Beyonce Is Not L’Oreal’s Beauty Ideal
Posted by: Annika Harris
Filed in:
news
12:00PM, Thursday August 7th 2008
L’Oreal Paris’ latest Feria ad, featuring spokesperson Beyonce, has been getting some unintended attention in the last couple of days because the company has been accused of digitally lightening the entertainer’s skin and editing her nose to appear pointier. Though L’Oreal denies the accusations, the difference between the ad and the real Beyonce is striking. L’Oreal’s deal with Beyonce in 2006 was part of a growing trend to include black women in ads for beauty products that were traditionally marketed solely to white women. And black women took notice because Beyonce is one of the biggest entertainers of our time. Although she in no way represents a majority of black women, we were excited to see someone that resembled us and to have products, like hair dye, that would work with our hair texture.
But we also knew Beyonce fit an ideal of beauty that was consistent with L’Oreal’s image. She’s has pretty fair skin and wears her weave…I mean…hair, extremely long and straight. Her endorsement deal, according to Apryl’s Advertising Blog, says the entertainer must keep her hair in “excellent condition” and notify the company if she plans to make “any radical change.” Currently, Kerry Washington is the only other black spokesperson for L’Oreal and even she fits this ideal to some extent.
Which brings me to this ad in particular. It’s really offensive that L’Oreal felt it necessary to make Beyonce’s pale skin even paler and to make her nose more Anglo because it reinforces the archaic standard of whiteness being the beauty ideal. And it also creates confusion. How can a company purport to usher in a new wave of beauty, but then say that beauty is not good enough?
Now some people may say that it was the lighting at the photo shoot that made her skin look whiter, but that’s ridiculous. If that was the case, L’Oreal should have used Photoshop to create an accurate depiction of Beyonce—she’s worth it and so are their customers. [ABC News]
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Simcha
wrote on August 7 2008 @ 05:14 pm: [report]
Ugh, really! She barely even looks tan!
Scott
wrote on August 7 2008 @ 08:35 pm: [report]
I used to laugh at people who thought pictures took away their souls, but this time ...
Neenah
wrote on August 7 2008 @ 09:04 pm: [report]
L’Oreal probably didn’t lighten her skin. Most likely, the culprit would be the manufacturer of the skin care products the makeup artist used. So L’Oreal sort of told the truth - but it’s painfully obvious they didn’t tell the whole truth.
Christine
wrote on August 9 2008 @ 11:50 am: [report]
This is silly, and I really wish adults would learn to stay within their own lanes. I cannot fathom why black women would be upset with L’Oreal if Beyonce is not. This is like being mad at bill collector for call you, not taking into consideration that you owe them. Anyway I am sure Beyonce approved or at least saw this photo before it was released. If “B” likes it then we should love it. I am almost willing to bet this photo would not even be an issue if it were on the cover of Essense, Jet or Ebony (I am positive someone will offer a dispute). I an looking at 3 publication right now with so called black women who do not look like me. For all of you perturbed people, I recommend not worrying so much about how L’Oreal chooses to photoshop their models; instead (you personally) focus on creating or growing an equally competitive company that will be more sucessful than L’Oreal has been in the last 20 years at brainwashing black women to strive to look and be like Marie Antoinette. For the people upset about Beyonce not looking like a black woman and prefer not be to fused into the dominant European esthetic then stop dying, perming, pressing, bleaching; stop rib removing, stop with the rhinoplasty and the liposuction before you get mad at a company for noticing that you suffer from autophobia. In the end we all get what we ask for.
Sorry for any errors, I just had to vent.
Veronica
wrote on August 9 2008 @ 10:35 pm: [report]
The picture to the left isn’t really what Beyonce REALLY looks like eather, so ,,, should have searched harder for a better picture of what Beyonce really looks like.
Yes Beyonce is light skin, but not that light skin, not even in the picture to the left.
Also, Beyonce’s mother is mixed, but both her and Beyonce’s father have african-American hair with Beyonce’s mother’s hair just being somewhat looser because of her bi-racial parents. Beyonce doesan’t have white-texture hair!!! Not just because her parents don’t have it, but Beyonce has shown her natural hair to the public-even before RELAXING it and it is that of the African-American roots not of any kinda mixing or WHITE-TEXTURE.(not that there’s anything wrong with African-American hair) but Beyonce sure does make it seem that there is!
Maybe a year or so ago, there was another similar argument for another magazine Beyonce covered looking like a white woman. I forget what the name of the magazine was but it was maybe a year or so ago and it was the press i think who actually argued this so this is not new-news. I TOTALY agree with ,, and i think that most of the wrold, except for the blind know that Beyonce is in a fake image of someone she really isn’t! I think that is degrating, disrespectfull and a shame for black-women. Beyonce is a coward for accepting this fake image since she has fame and power to be herself which is a BLACK-WOMAN who is still beautifull without the lightening of her skin and showing her natural texture roots of her hair. Beyonce is a disgrace to the black-woman!Beyonce is a coward and a fake. The argument with this is that Beyonce is ALWAYS is this fake image, not sometimes, but ALWAYS and that what make her look so obvious to want to look just white.
Love ya Annika Harris, thanks for postin this-up, you a brave woman!...but truth always surfaces up. Watch you every night, love your stories. Love Veronica.
Veronica
wrote on August 9 2008 @ 10:50 pm: [report]
Hey Annika, don’t worry too much bout what excuse people have bout Beyonce’s hair and skin, everyone knows what she’s trying to do with this fake-white image but they just keep making excuses because they like her.I know, it’s pathetic.I like Beyonce too, but im not going to ignore the obvious and make ecuses for her, she’s not perfect, she’s not Jesus, ima tell her like i tell my other girl-friends!If anything i think people who deny, make excuses for people just because they’re famous, beautiful or they just like them so much—-have some serious problems!
Nowdays you can’t say a one negative word bout this Beyonce without being labeled as a HATER! People really need to come down to earth from this “Beyonce Illusion-Obssession”, it’s really kinda frealy. You can’t say one wrong thing bout her. Im sure she sin too!!! As a matter of fact i know she sins, she makes mistakes, she isn’t white and is still allright, her mother, father,fans, friends even Jay-Z has critisized her bout something—-but are they Beyonce HATERS??? Right, see what i mean!
Raven
wrote on October 13 2008 @ 12:37 pm: [report]
if she looks good who cares.. My mother is African American and my father was white, my skin is very light and I relax and straighten my hair. I just look better with it straightened and if Beyonce thinks that she looks better with her hair long and straight then who cares, we all have our own bodies and I don’t see why other people should be mad at that.
ahtnamas02
wrote on October 7 2009 @ 10:18 pm: [report]
hey,who cares…she’s sexy and pretty. plus she sings so well. she looks so pretty in the picture at the left. go Beyonce!