Fashion + Beauty

Monday, December 7, 2009

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Was Beyonce's skin white-washed?

Jesus, what a week for beauty advertising. First there was Nipplegate 2: Eva Mendes's Calvin Klein nip slip; then nude Olympians hawking Powerade; and now, L'Oréal's been caught with their pants down. And while we've heard of corporate "greenwashing," this is ridiculous.

Well, not really, but they are scrambling to deny allegations that Beyoncé's skin was lightened in the ad on the right, which appears in this month's Elle, Allure and Essence. Said the company in a statement to E! News:

"We highly value our relationship with Ms. Knowles. It is categorically untrue that L'Oréal Paris altered Ms. Knowles's features or skin-tone in the campaign for Feria's hair color."


Hm... Well obviously they're not going to admit any shenanigans, but now that we've kind of moved on past that whole Montauk Monster moment, people seem to be enjoying speculating how this particular aberration of nature could have occurred. Some are saying that skin color changes throughout the season, but that since it's summer she should be darker, if anything. But hello, this photo could've been shot anytime. Another popular theory is that the combination of lighting and makeup could've made her skin look lighter, or that there was some kind of snafu at the printers. Very possible, very possible.

Whatever the case may be, it seems like advertisers need to get really real really soon, because the public's bull ----- whistle is getting louder and more shrill. Of course, as much as I'm loving all of this, I can't stop thinking of that scene in the original Batman when no one can wear makeup anymore (the Joker tainted it all, duh) and the news casters are all depressed and everyone looks like ----- . Just sayin'...

Anyhoo, compare and contrast the photos. What do you think?

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From the Community…

Comments 101-110 of 110
  • tcm's Avatar
    Posted by tcm Thu Oct 8, 2009 6:57am PDT

    Well you gotta figure, if they're freakish enough to test on animals, then they're freakish enough to do this!

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  • Lily L's Avatar
    Posted by Lily L Thu Oct 8, 2009 8:03am PDT

    They didn't necessarily alter the photo. To me it looks like they altered her using strategic lighting.

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  • jaye's Avatar
    Posted by jaye Thu Oct 8, 2009 8:05am PDT

    She has no talent anyway, whether it's whitewashed, darkened, or made transparent.

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  • hmmm . . .'s Avatar
    Posted by hmmm . . . Thu Oct 8, 2009 9:22am PDT

    hmmm . . . Methinks they whitewashed. After all, look at her nose and hair color - the skin had to match the image.

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  • craft a's Avatar
    Posted by craft a Thu Oct 8, 2009 9:33am PDT

    WHITE AMERICA HAS TRIED TO FORCE THE ISSUE OF THE HOUSE ----- AND MAKE BLACK PEOPLE HATE THEIR BEAUTIFUL FEATURES THAT GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH,THANK GOD ALL OF US DO NOT HATE OUR BEAUTIFUL BLACK SKIN,THICK LIPS AND THICK HAIR YES WE WEAR WEAVES AND BRAIDS AND ANYTHING ELSE WE WANT TO BECAUSE WE ARE CREATIVE NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO LOOK LIKE YOU WHITE PEOPLE..... GET A CLUE EVERYBODY DOES NOT WANT TO BE LIKE YOU OR EVEN LIKE YOU OR YOUR CULTURE

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  • Hopem's Avatar
    Posted by Hopem Thu Oct 8, 2009 11:18am PDT

    I totally agree with Rowdy girl. Ms. Maureen just because you change your skin color doesn't allow you to "experince other ethnicities" or walk in their shoes. That happens when you travel and speak with the different people, trying the different foods, clothing e.t.c

    yes at times when you color your hair it does tend to make you appear somewhat changed, but not that much. But at the end of the day business is business she and loreal both know the real deal.

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  • DarrkAngel's Avatar
    Posted by DarrkAngel Thu Oct 8, 2009 12:20pm PDT

    Most of Beyonce's pictures have her appear with some sort of bronze colored skin.. I was surprised when I saw REAL pictures of her-- she's so much more beautiful natural, why would she lighten her skin color in pictures? And I realize it's not actually her doing it, but why would anyone is more my question..

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  • Lilly's Avatar
    Posted by Lilly Thu Oct 8, 2009 6:02pm PDT

    It's ironic that they use someone that's wearing fake hair to advertise their haircolor product. Why aren't they using black women with their own hair? It's always makes me wonder why black celebrity women always use extensions of white women's hair. Has anyone ever seen a black woman use extensions that actually match their own hair?

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  • Sable-Licious!'s Avatar
    Posted by Sable-Licious! Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:35pm PDT

    Wait...isnt she wearing a wig?? Why is Beyonce posing for hair products...go figure...

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  • T P's Avatar
    Posted by T P Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:01pm PDT

    It looks like it is just the lighting and the lighter hair.. you would be surprised.. it does make a difference... I don't see them advertising that the picture of her on the left was taken exactly yesterday. That could have been a pic of her after she came back from vacation.

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