As soon as Rihanna launched a collection of 40 foundation shades for every skin tone, many brands followed suit. Tarte, Dior and many more makeup giants released an equal — or greater — number of foundation shades, and Lancôme even created a shade-matching system that can create up to 8,000 unique colors. But despite the recent awareness of inclusivity in the makeup world, drugstores remain one of the hardest places to find a full range of shades — which is why CoverGirl has finally changed the mass-market game with their latest TruBlend Matte Made foundation, which comes in 40 colors, the biggest-ever selection for the brand.
To celebrate the foundation, the brand is also launching a new campaign, which honors all of the women — from multiple races and backgrounds — who the foundation was inspired by. We spoke to the brand’s spokeswomen, Insecure star Issa Rae, model Maye Musk and motorcycle racer Shelina Moreda about the news, and as it turns out, they’re just as excited as we are.
“From early on, the thing that motivated me was feeling left out in representation on television and in film,” Rae tells PeopleStyle. “Lucky for me I grew up with a lot of representation so I knew it was possible, but I can’t imagine younger generations not seeing themselves.”
Still, even to this day, Rae says she feels left out “every day” as an African American woman. And in the beauty space, it began when she was a college student shopping for her foundation shade.
“I’m a big drugstore beauty shopper and I went to college in a predominantly white rich old neighborhood and even just going to the local drugstore to try to find my shade was impossible,” Rae tells PeopleStyle of her experience shopping for makeup. “I’d have to go to east Palo Alto which is the black part of town to be able to find it, and even the shades were limited. I was like, ‘This is a black neighborhood. What’s the problem?'”
Now, she says, she sees a shift in the industry — especially with the brand she’s proud to be a face of. “That there’s so much attention being paid to making sure that people are being included and represented, and Covergirl is making that a priority and I feel like I can get behind that. This particular foundation and the messaging overall has people embracing who they are and their individuality in a way that’s really being celebrated right now.”
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For Musk, 70, inclusivity also comes into play with age, something she’s experienced in the modeling industry as she’s gotten older.
“When you’re a teenager, you expect to be on the magazine covers,” Musk shares. “But as you get older, especially late 20s and onwards, you don’t aim to be in the beauty section, cause by then you’re a more catalog and commercial print model, but I still carried on modeling and accepted that fact. So it’s really really special to me to be a Covergirl.”
In addition to the message the brand is sending, the Trublend Matte Made foundation is also being celebrated amongst the stars of the campaign. Rae says it lasts through shoots while she’s filming Insecure, while Musk adds that it camouflages wrinkles.
“It feels beautiful on my skin, and it reduces the fine wrinkles on my skin,” Musk shares, adding that the product has a use for nearly every skin type. “I need to have the smooth complexion to look and feel pretty. I think for any age they’ll suit people’s needs cause if you have large pores, it can help you with that. And if you just want to hide some wrinkles it will help you with that. We all like to look as good as we can.”
Adds Rae, “To be able to have a formula that lasts really long [for people] who work really hard and don’t have the time, that’s what I need in my life.”
And in addition to the formula being long-wearing, the formula is also transfer-resistant — a quality that Moreda takes very seriously.
“I noticed there isn’t as much residue when I take off my helmet,” she shares. “Sometimes I’m taking pictures right when I get off the track and I still want to be able to look feminine and feel pretty. So the transfer resistance is important to me because it stays on my face throughout the day, taking my helmet on and off.”
So it’s no surprise that all things considered, all three women are thrilled to be Covergirls — especially at this moment in the industry.
For Musk, it’s about defying the expectations of age. “It’s the most exciting job or, it’s not even a job, it’s the most exciting time of my life to be a Covergirl at the age of 70 where I’ve given up dreaming of it since I was 18.”
For Moreda, it’s a matter of proving to women that there’s no boundaries when it comes to beauty. “You don’t have to fit into a certain category,” says Moreda. “I feel like sometimes I’m a walking contradiction. I actually love that, I can play in the man’s world and I can come off the track and look like a female. So, this is about Covergirl, stepping up to say you can be badass and beautiful at the same time.”
And for Rae, she’s proud to represent women everywhere who have felt left out of the beauty conversation.
“Mothers and dads come up to me and say they’re happy their kids can have someone who looks like them and who’s doing things that their kids can aspire to do. That’s something I never thought of — Covergirl works to represent the everyday woman and that’s very much what I feel like.”
