‘Minstrel Show’: Cosmetics Company Youthforia Accused Of Blackface Makeup For Dark-Skinned People

Source: Carlo Allegri / Getty

Youthforia, a sustainable makeup brand, is facing criticism over it’s new shade of “600” foundation tailored to women and men of darker hues.

In a video posted to TikTok on April 30, popular beauty content creator Golloria George slammed Youthforia, accusing the brand of creating a foundation reminiscent of blackface paint, after they released their “600” shade.

Golloria George attends The Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit Supporting Youth Mental Health Hosted by Selena Gomez at Nya Studios on October 4, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Kevin Winter / Getty

To prove her point, George applied jet-black face paint on one half of her face and Youthforia’s foundation on the other, to show the similarities between the two.

“When we say that we want you guys to make shades for us, we don’t mean to go to the lab and ask for minstrel show black,” George complained in the short video that has garnered more than 1 million likes on TikTok.

@golloria

the darkest shade of the youthforia date night foundation.

♬ original sound – golloria

“What we mean is to take the browns that you have made, create undertones and do what you need to do in the lab so it’s a darker shade of brown.”

In the comments section, prominent beauty blogger, Jackie Aina, also agreed with George’s glaring observation.

“Deep spiritual sigh,” she penned. “You demonstrated this perfectly and straight to the point. You didn’t have to, but thank you.”

This isn’t the first time that George has called out Youthforia.

In 2023, the beauty influencer first assessed Youthforia’s Date Night Skin Tint Serum upon the brand’s release of 15 shades ranging from medium to deep. Expressing discontent, she remarked that the original range failed to match her skin tone and fell short of inclusivity.

The brand apologized and promised to do better, according to NBC News.

“When I first started Youthforia two years ago, all I wanted to do was create a safe space where individual beauty could be celebrated. And unfortunately with our latest launch, we just fell short of that mission,” Youthforia CEO Fiona Co Chans said in a statement at the time.

It remains uncertain whether Youthforia will address the latest criticism regarding its new foundation.

The origins of blackface

Historians believe that the racist practice began in the mid-1800s in New York. White performers would use burnt cork or shoe polish to blacken their faces as they performed at minstrel shows, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

Wearing ripped and tattered clothing, the white jesters would mock and mimic enslaved African Americans from the South, characterizing blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual and prone to thievery, the NMAAHC notes.

According to Historian Dale Cockrell, when Blackface began to seep slowly into the dark side of American history, the practice was one typically associated with poor and working-class whites who felt “squeezed politically, economically, and socially from the top, but also from the bottom.” They invented minstrel shows as a way to be seen as “a part of the majority.”

It should go without saying that Blackface should be avoided at all costs. It’s disrespectful and serves as a painful reminder of the deep-seated racism that has plagued the Black community in the U.S.

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