It dropped during New York Fashion Week in September of this year and since then the color-poppin' highlighters, Match Stixs, and lip gloss have created a buzz on social media.

自今年 (2017) 9 月於紐約時裝周推出後，其色彩繽紛的打亮餅、多功能底妝棒和唇彩，在社交媒體上引起了熱議。

But the most notable thing about the line is the range of foundation shades— there are 40 to be exact.

該產品線最引人注目的就是廣泛齊全的粉底色調，確切來說共有 40 種色號。

And many of the deeper shades were sold out in stores and online within days of the launch, which is bananas because how often do you hear about darker shades of makeup being sold out?

產品上市短短幾天，許多深色調的粉底在門市和網店都被搶購一空，這非常瘋狂，因為深色調彩妝難得會賣光。

For a long time, the beauty industry has neglected women of color as consumers, but our bad gal RiRi's incredibly successful makeup line has challenged the notion that the market for deeper shades isn't profitable for cosmetic companies.

很長一段時間以來，美容業忽略了有色人種女性的消費需求，但壞女孩蕾哈娜極為成功的彩妝系列，挑戰了化妝品公司認為深色彩妝無利可圖的想法。

It also raised an important question: "Why haven't most companies had the same kind of inclusivity or the success to go with it?"

這也引出了一個重要的問題：「為什麼大多數公司沒有同樣的包容性，或獲得同樣的成功呢？」

"But the interesting thing about Fenty is that it's not the very first time that a beauty line has had expansive shades."

「有趣的是 Fenty 並非第一個提供廣泛色調的美妝品牌。」

That's Tiffany Gill, Associate Professor of History and Black American studies at the University of Delaware.

她是 Tiffany Gill ，美國德拉瓦大學歷史學和美國黑人科學學系的副教授。

"Before the Fenty Beauty line launched, Make Up For Ever— another cosmetic company that caters a lot to professional makeup artists — launched a campaign that also had a lot of skin tone inclusivity."

「Fenty Beauty 出現之前，專業彩妝師愛用的 Make Up For Ever 也推出了膚色包容性的廣告活動。」

Other mainstream brands like Covergirl, Revlon, Maybelline, and L'Oreal also attempted to cater to the broader market of complexions.

封面女孩 (Covergirl)、露華濃 (Revlon)、媚比琳 (Maybelline) 和 巴黎萊雅 (L'Oreal) 等主流品牌也試圖迎合更廣泛的膚色市場。

But it's quite easy to see where mainstream brands have fallen short.

但是主流品牌的不足之處顯而易見。

I went to several drugstores and a major department store and I saw a clear trend.

我去了幾家藥妝店和一家大型百貨公司之後，發現了明顯的趨勢。

There were 50 shades of beige to choose from.

架上有 50 種米色調可供選擇。

This looks really pale, I'm not...I'm not that pale, I'm...

這個色號看起來很白 ，我沒有......我沒有那麼白 ，我是......

But, the darker shades were limited to a handful of options.

但是深色調的選擇有限。

When I tried to match my own skin with the available shades of foundation, you can see how these few products weren't gonna work for me.

當我試著從現有的粉底色號中 ，挑選一款吻合膚色的粉底 ，你會發現這些色調都不適合我。

Is it really that hard to get it right?

把事情做好真的這麼難嗎？

Tasha Brown, a makeup artist based in LA, who's worked with a number of Hollywood stars, doesn't seem to think so.

定居於洛杉磯並曾與許多好萊塢明星合作的彩妝師 Tasha Brown 似乎不這麼認為。

"As a makeup artist, it is the same technique I would use that for anyone from Karen Elson to Alek Wek."

「身為彩妝師，無論是幫 Karen Elson 或 Alek Wek 化妝，我都是用同樣的技巧。」

"I first look at the undertone of the skin, then I look at the actual shade range, and then I pick the correct texture for their skin tone."

「首先我會確定皮膚的基調，接著是實際膚色的深淺，然後選擇適合他們皮膚色調的彩妝質地。」

"So, there is no extra difficulty in understanding deeper skin tone."

「所以了解深色調的膚色並非特別困難。」

So it's easy to find a foundation match, if you know your undertone, which is your underlying skin tone on a spectrum of cool to warm.

所以只要知道你的皮膚基調，也就是你的皮膚在冷暖光譜上的底色，就很容易找到適合的粉底。

But finding deeper shades that actually offer the right undertones for women of color has been incredibly hard.

但適合有色人種女性的深色基調卻極為難找。

Maybe product development is where it really gets tricky?

「也許產品研發才是棘手的問題？」

"Yeah, actually, it's not very difficult to make deeper shades."

「嗯，其實，調製較深的色調並不難。」

What?

什麼？

"Depending on the base, all foundations have the same basic base."

「主要視基底而定，所有粉底的基本基底都相同。」

"So for example, if we're talking about a standard foundation, which would be a water-and-silicone base — it's an emulsion where the water phase is surrounded by silicone— that basic emulsion would be the same."

「舉例來說，如果是標準的粉底，它的基底是水和矽，是一種水被矽膠包圍的水乳，一般乳液的成分也相同。」

"The only difference between a lighter shade and a darker shade is the ratio of pigments."

「深淺色號唯一的差別在於色素含量。」

"And all foundations contain the same 4 pigments."

「所有粉底都使用同樣四種色素。」

"It's titanium dioxide, iron oxide red, iron oxide yellow, and iron oxide black."

「二氧化鈦、氧化鐵紅、氧化鐵黃和氧化鐵黑。」

"So you just play with the ratios of those pigments to get to a lighter color or a darker color."

「所以只要調整色素比例就能做出較深或較淺的色調。」

The trouble with finding the right shade isn't limited to foundation.

找不到適合色號的問題不僅限於粉底。

"Yes, it's not just foundation, you know? It is blush; it is lipstick where it's a beautiful color you know, but it's a light wash."

「沒錯，不只是粉底，你知道嗎？腮紅、唇膏也是，顏色很美卻只有淺色號。」

"And deeper skin tones tend to demand a little bit more pigment."

「而膚色深的人需要用色素含量較高的色號。」

It's a problem that can be solved with an understanding of deeper skin tones.

這個問題可以透過了解深膚色基調來解決。

But overall, in 2014, only 18% of American Chemical Society members were people of color.

但整體而言，2014 年，美國化學協會只有 18% 的會員是有色人種。

In 2015, Black, Hispanic and Asian women made up 16.3% of workers in the personal care products industry.

2015 年，在個人護理產業中，黑人女性、拉丁女性和亞洲女性共占 16.3%。

"As a consumer, you want to have options in comparison, you want things to be easy."

「身為消費者，你會希望選擇多一點，且產品有更高的便利性。」

"I want to be able to walk into a store and see myself represented."

「我希望走進店裡就能看到為我而生的彩妝產品。」

Over the past few years mainstream beauty companies have been making an effort to be more inclusive.

過去幾年主流的化妝品公司都致力於讓自己的產品更具包容性。

But why is it taking them so long to get it right?

但是為什麼要花這麼久的時間才搞懂呢？

"When it comes to beauty, they're usually based on very narrow ideas of what constitutes beautiful."

「當談到美這個觀念，通常都是根據非常侷限、被認為什麼才是美的想法。」

"And even if there are a wider range of women who are demanding products, a wider range of consumers who want to see themselves reflected and are willing to pay money to get these products, many brands are unwilling to cater to them in fears that it will damage their brand."

「即使有一大部分的人女性在要求更多的產品、有一大部分的女性希望能夠展現自己也願意花錢買這些產品，但是化妝品公司就是不願意迎合這些消費者，深怕公司名譽受損。」

"In fears that it will make their brand less glamorous, less beautiful, if it's attached to black women, if it's attached to darker skin women."

「深怕這樣會讓他們的品牌比較不光彩、比較不美麗，如果他們的產品跟黑人女性或深色皮膚的女性有掛鉤的話。」

The beauty industry has a long history of catering to a very specific type of person.

長久以來化妝品產業始終都是在迎合特定的一群人。

In the late 1940s, makeup for black women was available, but beauty companies still focused on skin lightening products for black women.

在 1940 年代晚期，出現了為黑人女性打造的化妝品，但是化妝品公司還是只為這些女性製造淺色調的產品。

"We begin to see, really in the 1970s, an attempt to begin to show a wider range of beauty when it comes to makeup products."

「一直到 1970 年代我們才真的看到有化妝品嘗試著展現更廣的美。」

It's when the cultural movement “Black is Beautiful” began to rise as a celebration of blackness in the African American community.

當時一個叫做「黑就是美」的文化運動開始活躍，目的是要慶祝非裔美國人的美。

Robert Williams, a leading figure in American psychology, wrote, "The Black is Beautiful movement" and the all-out effort to instill racial pride in black people have done much to neutralize and offset much of the damaging effects of oppression from being black.”

Robert Williams，一位頂尖美國心理學巨擘曾寫道：「黑就是美，以及所有將黑人驕傲植入人心所做的努力，都對消弭平緩身為黑人而產生的壓抑有諸多貢獻。」

The movement was not only a response to colorism in the Black community, but also the prevalent racism in wider American culture.

這個運動不僅是反映了當時對黑人的膚色歧視，也反映了美國文化中普遍存在的種族歧視。

That movement brought a change in the beauty industry too— more products were being created for the black community.

這個運動也讓化妝品產業有了改變，越來越多產品是為黑人所打造。

"And a lot of that really came from a lot of black-owned companies themselves."

「而很多產品是來自黑人老闆自己的公司。」

"Companies like Fashion Fair cosmetics, which was developed by the Johnson Publishing company, which was the publishing company behind Ebony, for example."

「一些像是 Fashion Fair 化妝品這類的公司，這間公司是由幕後金主是 Ebony 的 Johnson Publishing 出版業所創辦。」

Drugstore brands like Maybelline had Shades of You in the 90s; Black Opal had products that catered to women of color starting in 1994; Iman began selling in discount retailers in 2004; and Covergirl had the Queen Collection in 2006.

一些像是 Maybelline 這樣的藥妝店在 90 年代推出了 Shades of You 的系列產品；自 1994 年開始，Black Opal 也有了迎合黑人女性的產品；2004 年， Iman 開始在特價商店販售其產品；2006 年，Covergirl 有了 Queen Collection 系列產品。

Then you had luxury brands like NARS, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Black-Up, and Make Up For Ever offering even more shades of brown at higher prices.

接著有了像是 NARS、MAC、Bobbi Brown 這類的高級品牌，還有 Make Up For Ever 推出高單價的咖啡色調產品。

But it hasn't always been a smooth ride for all of these brands.

但這些品牌也不是一路以來都如此順遂。

L'Oréal faced controversy when it was accused of whitewashing Beyonce in its 2008 campaign.

像是 L'Oréal 就曾經引發爭議，這間公司被控告在其 2008 年的一個宣傳活動中洗白碧昂絲。

In 2016, MAC launched their “Vibe Tribe” collection which at worst is cultural appropriation and at best is pretty culturally insensitive.

2016 年，MAC 推出了 Vibe Tribe 系列產品，說好聽點是文化誤用，說難聽點根本毫無文化敏感度。

Yep.

是啊。

While mainstream brands have missed the mark, independent beauty brands have successfully filled the gaps, brands like koyVoca, Cocotique, and The Lip Bar all offer extensive products for women of color.

當主流品牌失去了市場，獨立化妝品品牌，像是 koyVoca、Cocotique 和 The Lip Bar 都成功弭平隔閡並為有色人種女性打造出更多元的產品。

The gap between mainstream and independent brands is also evident in the way they reach their audience.

主流品牌和獨立品牌之間的差異在接觸客源的方式也很明顯。

While major brands still turn to traditional advertising on TV and in magazines, a lot of independent creators rely heavily on social media.

儘管許多大品牌依然會使用傳統的電視或雜誌廣告方式，許多獨立品牌經常利用社群媒體做宣傳。

"Social media has changed the beauty industry in tremendous ways."

「社群媒體已大大改變了化妝品產業。」

"What is really interesting is that if you go on social media there are lots of women, some of whom are professionally trained makeup artists, some are just women who like make up and have sort of taught themselves and have huge followings."

「有趣的是如果你到這些社群媒體上看，你會看到很多女生，有的是專業彩妝師，有的則是自學化妝、喜愛化妝品且有許多追蹤者的女性。」

"And they have followings of people who will listen to what they say."

「他們的追蹤者會聽他們說的話。」

"And so it's much more intimate than having, for example, just a celebrity at the front of your campaigns, which is often what Covergirl, and L'Oréal, and many of the big companies have done."

「比起像是許多大公司像是 Covergirl 和 L'Oréal 的做法，讓一個名人出現廣告上，獨立媒體的這種作法更貼近消費者。」

Brands can try to copy Rihanna's marketing, but there's more to it than that.

化妝品品牌可以試著模仿蕾哈娜的行銷方式，但是不僅僅是這樣。

“If I love it, I'm gonna to go all the way to the end about it."

「如果我愛，我就會一路做下去。」

"And I dabbled in makeup before, but this is like my vision from the ground up, from the textures to the foundation shades, to the names."

「我之前曾碰過一些化妝品，但是這就像我的願景，從質地到粉底液色調到品牌名稱。」

"I have a 100% involvement in this process."

「在過程中我完全參與。」

Even if Rihanna's makeup line doesn't live up to the hype over time, there's no denying that Fenty is causing a much-needed stir in the beauty industry.

即使蕾哈娜的化妝品品牌並沒有越來越賣，但是不可否認的是 Fenty 在化妝品產業已掀起了一股不可或缺的旋風。