Probably one of the most anticipated foundations of the year, Tarte's Shape Tape foundation ended up being the most disappointing product of the year. I'm not sure they will be knocked off the top spot by the end of December. 

I don't know about you, but I love Tarte's Shape Tape concealer. It's my go to when I need something to hold up. I've been dying for a Shape Tape foundation since getting my hands on the concealer. So when they teased the launch of this product, I damn near lost my mind. Most of the beauty community did. But then... 

PopSugar posted an article all about the new product (link). In the exclusive first look article, PopSugar displays all of the shades for both the hydrating and matte foundations.

 

Hydrating (above) and Matte (below)

Do you notice anything off about these?

Aside from the fact that even the person who's arm is covered in swatches doesn't have a shade match, there's 3 shades (at best) for deeper skin tones in each formula. Now I say deeper, not deep because there are definitely people who have deeper complexions that the deepest shade created.

On the heels of Fenty Beauty and Huda Beauty's foundation launches, Tarte has failed to the truest meaning of the word. Even the new NARS foundation debuted with 33 shades.  Granted, I understand if a brand wants to start with a smaller selection of shades, but make it evenly distributed across the spectrum. 

When this was viewed by the public, outrage was cast across social media. But what did Tarte do? They deleted comments, turned off commenting functions on posts, and didn't address the issue at hand. They decided to try to save face by saying they are releasing 10 additional shades (which will only be 5 per formula). And I bet you anything those shades will be more light to medium ones. But what were Tarte's exact words for their reasoning for the underwhelming shade selection? Well, according to this PopSugar article,

"Additional shades are usually added seasonally, which makes sense because your complexion tends to be paler in the Winter and darker in the summer months."

If it sounds like BS, and looks like BS, chances are it's BS. Tarte is trying to cover their butts because of the backlash. No apology necessary when you have this kind of logic on your side, right? They also state that the 10 additional shades have been in process since before the launch.... But then why now just wait and launch everything together? They claim they "all just got caught up in #shapetapenation". So being caught up in something produces a racist and discriminatory result? Your logic is flawed.

Tarte has no remorse for ostracizing so many people just based on the color of their skin. They are not taking responsibility for their decisions. They are making excuses. Shouldn't we be better than this in 2018? Oh... and did I mention the foundation went live on Martin Luther King Day? 

I'm still trying to fathom who sat around a table in a board room and thought this was a good idea. Did not one person speak up? Did not one person point out how damaging this could be to not only their business, brand, and reputation, but also to people's self confidence?

Granted I cannot speak to that last piece as I am fair skinned and have not been subjected to this kind of makeup discrimination. 

I genuinely hope people make sure Tarte is held accountable for their actions whether or not Tarte wants to admit to any wrongdoing.  We, as a community, need to say ENOUGH.

This is all I have to say about the matter for now.

*I apologize if this post is rather discombobulated. I had so many thoughts whirling around my head it was hard to create a coherent flow.