Target is making over its beauty aisle with 150 beauty products for deeper skin tones
Target has been praised in the past for providing access to a variety of different multicultural hair products. Now the mass retailer is expanding its cosmetic offerings to suit the needs of a wider group of shoppers — and many consumers are overjoyed to see the company’s efforts toward providing a more inclusive lineup of makeup.
On April 17, Target officially announced that its beauty department would be growing to include 150 beauty products for deeper skin tones and eight beauty brands: Coloured Raine, EveryHue Beauty, Haleys, Hue Noir, Makeup Geek, Reina Rebelde, the Lip Bar, and Violet Voss. Most of these brands have previously been available only online, but now they will have a new home on the shelves of Target.
“We know our guests have a wide range of beauty needs and preferences, and we want to make sure Target has the best assortment for all hair types or skin tones,” said Christina Hennington, senior vice president of beauty and essentials at Target, in a statement on the chain’s corporate blog, A Bullseye View. “These eight new cosmetic brands will further our range of shade options — from foundation to lip — and are available at incredible prices.”
A post shared by REINA REBELDE® (@reinarebelde) on Apr 17, 2018 at 6:57am PDT
Many owners of the new brand additions have had diversity top of mind and at the core of their companies since inception. Landing a spot at such a huge chain aligns with pushing their mission further.
Take Reina Rebelde, for example, a cosmetics line hugely supported by Latinas. Creator Regina Merson can recall being approached by several mass retailers, but she declined to partner with them because many did not understand the community built around her beauty brand or they wanted to change certain aspects to make it appear more marketable. “Target’s approach was different,” Merson tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “They made incredible efforts to learn about our community, to listen to our perspective as a small indie brand, and above all, they have been so respectful of our brand and community and have been committed to giving us the runway to allow it to flourish as the deeply culturally rooted Spanglish brand that it is.”
There’s also EveryHue Beauty, a cosmetics company founded by four women including Bravo’s Real Housewives of Potomac star Gizelle Bryant, who share a passion to create beauty products for women of all shapes, sizes, and complexions. “When we were introduced to Target, we had only been in business for three months,” says co-founder Erika F. Liles. “Target was truly walking the walk and doing the work to seek out, invest in, and support multicultural women business owners. They offered support, paired us with another brand that had been successful, and coached us on how to launch a color cosmetics brand in retail.”
Partnering with a mass retailer doesn’t come without challenges. With more eyes on these brands come more potential customers, which can equal larger quantities for distribution. However, as Melissa Butler, founder of the Lip Bar, tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “that is a good challenge to be faced with.” She explains, “The Lip Bar has been speaking to an underrepresented niche market since the brand launched six years ago, so we’re excited to be a part of that conversation as it becomes louder and louder.”
A post shared by Mel B (@melissarbutler) on Feb 18, 2018 at 9:13am PST
Many women appear to be happy about the changes at Target. Danielle Gray of the Style & Beauty Doctor is an avid shopper at Sephora because she enjoys the open-format experience of being able to test out products. But she also likes to go to Target to see what’s new and get an idea of how readers of her blog like to shop. “My local Target store seems to understand who shops at their store so they make sure that deeper shades are stocked, but when I go to other Target stores, I notice that the shade range is severely lacking,” says Gray. “It’ll be so much easier now to find what I need at one of my favorite places to shop. It’s also great for young girls and women to see brands created by women who look like them.”
Another loyal Target beauty shopper, Samantha Turner of Brooklyn, finds it beneficial to know that cosmetics that fit her needs will be available at affordable prices. “It’s refreshing to see that I may be able to find top-quality makeup at a lower price point than their competitors,” she says. Mabel Martinez of the Bronx, N.Y., notes, “Every time I go to Target, I always get a deal or I end up saving more money than I would have at another retailer. You can even return beauty products within 90 days if it doesn’t work out, so it’s a win-win.”
Beauty brands and more mass retailers are pushing for change for all the right reasons, and Target is taking the necessary steps to lean in toward that upward transition. We hope this is an advancement that isn’t just a trend, but an industry standard.
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