Makeup Fridays: Frozen-Inspired Tutorial

Finally time to finish what I started! All I could see this week was snow, snow, snow, so I knew an Elsa look was up and coming. When my city was hit with an onslaught of freezing rain and every school within miles closed for the day, I decided to sleep in before pulling out every blue eyeshadow I owned to create the day’s Elsa-inspired makeup look.

Before I get into the fun and magically ice powers that powered this video, I want to cover a topic that has been hot in the makeup community. Tarte is a makeup brand that I have been using for quite awhile now, and it’s an absolute go-to for me: the brand is cruelty-free (of course), the majority of its products are vegan, and the branding is all about #rethink natural. When I put Tarte products on my face, I know they’re doing something good, not just making me look good. And as an avid beauty lover, I was not blind to the #shapetapenation passion. Shape Tape Concealer is a massively popular concealer that I never tried because it’s not sold in-store in Canada, but only gets rave reviews. *SO* when Tarte announced a Shape Tape foundation, it was like Apple saying, “btw, new iPhone coming out” to every Apple user. I was extremely excited and so were many, many consumers.

I don’t know how many of you lovely readers are caught up with this controversy, but for those who are, you’ll be aware that the joy quickly turned sour. An image was released of the shade options for Shape Tape foundation (which has two lines, but pretty much the same, shade range) where there were only three viable options for people of colour. Out of fifteen.

People complained and Tarte disabled comments on the photo announcing the foundation on Instagram (enabled again now). They finally released an apology: on Instagram stories, which disappears after 24 hours? And they say they’re going to release five new shades to each line “soon.” But no details on what colour these shades will be, or when they’re coming.

If you want more information on what happened, I would point you towards Jeffree’s Star’s video on the topic (not because I personally believe he should be a spokesperson for the issue, but because he gives the most indepth summary of what happened, and he has images of the shade range and the Tarte apology): VIEW HERE. I really suggest you watch Jackie Aina and Alyssa Ashley’s response to the release, because as women of colour, they are the ones directly affected by this launch: VIEW HERE.

I wear makeup to express myself and be more creative. I choose cruelty-free makeup to support my ethical stances. Similarly, I cannot support a brand that would exclude people of darker skin types for … undisclosed reasons? To me, makeup is supposed to be inclusive and a shared experience, and what Tarte is doing is contrary to all of that. For this reason, I will continue to use my previously purchased Tarte products, but stop shopping from the brand until I see actionable change on their side.

As a consumer, you have a voice: your wallet. I use that voice when I shop cruelty-free and I will use it now again now. I invite you to reflect on the issues presented here and make your own decisions. There is no right or wrong, unless you choose to stay completely ignorant.

NOW, to this makeup look. I invite you to watch, recreate, share ideas! When Frozen came out, I saw it three times like a mindless drone and now I can’t look at a snowman without getting flashbacks. How did Hans get the best of me? I honestly thought he was a good dude, that was the most savage betrayal of all time…

Question for the day: How do you decide who is trustworthy?

Stay lovely,
❤ SHA
📷 = @shaniasquires