Illamasqua Blackface & Whiteface Makeup Ads Spark Backlash (PHOTOS)
Here comes yet another blackface controversy: new ads for Illamasqua makeup are causing a stir over a model’s extremely darkened complexion.
Jezebel spotted the campaign online when the controversial ads popped up on the makeup brand’s Facebook page last night. (The link now reveals an error messagestating that the “content is currently unavailable,” although the same image was posted to Illamasqua’s official Pinterest page three weeks ago, where it remains.)
In the ad, a woman clad in a white hat and white apparel — with her face done up to match — stares into the camera next to the slogan, “NOT Dreaming Of A White Christmas.” Her counterpart features the same look but in all black… and that’s where the trouble began.
On Pinterest, commenters divided. User JaeAesthetic writes that the “black foundation painted skin” and “very light exaggerated lips” give the model a look reminiscent of “minstrel blackface makeup.” Another defended the ad’s dual nature, saying, “This isn’t blackface — Just an editorial interpretation of the opposite of white.”
One of Illamasqua’s home countries, Australia, has found itself in hot water over blackface before. In a 2009 episode of the talent show “Hey Hey, It’s Saturday,” men dressed up in afro wigs and black makeup to portray the Jackson Five. (Luckily, judge Harry Connick Jr. was there to shut that whole thing down.) Last year, Qantas airlines chose a photo of two men in blackface as the winner of a Twitter contest.
Oh, ow…ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…ow…
How to approach this one…ugh…
Okay, first…first and foremost, if I may…from a STRICTLY ARTISTIC STANDPOINT, I get what they were trying to do. I understand. Conceptually speaking, it’s a fascinating idea. It is. Where I believe they stumbled was in execution.
Where I find myself zeroing in on are the lips. They strike me as the most different and the least similar between the two sides. We can agree on this, yes? Perhaps if the shape and color of BOTH the lips were uniform, it would not resemble blackface to as great an extent. This is simply how I am seeing it, no ill-will intended…
Second…I do not believe that Illamasqua was deliberately trying to be racist. I don’t. It’s been my observation in recent years that people are overly trigger-happy when it comes to flashing the Racism Card, and I do not believe that the charge itself in this specific instance holds a lot of water. This is simply how I’m calling it as I see it…no need to cause alarm…
Do I think it was a mistake? Yes I do. Do I think it’s all that serious? I’m inclined to say no. Let’s remind ourselves that it’s an ad that done goofed — nothing more or less. It’s not the KKK. It’s okay to not hang this company out to dry for that…
