If your skin tone is anything deeper than medium-dark, it’s a fact that you have a harder time finding foundation or concealer shades. As we’ve seen in the past, brands like Tarte, Morphe, and BeautyBlender have been dragged to the gods due to their disappointing shade ranges. Even when brands do have a big AMOUNT of foundations, it’ll be 25 light shades, 4 medium shades, and they’ll plop 1 dark shade at the end for good measure. To make it worse, the -2 dark shades that they have will be done with little to no effort. BeautyBlender for example. Some of their foundation shades were straight up orange. Last time I checked, no one had the skin tone Jake the Dog.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to miss out on products due to this, and I’m not even super dark! I’m not a foundation wearer, but even with skin tint or concealer, I have a struggle with finding shades that won’t look orange or odd in general on me. By now, brands should know better than to crap out 3 tangerine shades for POC just because they know they’ll get backlash if they don’t. It seems like they do this on purpose for attention, and it’s childish. DON’T release our shades later. If the shades aren’t ready, DON’T RELEASE THE PRODUCT. It’s not fair for us to wait, it’s not our fault we have more melanin than others, and we should not be an afterthought.

I could sit here and rant about this, but instead, I’m going to list a few brands that DO have a good shade range, and I’m going to list some YouTubers to go to if you need help. Please keep in mind that I myself don’t really wear foundation (as I said before, team skin tints), so if you feel the need to correct me on a mistake please do.
Fenty Beauty: Launching with 40 shades in September of 2017, this brand has skyrocketed due to its inclusivity. Recently Fenty has released 50 shades of concealer and added ten more shades to their foundation. Fenty also has the stunna lip paints, which are specially made to fit everyone. Rihanna has made it a point to include everyone with her makeup line, and I think it’s great. From reviews, testing in store, and buying a few of these items, they seem to be a hit or miss. They’re either really great or…lacking. I’ve heard that the foundation tends to transfer and/or dries down a different color, which sucks considering it’s $40.
Maybelline: Their Fit Me: Matte and Poreless line have 40 shades. From reviews, lots of people seem to be a fan of it. It’s not oily, doesn’t clog pores, and the formula has been changed so that it’s better. Perhaps if I start wearing foundation I’ll start with this one. Their Superstay foundation also has good feedback, but it does change color as time goes on according to reviews

Too Faced: The Born This Way range has 35 shades. A YouTuber listed below has worked with this line and really suggests it. As you can see with the title, this line has a sort of self-loving feel to it. With that being said it’s $39. Fantastic.

Now I’ll list a few YouTubers that you can go to for makeup tips and suggestions as a POC.
Alissa Ashley: When I first started seriously getting into makeup, she was one of the first people that I watched on a regular basis. Her skin tone is close to mine, so for swatches, I always go to her. She’s been on youtube for a while. She does things like makeup wheels, brush boot camp, and line reviews, including brands mentioned here. She also has good tips for people with hooded eyes. I suggest you check her out!

Jackie Aina: Also one of the first people I watched, Jackie Aina is a long time YouTuber as well. Like Alissa, she reviews products and gives her opinion on them. Even if you aren’t Jackie’s shade, she has good insight on using makeup in general as a POC. She’s very wise and mature, which is another reason I really like her. People like to constantly attack her for the smallest things, but she always stays unbothered or goes about it calmly. She also touches on topics besides makeup. I should also mention that she’s pretty funny, so please check her out!

Nyma Tang: Looking at her channel, it shows how hard it is to find shades when you have a very deep complexion. I think actually seeing this really gives you a feel of what it’s like. If you have a deep complexion this is the channel I suggest for you.

Shalom Blac: She’s not just a makeup artist, but a self-love advocate as well. Besides talking about makeup, she talks about things like wigs, living as a burn victim, and as mentioned before, self-love. Also, she’s funny, please watch her Dora Milaje look.

Unfortunately, I don’t watch any male POC makeup channels, so if you were specifically looking for that I’m sorry. I hope the people that I do have on here to help you, though. If you suggest any POC channels please leave them in the comments!