This Black Foundation Shade Is Going Viral on TikTok – Here’s What’s Wrong With It

If you frequently keep up with the ins and outs of #BeautyTok, you’ve probably caught a whiff of the recent controversy surrounding Youthforia’s Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundations, specifically their darkest shade in 600 Deep.

TikTok creator Golloria (@golloria on TikTok) has garnered a following for her beauty, fashion and lifestyle content, but what she does best is reviewing makeup for darker skin tones, particularly the darkest shades each brand has to offer.

@golloria

the darkest shade of the youthforia date night foundation.

♬ original sound – golloria

A Look Into Youthforia’s “Darkest Shade”

Previously, she reviewed what used to be the darkest shade of Youthforia’s viral foundation, 495 Deep, a neutral shade with cool undertones, which did not impress her, to say the least.

When applied to her face, the foundation looked nothing like the pictures on the website. Even the colour portrayed on the product box was vastly different from the actual product.

Upon applying the foundation onto her skin, she was appalled to find that it was many shades lighter than what the brand had marketed it to be.

Youthforia’s Newest Shades

They have since released four more shades catering to darker skin tones, with the darkest shade, 600 Deep, being the subject of scrutiny in Golloria’s viral TikTok review.

Although the brand has released darker shades since her last review, she was disappointed to find that the darkest shade is closer to an unnatural jet black than it is to a deep brown.

To prove her point, she applies black face paint on one side of her face and Youthforia’s foundation on the other, asking if people can differentiate the two.

What Went Wrong With the “Darkest Shade”

Golloria’s disappointment is rooted in Youthforia’s lack of research on skin tones and undertones. Not only do they have a limited range of darker foundation shades, especially in comparison to their lighter shades, but there is also very minimal variety in undertones.

Golloria feels that the difference between the two darkest shades is too big and that there could have been at least ten more shades between 590 Deep and 600 Deep, catering to people with different undertones.

This can be seen from Youthforia’s TikTok, where they swatched both 600 Deep and 590 Deep on a passerby (right photo), with neither shades being a good match for his skin tone.

The lack of wearability of 600 Deep is further proven in the brand’s inability to find a suitable model to wear the shade.

In the brand’s shade grid pictured below (right), every other shade is represented with a photo of a model wearing the foundation, all but 600 Deep, which only features a swatch of the product.

Instead of releasing a foundation shade that even the brand struggles matching to a model, Golloria hoped for more variety in undertones for their deep brown shades.

She laments, “What we mean is to take the browns that you have made, create undertones and do what you need to do in the lab, so it’s a darker shade of brown.”

That was precisely the problem with the shade 600 Deep, which did not have undertones to create skin-like depth.

A Professional’s Insights

Cosmetic chemist Javon Ford (@javonford16 on TikTok) stitched Golloria’s video and shared his professional insights.

According to Javon, the 600 Deep shade only contains one pigment, CI 77499, which is a black iron oxide.

This makes it difficult to wear on its own or mix with lighter shades as it would turn the foundation grey and muddy, as proven in TikToks of creators mixing 600 Deep with lighter foundation shades.

Conversely, Javon points out that one of Youthforia’s lighter shades contains several pigments, CI 77492, CI 7749 and CI 77499. These are red, yellow, and black iron oxides, which give the product varying undertones necessary in a foundation.

While Youthforia is receiving a lot of backlash for their foundation shades, social media posts like these can help bridge the gap between consumers and brands, giving the community a platform to voice their needs.

This provides brands with access to first-hand feedback from consumers, which can serve as a guide for them to better cater to the beauty community.

Golloria’s viral TikTok exemplifies the power of community engagement. It allows companies to address concerns directly and course-correct, ensuring that products are developed with consumer needs in mind, fostering inclusivity for all.

Featured image credits: @golloria/TikTok, @javonford16/TikTok