Article Credit: www.Today.com
Sade Strehlke wasn’t looking to make a statement– she just wanted to buy a BB cream.
The fashion blogger was eager to try out the makeup trend she’d been hearing about everywhere, a lightweight cross between primer, foundation, sunscreen and moisturizer (BB stands for “blemish balm” or “beauty balm”), but she kept striking out when it came to finding a product that matched her skin tone.
Even her favorite makeup lines (like MAC, which she’d come to rely on for foundation) had limited options. “Their BB cream only came in three shades and their darkest was ‘light plus,’” she told TODAY.com.
Not willing to give up, Strehlke finally bought a cream from Bobbi Brown, another of her preferred beauty brands. She wore it for a week before her mother sat her down and told her it didn’t match her skin. “I wasn’t glowing in the right way,” she said.
Frustrated and baffled by the experience, Strehlke, who runs the fashion and lifestyle site the Icon Concierge, penned a fiery essay on the topic titled, “I’m a Black Woman and I Just Want a Damn BB cream.”
Sade Strehlke was frustrated by the lack of options for women of color when she went to buy a BB cream.
“Why do all of these creams – despite being offered by so many brands – come in only two to five shades?” she wrote. “Let me tell you, none of these work for my black skin tone…I admit that I haven’t tried every single BB or CC cream out there, but I shouldn’t have to search high and low for a product that is offered by every brand.”
Strehlke’s essay hit a nerve, racking up tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments on XOJane.com and Jezebel.com where it was posted. She says she can understand why her words resonated, since the majority of BB creams on the market today come in only a handful of shades, meaning this much-hyped miracle makeup can feel off limits to women who don’t fit the limited spectrum.
“I know a lot of women who are my skin tone — women who would buy this makeup, who want to buy this makeup,” she told TODAY. “Why can’t I just go to the counter or drugstore and pick out my shade? And there’s only one? Medium to dark — it just makes me look ashy.”
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