Black model featured in viral video of foundation: 'This is not a trend for me. I am dark skin, now and forever'

The push for diversity in makeup shades has really taken off, especially in the last year. Industry insiders refer to this movement as the “Fenty Beauty effect” — attributing the positive change to the wildly successful launch of Rihanna’s signature cosmetics collection in September 2017, which included an impressive range of 40 foundations. However, brands like Beauty Bakerie have always created products that prove inclusion is embedded in their DNA.

Cashmere Nicole is the CEO and founder of the black- and female-owned bakery-inspired cosmetics company. She’s established a cult following among makeup mavens for consistently delivering vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow, lipsticks, concealers, and more for an array of skin tones with unbelievable color payoff and at affordable price points.

Besides asking consumers exactly what their needs and wants are via surveys, Beauty Bakerie goes a step further by authentically showcasing just how effective their products are in mesmerizing videos. The brand recently uploaded a video to Twitter featuring a black model applying their Cake Mix Foundation with a spatula, and the internet can’t get over how perfectly it matched her deep skin tone. The caption reported exactly which shade this was: “Cake Mix Foundation in shade 3.”

We can’t stop watching the clip, and based on the comments, we aren’t the only ones entranced by this foundation makeup video.

When categorizing makeup from light to dark, the numbers associated with the hues typically go from lowest to highest. But as some observant individuals noted, Beauty Bakerie is one of the few brands to flip this concept on its head.

Mike Markham, Beauty Bakerie’s chief marketing officer, tells Yahoo Lifestyle: “Our brand’s position on inclusivity is more than just marketing; it’s reality. From our staff; to influencers; to customers; we seek to illustrate and celebrate our commonalities through our love of beauty and the artistry of makeup.”

Another detail that stood out to Beauty Bakerie fans was the model’s “chocolatey” palms.

This prompted quite the conversation on what a real woman’s hands look like, and it comes on the heels of Becca Cosmetics being called out for heavily editing a dark-skinned model’s arm in photos promoting their new Skin Love Weightless Blur Foundation.

Yahoo Lifestyle tracked down the woman featured in Beauty Bakerie’s viral foundation video. Agnes Beda is a 25-year-old of South Sudanese descent who currently lives in San Diego, Calif., and works as a behavioral technician. She landed the hand model gig when a friend couldn’t make the swatch shoot and referred her to the brand. “They reached out, and I was very glad to help,” she says.

Credibility was a huge reason why Beda was glad to be a part of this project, and she wanted to dispel any myths about the visuals being “fake.”

“It’s important to show various skin tones and deeper skin tones, because we live in a society where we are so diverse, and we can’t just stop at one shade of white or one shade of black,” says Beda.

Beda revealed that when she was growing up, she struggled with finding foundation to match her complexion. And when she did find a shade, it wasn’t “executed as well as the more fair skin products.”

“I don’t want my kids to go through, or any child who has darker skin, to go through what I did,” she says. “It took many years for me to accept my skin color and accept myself and really build my self-confidence up. I shouldn’t have to question why the image of beauty looks nothing like me!”

When asked if she thinks diversity in the makeup industry has improved, Beda had this very profound response: “I think we’ve taken a long stride in the right direction. I also feel like there is a lot of improvement that needs to be made. You can’t claim your product or your makeup line is inclusive and caters to a huge range when the darkest color you have for deep skin tones is Gabrielle Union’s shade. … This is not a trend for me — I am dark skin now and forever. So if you’re going to represent deeper skin tones, represent them well.”

Read more on Yahoo Lifestyle:

• How Makeup Brands Choose Their Exact Foundation Shades

• Adorable video of makeup artist transforming daughter into her mini-me gives the internet all the feels

• Jackie Aina on How She Expanded Too Faced’s Foundation Range — and What Makes the New Shades Unique

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