As Aina put it, there’s still work to be done in the beauty world, but she also sees through excuses the industry continues to give. “I just truly think that when you want to serve a specific demographic, you will,” she said. “Brands know how to create technology that fills pores in products, we know how to make lip plumpers, we know how to do all these different things, so I just feel like all of the standard excuses…we’re always so used to being told, ‘Oh, it’s harder to do this….’, but it’s not impossible, so make it possible. We have so many products out there that take decades of innovation, but we still make them and so, for me, I’ve just learned there’s literally no excuse.”
Plus, as the inclusivity advocate clarified, the process of making darker shades “is not more difficult at all.” Still, the lack of diversity extends beyond the products themselves. “There are brands that still go far out of their way to not represent diversity in their campaigns, they don’t work with diverse models, they don’t even cater to specific demographics,” she listed off, “and yeah, it’s very apparent that they don’t want to.”
But, fortunately, customers aren’t at the mercy of the same list of companies anymore. If a makeup house doesn’t want to expand their demographics, “that’s fine. I don’t have to force it. I can go where I’m celebrated,” she said. “I can go where I’m appreciated and thank god there’s so many more brands today that do exist that appreciate me and make products for people like me.”