Stila Cosmetics may be in yet another faulty skin-darkening scandal. Beauty fans have been circulating a photo of what appears to be an endcap display in an Ulta store. The display features a massive photo of a model whose skin appears much darker than it looks in real life.
The display has many fans wondering why the brand didn't just use an actual dark-skinned model, especially since this isn't Stila Cosmetics' first time being called out for using a white model to convey the image of deep, bronzed skin.
Fans cannot believe what they are seeing at Ulta.
"Am I tripping or is this a white person?" one Twitter user wrote along with a photo of a Stila Cosmetics display. Hmm … The model does look like she was either purposefully shot in super dark lighting or her makeup artist went nuts with the bronzer. It could also be a combination of both.
What is very clear is that the visual is meant to appear darker and to highlight the Stila Cosmetics' glow products.
One look at how the model looks without any strange lighting or contrast proves that she is definitely not as dark in person as she looks in that end cap ad.
"This is her," a person shared on Twitter, along with two additional photos from a Stila Cosmetics shoot. The photo on the left side of the Twitter post is the model who is also shown in the Ulta display.
Her name is Daria Pershina, and we also found a clearer image from her official Instagram account.
Even with a deep tan, Pershina definitely cannot be mistaken for a person with dark skin. This leads me to wonder exactly why Stila Cosmetics would go through such trouble to make her appear to have a deeper complexion.
Stila Cosmetics fans are completely ticked off.
"It is hard enough to find high-performing makeup brands that are cruelty-free, but I cannot support Stila Cosmetics anymore," one former fan wrote. "Photoshopping a white model black as opposed to using a dark-skinned model is atrocious."
So many people have finally decided to stop supporting the beauty brand.
For a lot of shoppers, the decision was easy: "Stila is canceled," a user wrote online.
One fan reached out to Pershina directly. Per their direct message exchange, Pershina confirmed that she did NOT approve a skin tone change.
“Where did you see those images? This is absolutely insane," she allegedly wrote in a direct message.
"I have never signed [sic] for this and I am extremely upset that Stilla [sic] made me with different skin color. This is honesty [sic] crazy… Thank you for sharing.”
If Pershina did not give permission for her skin tone to be darkened by Stila Cosmetics, then that's another violation.
When a brand darkens a white model's skin, it's a slap in the face to actual people of color. It's just as disrespectful to the actual model whose skin has been altered without her consent.
The most confusing part about all of this is that Stila Cosmetics just had a skin darkening scandal in November 2018.
Beauty YouTuber xsparkage exposed Stila Cosmetics for sending some very questionable swatches to the beauty blog, Temptalia. At first glance, the swatch photos appeared like normal. Just another glittery day at the Stila Cosmetics office, right? Wrong.
Xsparkage pointed out that the eyebrows, patchy spots, and even the brow hairs were way too similar to actually be different models.
This was no conspiracy theory. Stila Cosmetics actually owned up to the skin altering accusations but said that the photos were "unapproved."
"We apologize that an unapproved image which was not reflective of the brand or collection was recently featured," the brand shared on its social media platforms.
"It was a creative mistake and we acknowledge it was a mistake on our part and should not have happened. The final campaign did include two models," Stila Cosmetics explained.
The brand also confirmed that it would reveal the correct product images.
"Over the next few days we will be sharing a full range of images from the campaign that truly reflect what we stand for," Stila Cosmetics wrote on Twitter.
Stila Cosmetics also made sure to explain that it does not discriminate against people of any skin tone or race.
"As a brand we support all ethnicities and skin tones to celebrate individual beauty and apologize if our creative was not representative as such," it wrote online.
But if the brand was truly sorry in November 2018, then why are fans spotting photos of darkened models in the Stila Cosmetic store displays in 2019?
How does a brand that supports "all ethnicities and skin tones to celebrate individual beauty" continue to circulate images of a white person with a darker look … by accident? And without that model's consent?
Stila Cosmetics has more explaining to do.
I predict another series of apology tweets if fans keep rattling cans about this skin color messiness. Brands are always sorry when they are called out, right? To help Stila Cosmetics out with this one, below are a few questions I hope will be answered:
Who at the Stila Cosmetics headquarters made the faux pas this time? Or was it the printing press?
Why, after such a huge scandal in 2018, have you been so careless?
How are your customers supposed to believe this was an accident AGAIN?
Which brands do you recommend your unforgiving ex-fans start shopping in your place?
Don't offer up any apology lacking the answers to these questions, Stila Cosmetics. Please and thanks.
