More makeup brands are creating more inclusive shades and opportunities for different skin tones to be acknowledged. Retailers and now digital companies are following suit – like Pinterest.
Oh, how the nineties would have appreciated the matching of makeup to skin tones, now that Pinterest filters skin tone for beauty searches inclusivity now has a digital home.
Looking back at pictures of influential women of color back in the 90s, it’s hard not to notice that their foundation never really matched their true skin tones. Think of women like Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé, and Tyra Banks, when they were all just first starting out.
DIGITAL DIVERSITY BY PINTEREST
A new, inclusive feature is now available on Pinterest that lets users search for beauty and makeup inspiration for different skin tones by choosing from a diverse palette of tones and hues. According to the Instagram account, @LiveTinted, the new rollout is a part of the platforms attempt to create a tool that allows users engage with content is “more relevant and useful to them for their daily lives.”
PINTEREST ON INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
Candice Morgan, the Head of Inclusion and Diversity at Pinterest says, “Last year, nearly 60 percent of the top 100 search terms for skin-related searches involved a tone, such as dark skin, pale skin, and olive skin.” She continues, “Which shows us women of all skin types wanted a way to customize our searches.
Not only do they allow you to filter for different skins but for hair as well. The engineers who worked on this search filter explained their difficulties creating this tool on a Medium post. They cited “lighting, shadows, how prominent a face is and blurriness” as some of the factors creating roadblocks for the Pinterest team.
PINTEREST ENGINEERS INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY IN THE DIGITAL SPACE
In the open letter, Laksh Bhasin – one of the Pinterest engineers – writes, “Lastly, skin tones are just the start of building a more inclusive search. We hope to help Pinners find more personalized results by offering more ways to narrow your search. We’re always working on improving our system to give Pinners a more personalized search experience.”
Human #AF.
Hey there! I’m Sade Disu and founded an award-winning 15-year-old digital media and marketing agency And Brand Culture where I provide culture-focused advisory, storytelling, and content solutions for Executives and startup founders looking to increase engagement with multi-cultural audiences and media platforms organically.
My content strategies and proprietary live event platforms (like AfricaFashionWeek.com) are deemed unmatched for their convening power of global content, culture, and empowerment according to Forbes, LA Times, Essence, and Black Enterprise. And even more, was given a proclamation, by former Mayor of New York (now Presidential candidate) Michael Bloomberg in 2010.
Africa Fashion Week results increased brand awareness 8.5 million views; $300+ K in revenue generated per event, and 6 K+ newsletter subscribers per event. Media giants such as Hearst Magazines caught wind of my work and influence — the ability to connect to and with consumers through cultural content and experiential solutions. HEARST immediately hired my consultancy to advise, produce content, and launch its international spin-off of COSMOPOLITAN Nigeria.
My press-ordained and award-winning event platforms and digital content work have been leveraged by Shea Moisture, Kimora Lee Simons, Iman Cosmetics, Pikolinos, Zara, Roommate Hotels, and USAID. ( 4-page press feature in Black Enterprise and 2-page press feature in Forbes French Edition.)
Clients have used my four-tier prong approach “culture + content” = “community + commerce” when looking to connect with audiences with nuisance cultures and attitudes.