This Makeup Artist Deftly Avoids Blackface in a Tutorial and the Internet Loves Them for It

It's difficult to root for large corporations or studios for displaying diversity or touting their sensitivity toward other cultures. For the most part, it can come off as performative, especially as brands like Bud Light or companies like Target roll back some of their LGBTQ+ Pride support as soon as sales start to dip due to right-wing conservative backlash.

Representation like that should come standard for all businesses, not just as an annual marketing ploy that changes based on sales.

But while we can't exactly trust corporations to look out for other folks without their bottom line in mind, some smaller business owners are thankfully out here making an active effort to tout their products with sensitivity.

For instance, there's the owner of Sunset Makeup (pronouns: they/them). As a non-binary lesbian business owner, this fair-skinned makeup artist took special care in promoting their new products while expertly avoiding a blackface incident in the process. Let's break down what happened.

In a TikTok posted on June 20, 2023, Sunset Makeup replied to a commenter asking them to make pink and green foundation by showing off their "Colorful Foundation" products for every color in the rainbow, along with grey, black, and white. They then proceeded to test out each color foundation by covering their entire face with it. They went through each shade they had in quick tutorials, all while being sweatproof, waterproof, and longer-lasting than face paint.

While they tested each of the vibrant colors on their face, they elected to test the black shade on their arm instead, proving the color's effectiveness on the skin while smartly avoiding any potential blackface incidents by setting it on their face.

Commenters not only expressed interest in their products, but they also took immediate notice of how they completely avoided blackface allegations with their product test.

"You said NOT TODAY," one person commented with praise emojis.

Another person praised their efforts, commenting, "I was sweating when I saw the black foundation come out. Bless you for swatching it like [a] considerate human."

The Sunset Makeup creator even commented themselves, stating that they were "just listening to [their] community and trying [their] best to be respectful."

Even folks on Twitter were singing their praises on how they not only beat the blackface allegations, but saw them coming a mile away and ran in the other direction.

One person tweeted, "[Their] cancellation awareness is top tier."

Other folks simply said "[They] knew better" than to use black on their face.

The most folks can ask for of other people is an awareness and a willingness to learn and be open to new information when it comes to tackling sensitive subjects or being mindful of other people's feelings.

The makeup artist Sunset Makeup has certainly taken that mindset in stride and knew exactly what they should do to avoid any grave misunderstandings on the internet.