Lets start form the beginning...
Back in late 2016 the popular makeup brand, Tarte, released a product that took the beauty world by storm. It was the new Shape Tape concealer that came in a remarkable amount of shades and, according to all the beauty gurus, was full coverage and never cakes or creases.
The concealer quickly went viral and became a beloved product in the beauty world. For an industry that has new, hot launches constantly, Shape Tape stood the test of time, still being raved about almost a year after its release.
All your favorite beauty bloggers including Tati, Laura Lee, Kathleen Lights, and Jaclyn Hill mentioned Shape Tape as their favorite concealer of 2017. In the wake of all this attention, Tarte released an exciting udate.
On January 3rd, the instagram account Trendmood, known in the beauty community as a resource for most recent information on new product launches and sneak peaks, revealed the above picture. It was easy for most fans to deduce that Tarte was going to release a Shape Tape Foundation, and the hype was huge.
But then this happened...
Somewhere between the exciting buzz that began in early January and the actual launch which happened on the 21st, this picture started circulating its way around the internet...
....and people were PISSED.
I might not be a woman of colour but still disgraced of @tartecosmetics ‘s unethical decision #tarteshapetapefoundation
hm well, I feel bad for the women of color who really wanted to try out this foundation and was genuinely excited f… https://t.co/JGkvA2GJL4
Makeup Brand: Yes, new foundations, all cruelty free! POC makeup lovers: But...you don't have shades for us... Ma… https://t.co/y5EiSqQZ7s
A Comparison
Soon, a trend amongst the public outrage surfaced: the comparison of Tarte's shade range, or lack-there-of, to the previously released Fenty foundation shade range.
Fenty, the new makeup line launched by Rihanna in mid 2017, has been praised for being inclusive after they launched their foundation with 30 diverse shades in September. It was perhaps said best by twitter user @oliviademmons who said:
in a post-fenty world, there is absolutely no excuse for this shade range 👎🏻 #tarteshapetapefoundation
This picture comparison really highlights the difference in shade diversity
My shade in Fenty beauty foundation vs. my "shade" in tarte shape foundation. You know a shade range is bad when a… https://t.co/uBsag4f0ZI
Tarte tried to save face by announcing that they would be releasing additional shades soon, but the damage was already done.
Why don't foundation releases start off with more shades for POC instead of bringing them in later. We. Are. Not. A… https://t.co/7obpOLQWHw
@tartecosmetics I refuse to support your brand until your shades become more inclusive right at the first launch. D… https://t.co/JhMids9T1k
It's sad watching this Tarte foundation crisis unfold. Considering Nars JUST released their new foundation collecti… https://t.co/H3Wds39vye
BUT that's hardly the worst of it
Unfortunately for Tarte, angry Twitter and Instagrams were the LEAST of their worries. As the foundation began to ship out to beauty gurus as PR packages, the Youtube reviews starting rolling in, and they were NOT positive.
But by far the most scathing review came from Youtube sensation Jackie Aina. She was one of the first to review the foundation and she was brutally honest with her opinion.
View this video on YouTube
After an overwhelmingly negative online reaction, Tarte finally posted a public apology to their Instagram story.
"It may be too little too late, but we can assure you this was not meant in any kind of malicious way. We all just got so caught up in #shapetapenation and seeing your tweets asking for it... We wanted to get the product out as fast as possible, & we made the decision to move forward before all the shades were ready to go. We know there is no excuse, & we take full responsibility for launching this way. We lost sight of what's really important in this industry, & for those who feel alienated in our community, we want to personally apologize. We're doing everything in our power to bring those unfinished shades to market as fast as we can, at any cost. We CAN and WILL DO BETTER."
Hopefully Tarte learned their lesson, but moral of the story....its 2018 and beauty lovers are no longer willing to stand for this sh*t!
Share This Article
