Modeling isn’t always as glamorous as it looks.
Sure you get to wear fun clothes, have crazy stuff done to your hair and get paid for having people take pictures of you. But on the flip side, you have multiple people critiquing your body and how clothes fit you to your face. Gaining or losing a few pounds can be a contract breaker leaving you looking for work.
Some models have an extra layer to worry about when it comes to landing the right jobs – makeup. Megan Milan recently shared her experience during New York Fashion Week, a high profile week of fashion shows where celebrities flock to get first looks at designer collections. The model was getting ready for a photoshoot before a show later that night when the makeup artist didn’t have the correct shade of makeup.
Milan is a dark skinned Black woman and the shade of makeup used appears to be for someone about 15 shades lighter. When she saw the results, the runway model left the chair to find the closest Sephora.
@megan.milan I normally bring my own foundation just incase but i let my guard down. Plus i didnt want to carry a makeup bag all day, this was my first job of the day ðŸ˜. I had to go ti Sephora, do my own makeup then come back 😀. #nyfw #modelproblems #blackmodels #blackmodelsmatter
Milan shared the video of her makeup disaster on TikTok where it amassed over 13.7 million views and over 1 million likes. In the caption of the video she wrote, “I normally bring my own foundation just incase but i let my guard down. Plus i didnt want to carry a makeup bag all day, this was my first job of the day ðŸ˜. I had to go ti[sic] Sephora, do my own makeup then come back.”
By the time she started talking to the Sephora employee, Milan starts to cry saying, “if you don’t know how to do Black girls makeup why would you even…you guys knew what I looked like before I came.”
Lack of representation in hairstylists and makeup artists has been a problem for decades. Celebrities from Cicely Tyson to Gabrielle Union have expressed frustration around industry hair and makeup artists not having the right shades or not knowing how to work with kinky hair. Sadly this trend has continued and Milan is the latest Black person on the receiving end of the lack of diversity amongst makeup artists.
Thankfully for Milan, the employees at Sephora corrected the mess. The head of makeup in the store personally made sure the model was camera ready and the shoot turned out beautiful.
You can watch the full video below:
@megan.milan For those sho wanted to see the full video 🥹💗. Thank you for all of your support as always!! Not trying to blast anyone, just want to bring awareness for my sisters who may be too shy to speak up or dont have the platform, i got us. #nyfw #blackmodel #donnidavy #euphoriamakeup #models #mua #sephora #halfmagicbeauty