as well) even if they are a little clichéd, but natural needs to go.
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16 comments
Amen to this! I too never made the connection to ‘Natural’ and the connotation it has!
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I had that 17 Photo Finish in Natural and believe me, the colour of it is anything but natural!!!!!
I’ve never really noticed that with foundation but no thats it’s been pointed out it makes no sense. I have however been irritated by the naming that m&s does for their tights (I think one of them has natural in the name somewhere) just because I can never figure out what colour they’re actually going to be and which one will look best.
I used to find ‘natural’ meant ‘orange’ is many cases
I actually think that ‘neutral’ is part of the problem – even if it’s less overt than ‘natural’. To say that one skin tone is neutral suggests that all others are marked – it’s still part of having a cultural default.
I’ve also noticed this problem in things like lingerie and hosiery – some items will be called ‘nude’, for example, even though only a very limited section of the population has a matching skin tone.
I agree with the ‘nude’ thing – that’s just as bad as ‘natural’ – but ‘neutral’ just means the shade should have neither pink nor yellow undertones.
Zorra, I take ‘neutral’ in skin tone terms to mean neither cool nor warm, not a specific shade. Of course, brands that call one particular shade ‘neutral’ are using it incorrectly and inappropriately – neutral refers to the undertone, not just that colour.
I agree. I much prefer the descriptive names that give you an idea of the shade.
‘Natural’ should describe the coverage/finish, not shade.
This is why I love nars shades so much – words like ‘honey’, ‘mont blanc’ and ‘chantilly’ are inoffensive yet descriptive. (Their blushed on the other hand, wa-hey-hey…)
Agree totally. I can’t believe how limited shade ranges are, and this just tops it off.
I started doing a series of pale foundation reviews on the blog – sourcing them was a right struggle. In the process, I noticed that colours start off at tanned and end up at quite tanned, for the most part. Such a shame, so frustrating.
Interesting! I’d never considered it from that point of view as I’m the opposite end of the spectrum – I often find that natural is too dark for me, so does that make me unnatural? It’s an odd word choice. I think the majority of us want to look ‘natural’ with our foundation on, regardless of skin colour/shade.
Wow Jane, it’s so great to see a blogger of your status devoting space and time to this! I’m so glad I could get you thinking about this as, as the comments above show, it is both paler and darker women who suffer from this kind of thoughtlessness.
After a little search myself, I found that L’Oreal True Match has a shade called Golden Natural and Rimmel Stay Matte one called Natural Beige. Revlon Nearly Naked has shades called Nude, Natural Beige and Natural Tan, and Lancome Teint Visionnaire one called Beige Nature. Perhaps even more bafflingly, the Lancome has a shade named Beige Ideal. This after just 5 minutes on the Boots website!
I think it’s so important for us as consumers to voice our discomfort that shade names seem to pass judgment on what is ‘natural’ or ‘ideal’ for our skin tones. It puzzles me that they do not recognise that women of all colours have immense spending power, and they should be not only catered to, but also treated respectfully as equals. Respectfully representing more women means more profits – why do they not understand this?!
While I have come of an age that the ‘favouritism’ of the beauty industry no longer means that I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin, I shudder at the effect it could be having on the increasingly young girls who are entering the world of makeup. The idea that a young woman of colour aged 13 or 14 might excitedly trawl the aisles of Superdrug for her first foundation or BB cream, and be left with the thought that her skin tone is unnatural is unthinkably sad. This is something I experienced myself as a young girl; it took the discovery of Mac as a fully inclusive brand for me to feel that there was someone in the beauty industry that not only acknowledged my existence, but cared that I should be provided for.
Make up revolution have a concealer in the shade “natural”… Not impressed.
agreed what the hell is natural or nude? Depends where you are from & what you’ve done to your skin. Nice one nitya
I think even the Clinique “neutral” is a problem. I mean, what is that even supposed to mean? And when you consider they have a shade called “deep neutral” I think it’s clear how the term is used here.. And what kind of description is “spice”???