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This is the product at the center of the shade-range controversy.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Retailer
A limited shade range in 2025 is … a choice. One that Gucci Beauty made for its latest launch, the Gucci Glow skin tint, a lightweight tinted moisturizer. It comes in 20 shades, and only four of them, a quarter of the entire range, are for darker complexions. Rapper JT reposted Trendmood’s post about the shades and called the brand out on her Instagram Stories, asking, “Are they color blind?” It makes sense that she’s a M.A.C girl.
This is not Gucci Beauty’s first foray into complexion products. The brand has a foundation with 40 inclusive shades. Tinted moisturizers don’t usually come in as many shades because the formulas are made to be more flexible on skin tones; however, there is still a proper way to have a small number of shades without being exclusionary. Luxury brands consistently launching shade ranges like this is careless. It’s not impossible to create a larger one: The Victoria Beckham and Augustinus Bader collaboration just announced the launch of its Foundation Drops, a serumlike foundation that comes in 19 shades. The range looks inclusive of all skin tones and undertones; that’s where the true test comes. One comment read, “You do not have to do every shade to be inclusive. But you at least have to give the same number of shades to each shade group.”
The Victoria Beckham x Augustinus Bader shade range.
Photo: Victoria Beckham x Augustinus Bader
It can start to feel like shade exclusion is purposeful. Keita Moore, also known as Kilprity, makeup artist to Taraji P. Henson, Cynthia Erivo, Serena Williams, and Nia Long, among others, commented on Black Beauty Roster’s Instagram post calling out Gucci: “At this point it feels like a marketing strategy for these cosmetic brands [to] release fewer deep foundation shades, spark outrage, then come back with an ‘inclusive launch’ and sell out … we fall for trap every time. We [are] not asking to be included anymore.” We shouldn’t have to beg to be included, but this also sends a loud message that the products are for one type of consumer, especially from luxury brands that can afford the research and resources to have a properly inclusive shade range. I guess this is a launch I won’t be trying.
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