Silent for over a month since influencer Golloria George described the darkest shade of its Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundation as “literally jet black,” makeup brand Youthforia reemerged on social media Monday with a post on TikTok and Instagram announcing a job opening for an in-house director of product development and pointing to information about the opening on its website.
The post, which drew 144,400 views, 279 likes and 322 comments on TikTok and nearly 1,400 likes and 326 comments on Instagram as of Tuesday morning, doesn’t address the foundation shade controversy, but suggests Youthforia is taking action to avoid further inclusivity missteps. Brand founder Fiona Co Chan doesn’t appear in them.
The post has two slides. The first slide reads, “Our Commitment To Providing Inclusive Products.” The second slide reads, “We care about our customers and as we continue to drive change, we are creating a new position internally dedicated to examining both our current products and those in development so we can best meet your needs.”
On Youthforia’s site, the job listing covers 19 key responsibilities across product development leadership, DEI initiatives, project management, regulatory compliance and product marketing. There are five responsibilities categorized as DEI initiatives. Among them are for the incoming director of product development to “conduct thorough reviews of existing and planned products to identify opportunities for expanding shade ranges and inclusivity,” and “engage with BIPOC community members, makeup artists, focus groups, and consumer insights to gather feedback and inform product development decisions.”
George has posted disapprovingly about Youthforia’s Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundation at least seven times on TikTok. On September 27 last year, she condemned the 15 initial shades of Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundation for lacking shade options for consumers of color in a video that has 2.4 million views. On April 29 this year in a video that’s garnered 38 million views, George excoriated shade 600 for being “minstrel show black” and “tar in a bottle.” Shade 600 is part of a 10-shade expansion Youthforia put out 20 months earlier than previously scheduled to respond to the earlier criticism.
“We are creating a new position internally dedicated to examining both our current products and those in development so we can best meet your needs.”
On Instagram and TikTok, commenters weren’t thrilled with Youthforia for announcing a job opening rather than apologizing for shade 600, and it’s unclear what moves the brand will make in the future to win back upset consumers. Shade 600 continues to be available on the brand’s site and at Ulta Beauty. Following George’s TikTok dismantling of it, the retailers Credo, Revolve and Thirteen Lune dropped Youthforia. The brand is currently on clearance at J.C. Penney and remains sold at Soko Glam.
An Instagram commenter with the handle realmewsuko wrote, “I’m disappointed. Not only an extremely delayed response, but one that does not empathize or take true accountability.” Another with the handle lovelarisalove wrote, “This post is not landing. I definitely sympathize with you as you are a smaller brand trying to do the right thing! I would strongly suggest you make sure to consult the people that you are trying to build inclusivity for. Pay them for their time and work alongside them to find ways to develop solutions.”
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