As a dark-skinned girl who grew up in Western culture, I can relate to the frustrating situations in everyday life that black women meet every day. The scarcity of shade selections in cosmetic products has the same characteristics as the discrimination that occurs in the job market, which is referred to as structural racism.

I personally have struggled to find my own perfect match of foundation for over a decade. Nyma Tang has also experienced this issue and has gathered an audience for raising awareness on this topic.

Nyma Tang is a 28-year-old influencer and activist against discrimination based on skin colour. She is also known as an advocate for inclusivity in the beauty industry. Her YouTube channel is an outlet where she shares her inconvenient experiences with the flaws of foundation shades that she hopes viewers can relate to.

Nyma opens up on her YouTube videos about how she was made fun of for her skin colour every day, this ruined her self-confidence. Society has made millions of dark-skinned girls feel like black skin didn’t fit the standards of beauty, but Nyma was one of the few who expressed her opinion and wanted a change in the matter.

In the past, the problem has not only been finding dark shades in shops but also that there hasn’t been a variety of shades of darker colours. Not all dark skins are the same shade, and neither are light skins. It has always been self-evident that light skin includes different undertones, e.g. olive skin, warm, cool, and neutral. It is ignorant for companies to assume that dark shades are all the same colour when they are not.

*Nyma Tang acts as a role model for many dark skinned people*

In a society based on the whiteness norm, a certain kind of blindness easily occurs. Companies for example in the north don’t see all the potential buyers which is understandable but also changeable. Advertisements that emphasise diversity and the poor availability of products are often in contradiction with each other.

Racism is a multifaceted thing that manifests itself in society as a whole and also in the make-up industry.

In a video interview with @InTheKnowByYahoo, Nyma said with passion “I influence people to love themselves. Your skin tone is as beautiful as everyone else’s. Inclusivity and representation are important because the standard of beauty shouldn’t be a colour, I think it should be the range. Something I really want to do is make an impact into the drugstore, I want to shake up the industry.”

Nyma has gained over half a million followers on Instagram, and a subscriber count well past the one million mark on YouTube. She has been able to cooperate with legacy brands like L'Oréal Paris and Estee Lauder on a regular basis and has had opportunities to create her own collections for the brands. She has also created her own lipstick with Mac Cosmetics as part of their beauty influencer campaign.

*Nyma brought out her own collection with Dose of Colours*

It's important for consumers to be seen and represented. Us black women have not felt included in the beauty industry for the most part of our life. It's great to see how one person can bring even such a simple concern to a new level and make a better feeling for many dark-skinned people.

Although I wish brands had appreciated and created make-up for dark people years ago, it's a relief to know that the current situation can only get better.

Is Nyma Tang the new voice for black people in the makeup industry?