Hong Kong-based Beauty Brand Gets Schooled for Naming Blush after Anne Frank

It seems despite the Black Lives Matter movement, the constant hashtags and the social media outrage, beauty brands can't stop promoting colorism in the most insensitive ways. Thankfully, there's some outrage, at least on social media.

A Hong Kong-based make-up brand is facing backlash for naming one of their recently released products after the Holocaust victim and 15-year-old Anne Frank, who became a worldwide name after her posthumously published book, The Diary of a Young Girl.

Although Anne never had anything to do with a beauty product, the brand named Woke Up Like This (WULT)  launched its new liquid blush on its first anniversary, calling it — 'Dream Like Anne'.

After the product came under the ire of criticism, it was taken down from the brand's website. Other products of similar kinds also followed and they included — 'Viva La Frida' drawing inspiration from Frida Kahlo, 'Like Like Melinda' for philanthropist Melinda Gates, and 'In Woolf’s Words' for writer Virginia Woolf.

The products are part of the brand's new collection, Fab Dab.

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An article by Times Out has also been lambasted for singing good songs about this recently released product. In one of its articles, it said that the new collection "aims to promote Sexual Health Awareness Month by naming the products after inspiring, famous women in hopes to inspire WULT customers to live their dreams and break through gender barriers."

The incident has drawn strong criticism on social media, with Jewish author Ben M. Freeman being one of the firsts to slam the otherwise racist product, that comes of more as a disregard and insensitive towards the suffering of a Jew family than honoring them.

Taking to Twitter and hitting out at the Times Out article, he said, "Naming a shade of blush after Anne Frank, who was a victim of genocide is revolting. Dead Jews are not a marketing opportunity. @timeouthk, shame on you for not noticing and for promoting this disrespect."

Following Freeman's tweet, other netizens came together to express their shock at the brand's insensitivity and said, "In a world where corporate endorsement of Black Lives Matter is uncontroversial, Anne Frank make up is inevitable."

However, later WULT issued an apology stating, "To those who were offended by the naming of Face Dab — Dream Like Anne, we sincerely apologize for the miscommunication and misunderstanding this has caused." It further added, "We have the greatest respect for Ms Anne Frank, and it was never our intention to be insulting, offensive, or to reap profits from naming the product after a historical figure whose life was tragically cut short by events that bring out the worst of mankind.”