New World Color : Fashion: From $4.50 foundations to $45 custom blends, options are expanding for women of all complexions as cosmetics companies try to woo a growing ethnic market.
Cathy Donaldson stands in the makeup department of her neighborhood Newberry’s, looking at the racks of cosmetics designed to complement her cocoa brown complexion and shaking her head.
“There are no foundation shades that work for me,” says Donaldson, a 35-year-old parimutuels clerk at Hollywood Park. “Sure, I might find something if I went to the department store, but on my budget it doesn’t make sense to spend a fortune on makeup.”
Donaldson pauses and then corrects herself. “No, even when I go to the department store, I don’t find what I need. The last time, I ended up spending $89 and the makeup sat in my drawer. It doesn’t matter how much you spend--the right products aren’t there.”
As with many women of color, Donaldson’s makeup options have been limited--at best. Historically, only a few firms, such as Fashion Fair, Flori Roberts and Los Angeles-based Barbara Walden, have catered to the needs of African-American women (some of whom complain that these lines are too expensive and the foundations don’t match their skin). And black women are relatively lucky. Products geared toward Asians and Latinos are few and far between.
But cosmetics manufacturers are starting to listen to women like Donaldson. They also are listening to the Census Bureau, which has determined that one-fourth of the American population is Latino or nonwhite--and that number is on the rise.
Over the last two years, huge cosmetics companies--Maybelline and Revlon among them--have developed product lines for ethnic minorities. In addition, two Estee Lauder companies, Clinique and Prescriptives, have expanded their foundation choices to include darker shades. Whereas most collections offer eight to 12 shades of foundation, Prescriptives now offers 115, ranging from palest ivory to darkest ebony, in an attempt to suit women of all complexions.
Prescriptives’ foundation price tag of $28.50 doesn’t suit every pocketbook, however. Perhaps that’s why Maybelline’s Shades of You line, introduced last year, quickly became the country’s best-selling ethnic cosmetics collection, according to A.C. Nielsen reports. When Cathy Donaldson spied the display at a Newberry’s this week, she zeroed in on the $4.50 price on foundations.
“This is more like it. There’s my color,” she said, and quickly selected products to purchase. The line includes 12 shades of oil-free foundation. Like many of the cosmetic lines geared toward ethnic women, Shades of You also includes products for the cheeks, lips and eyes, but the colors often duplicate shades found in traditional collections.
Carolyn McHenry-Wise, the marketing manager for Shades of You, notes that although the collection is aimed at African-American consumers, other women are buying it. “Our formulations are specifically designed for the special needs of black skin (but) Hispanics buy it,” she says.
In California, the Latino population grew more than 70% between 1980 and 1990, and Jafra Cosmetics--an international firm owned by Gillette--has aimed its products at this rapidly growing segment of the population. Prices range from $6 to $11.50
Carmen Saucedo started using the products several years ago and soon became the firm’s first Latino sales representative. Today, she is a district director for the Westlake Village-based direct sales company and manages 4,500 salespeople, 45% of whom are Latino, black or Asian.
“Because Jafra has such a high percentage of Hispanic clients, here and in other countries, we have products and colors especially designed for them,” says Saucedo. “Like blacks and Asians, our complexions don’t have the same undertones as Anglo women. We need something special.”
Jafra, like Mary Kay Cosmetics, attracts customers with in-home parties hosted by a woman who invites several friends to listen to a sales pitch and to have a lesson about skin care or makeup application.
“When I go to a store, the salespeople aren’t trained to look at my skin and tell me what I need. They just want to sell,” says Inez Wiggs of Santa Ana, who recently attended one of Saucedo’s parties. “I always feel like I’m getting the next best thing. Here, I feel like the representative understands me.”
Prescriptives has also listened to concerns about store salespeople and has hired beauty consultants of diverse ethnic origins to work behind makeup counters. “Now a woman can go to the department store counter and find a consultant who is black, Asian, Hispanic or American Indian and feel that this woman can relate to her skin and to her problems,” says Evelyn Lauder, senior corporate vice president of the Estee Lauder Cos.
Drug stores, of course, rarely employ beauty consultants. Lower-priced lines hang on racks, sealed in plastic packages. But Revlon’s Color Style, geared toward African-American women, will provide makeup testers in drug stores, so a woman can try a foundation shade before she buys it. Prices of Color Style products range from $4.95 to $8.25.
“I have bought so many shades of foundation,” explains Tamika DeVaughn, a pharmaceutical company representative who is based in Los Angeles. “They look one way in the store and another way when I get home. I finally end up mixing my own until I get the right shade.” Samples, she says, would save her from making a bad decision.
These days, however, DeVaughn opts to have her foundation custom made, a pricey option. Custom-blended liquid foundation typically costs from about $30 to $45 for about a three months’ supply.
Makeup artist Rudy Calvo, who has worked with celebrities such as Patti LaBelle, Lynn Whitfield and Natalie Cole, opts to shop in beauty supply stores to find the best makeup matches for his clients.
“The prices at department stores are too high, the companies that specialize in ethnic cosmetics don’t have the newest colors, and the products are generally too oily,” says the expert, echoing common complaints. “When I go to a beauty supply I generally buy stage makeup by Joe Blasco. It gives the best finish and the best color.”
Blasco says his products, which are sold in beauty supply stores all over Los Angeles, are used by African-American, Asian and Anglo women. The line includes 216 foundations shades, which are priced from $9.75 to $22.50, depending on the type and size.
Some Asian women shop for makeup at specialty stores--including Georgette Klinger in Beverly Hills where 15% of the clientele is Asian. Kathyrn Klinger says the women buy a special foundation (for $19.50) that is formulated to balance yellow undertones.
At Kayla Beverly Hills, a makeup boutique geared toward Asian women, a cream foundation in a compact sells for $30. “Even in the Far East there are very few cosmetics available that meet the very specific complexion needs of the Asian woman,” says Kayla founder Michael Ghafouri, who is now opening similar salons in Malayasia and Singapore.
Will the new ventures by cosmetic companies permanently change the availability of ethnic makeup? Can women of color hope for some choice? “The time is right,” says Gerri Baccus Glover, vice president of marketing for Revlon’s Color Style. “The retail mood is right. Everyone wants to reach this consumer.”
Michelle Griffin, one of the country’s top black fashion and beauty models, interprets the beauty industry’s newfound interest this way: “Eventually, everyone here will be multiracial. (Cosmetics companies) have to cater to them or they’ll go out of business.”
