Could the darkest shade available in a liquid foundation actually be available in your local drugstore? According to popular beauty vlogger Nyma Tang, L’Oreal may be the first on the market to cover the deepest skin tones, with the creation of new shades in its bestselling True Match Super-Blendable Foundation line.
Tang, who is of Sudanese descent, rose to YouTube fame due in large part to her series “The Darkest Shade,” where she repeatedly demonstrated the failures of the beauty industry to create shades to match her very dark skin. With the added pressure put upon cosmetic manufacturers by the success of Fenty Beauty’s 40-shade launch in September 2017 (better known as the “Fenty Effect”), Tang has had far more shades to test in the past year, but most have still fallen at least a shade short—until now.
We’re not exactly sure when L’Oreal expanded its line to 45 shades, since they did it without much fanfare (which is good, because this should be the norm, not a self-congratulatory moment; notably, only 43 are currently visible on their site). But with the creation of C12-Dark Chocolate, Tang and similarly hued makeup wearers may have finally met their match—for a very reasonable price. While the cool dark brown can’t exactly emulate every tone, for an industry long satisfied with peddling various shades of beige, it’s an evolution that shouldn’t be overlooked. And once again, the gatekeepers are put on notice: It’s time to dive into the deep end.