Sometimes, beauty products are given names so offensive they make you wonder, "who even approved this?" This happens more frequently than you'd expect, and the culprits are more often than not some of the world's biggest beauty brands.
Here are just a handful of times that's happened.
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Lime Crime's China Doll eye shadow palette
Lime Crime released one of its first palettes ever, China Doll, in 2012, and its advertising campaign featured a singular white model wearing garments from a mix of Asian cultures. Its product description on Dolls Kill still remains, and it reads:
"Lime Crime Chinadoll Pressed Eyeshadow Palette brings the mystery and fantasy of the far East to yer everyday style. This collection of 5 pressed eyeshadows is inspired by the beauty of the orient, and offers superior coverage, creamy texture ranging from matte to metallic finish, and is easily blended, perfect for casual, or dramatic wear. So when yer getting ready ya can go from a disgruntled dragon to an elegant empress in no time."
In response to backlash, brand founder Doe Deere wrote an entire blog in which she questioned why people are so offended by cultural appropriation — but the palette was never pulled.
Kat Von D Beauty's Celebutard lipstick
This Kat Von D lipstick — the name of which is a combination of "celebrity" and "retard" — was removed from Sephora in 2013 after widespread complaints from customers and mental disability non-profits arose.
Von D allegedly tweeted (then deleted), "At the end of the day, it’s just a f**king lipstick," shortly before the shade was pulled.
Jeffree Star Cosmetics' Pussy Whipped lipstick
Immediately after Jeffree Star revealed the name of this lipstick in 2016, Twitter users called for a JSC boycott because they felt the name glamorized female genital mutilation (and because Star has a long history of documented misogyny).
Star made no formal statement regarding Pussy Whipped, but did tweet, "I've heard worse… Hold up, I'm yawning…" Pussy Whipped is still available nearly one year later.
Kat Von D Beauty's Underage Red lipstick
More than a year after this shade was released, the internet began calling for Underage Red to be taken off Sephora shelves and noted how it sexualizes young teens and children. Von D defended the shade in a Facebook post.
"These wild and horrific accusations proclaiming that any aspect of my makeup line would ever promote the degradation of women, statutory rape, sexual behavior, human trafficking, underage drinking, or even idealization of fleeting youth goes against everything I stand for," she wrote. "So, please excuse me if I find those articles and comments appalling and inaccurate."
Underage Red never left Kat Von D Beauty's lineup, and you can still buy it today from both the brand and Sephora.
ColourPop Cosmetics' Sculpting Stix
When ColourPop's contouring sticks first hit the brand's website, customers instantly noticed that its darker shades had insulting names such as "Typo" and "Yikes," whereas the lighter shades were merely named things like "Castle" and "Venice."
ColourPop issued an apology statement and quickly renamed the deeper shades. The Sculpting Stix as a whole have since been discontinued.
Urban Decay's Afterdark eye shadow palette
The shade in the far lefthand, bottom pan of this palette — which is still available today — is named Druggie, and that did NOT go well for Urban Decay. The internet collectively drafted a petition to have the shade removed or renamed, to which the brand never responded.
UD never apologized for the shade name, but it did remove the names from the front side of the Afterdark palette.
MAC Cosmetics' Vibe Tribe Collection
This limited-edition MAC collection from spring 2016 was instantly criticized for cultural appropriation and enforcing Native American stereotypes. The packaging for the collection featured tribal patterns, and she shades had names such as "Arrowhead" and "Call of the Canyon" — worst of all, the campaign's ad depicted models wearing Native American head dresses.
In a statement, MAC declared the line was inspired by music festivals and was in no way connected to Native American culture. The line remained on shelves until it phased out.
MAC Cosmetics' Rodarte Collection
In 2010, fashion house Rodarte created a highly anticipated collection with MAC that was inspired by Mexico, and its nail polish named "Juarez" disturbed customers due to the Mexican city of the same name. Juarez is a factory town notorious for high concentration of rape and murder of young women.
MAC apologized for the collection but kept it on shelves — it did, however, "give a portion of the proceeds from the MAC Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez."
The Balm's Meet Matt(e) Trimony eye shadow palette
Every shade in this eye shadow palette, which is still available under the site's bestseller section, was named for a different "Matt," and many found its choice of last names questionable. People found its paring of last names Lin, Lopez, Kumar, and Ahmed to yellow, brown, brick red, and black shades racist.
The brand never commented on the palette's many criticisms.
The Balm's Nude Dude and Nude 'Tude eye shadow palettes
In 2015, The Balm released the Nude Dude palette, which featured semi-naked cartoon men, and its shades had names such as Fearless, Flawless, and Friendly. When the internet compared this palette to its predecessor, Nude 'Tude, it called The Balm out for sexism — because Nude 'Tude features semi-naked women and shade names such as Sassy, Snobby, and Selfish.
The brand defended its packaging choices in a statement and kept both products in its permanent collection.
Kylie Cosmetics' Blush
When Kylie Jenner revealed her first line of blushes, the world was automatically made uncomfortable by the shade named "Barely Legal." In the beauty world, this is far from an NSFW name, but given Jenner's relationship with Tyga — whom she began dating when she was 17 and he was 25 — it seemed far from appropriate.
Kylie Cosmetics still sells Barely Legal and never responded the comments about the shade's name.
Ben Nye's Cream Character Base
According to several beauty bloggers, Ben Nye sold a deep cream complexion base called Minstrel Brown back in 2015. FYI: Minstrels were theatric shows performed by white actors in blackface during the 19th century, and they were specifically intended to mock and degrade Black people.
Ben Nye swiftly renamed the shade (and every shade in the collection) but the brand never apologized for — or commented on — the original name.
