Rainbows shine for those who don’t care about the pot of gold.

I love rainbows. In addition to coming out right after the rain to bring the news of sunshine, they also show us a rainbow of possibilities. Even the tiniest rainbow carries all colors in the universe! I love surrounding myself with color – from clothes to books to wall paint – because it inspires creativity and makes you see things in a better, more positive light.

My love affair with color cosmetics began in the early childhood. My grandmother was a woman of a unique taste – her signature lipstick was a bright orange. But it wasn’t the kind of orange you see today, leaning on red and coral, but a simple, unpretentious orange. I remember fantasizing about that Soviet piece of cosmetics – how awesome would it be to actually try it on. Of course, playing with adults’ makeup was strictly forbidden so it wasn’t until I was about 5 of 6 that I finally got my sticky fingers on it. Filled with unspeakable delight, I smeared the lipstick across my pout, but, being inexperienced, pressed on too hard and broke it. I probably got in trouble, but what remained in my memory is the enchanting feeling of possessing a beauty item. When you’re 6, nothing can make you forget the worries of the world than the right shade of lipstick. Some things never change.

Moths & Butterflies

As I proceeded into my adolescence, I noticed that color became more and more sparse. All the bright hues were now reserved for toddlers and preschoolers, and it became increasingly difficult to find a pink jacket with a unicorn on the back. I felt cheated out of color and found escape in making clothes for Barbies. As I entered the world of grown-up cosmetics, things looked even more bleak:


The beige rainbow

An army of beige. Look around and you’ll be immediately confronted with it: nude lipstick, french manicures, the proverbial brown eyeshadow. I remember asking a sales assistant about a pair of brown false lashes they were selling. “These look more natural,” she said. Maybe she knew something I didn’t, but the idea of gluing on fake lashes to look ‘natural’ sounded absolutely absurd.  The Cult of Beige feeds on the assumption that neutrals look good on everyone, but that sure wasn’t true for me. Made up in grays and browns, I looked sickly, washed out, and felt not the least bit attractive. I wanted to be a butterfly but instead, all I could be was a moth. So where do all of the butterflies turn to?

Color Crisis of the cosmetic industry

The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize how much of a crisis the cosmetic industry is in. Companies are afraid of color -  and continue making the same shades they’d made for the past 50 years, in different packaging. I believe that color is essential when it comes to beauty. It can be used to enhance features, conceal imperfections, and even just for fun – isn’t that what makeup should be about? Color range is more or less explored in eyeshadows, but  it came to lipstick, companies acted as if they’d never seen a rainbow! To illustrate my point, I made this little diagram:


Common lipstick shades

This is what a typical lip colors spectrum look like. As you can see, browns, beiges and reds are extremely well-represented, but the rest is pretty much shunned. Makeup companies deem colors outside this ’safe’ range too bright, too unwearable and, by extension, unmarketable. As a result, you almost never see any shades outside the safe range. Now, I have no problem with neutrals per se. There is a place for them – foundations, concealers, powders, and bronzers are all based on the shades you naturally find in our skin – but shouldn’t we be allowed to have more fun with eyes and lips?

Meet the Wizard


We’re off the see the Wizard…

Everyone knows the story  of Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and friends set off to find the amazing Wizard of Oz, who allegedly runs the Emerald City and has the ability to grant them their wish. I always wondered if there was some kind of a Wizard pulling the strings in cosmetics, someone who decides which shades are ok and which too crazy. And then I realized how ridiculous that was. There should be no Wizard! We should be the ones to decide what colors we want to wear! Someone is holding the rainbow hostage – and so I set off to find out who.

What I discovered that there, indeed, was a Wizard. And he happened to be of sexist tendencies. Did you know that MAC, Estee Lauder, Lancome and most major makeup companies are run by men? That’s right: the industry that makes female-centric products is dominated by men – and not the fabulous gay variety, either – who have no passion for cosmetics! How can we trust them to dictate our beauty trends??

This is not the end of the saga but only the beginning. I will find my rainbow – in the meanwhile, I’m building my own mini-version in the hopes that one day it will grow big and light up the world.

Deerlings, what do you think of men running the makeup business?
I think it’s time for a change. There is nothing inherently wrong with men being involved in cosmetics, but perhaps we could all benefit from a bit of a female perspective.