Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where you learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is NaChé Thompson, Founder of NaChé Cosmetics. Thank you so much for being here, NaChé.
NaChé Thompson
Thanks for having me.
Maya Gwynn
You've stated that your journey into the beauty industry began when personal struggle to find makeup that complimented your complexion. Can you take us back to that moment- what was going through your mind? And when did you realize that this challenge could turn into a business that empowers other people?
NaChé Thompson
Yeah, I had many moments, just as a dark-skinned person who wore makeup young - I think I started wearing makeup when I was 14 - and I started noticing right away that it was gray on my skin. Yeah, made me mad, but the final straw for me that motivated me to start in NaChé Cosmetics was actually I was a teacher, at the time, a high school teacher, and I had a job interview for what would be my first job outside of the classroom, and so I wanted to come looking my fanciest, my most polished, and I didn't have any makeup, so I had to go to a makeup store and try to find the things that would look great on me. And I didn't find a single thing that looked good on my skin tone, and that really upset me. I was in a time crunch. My interview was the next day. And so I went somewhere else, couldn't find it. Went somewhere else, found something, took it home, and it felt like cement on my face. That was it for me. That started me thinking, like, what can I do better? It can't be that dark skinned people just can't wear makeup. And this was years and years and years ago. Since then, some good options have come out, but it's like hit or miss with lipstick. So that was the beginning stages of me deciding that I thought I could do better, and figuring out how I was going to do it. And so that's where NaChé Cosmetics was basically born.
Maya Gwynn
After Fenty, many brands now offer foundation shades, but inclusion goes beyond numbers. How does NaChé Cosmetics ensure that dark skinned women feel seen and celebrated?
NaChé Thompson
Yeah, I first I want to say that the more the merrier. If I go into a makeup store and all the products are supposed to make me feel more beautiful, then I expect to find something on the shelf for me, and not just one thing, but a variety of things. So that I have my choice. And the way that we make sure that dark skin people feel seen and valued is by bringing them into the product development process. So before I even announced that I have a product, a variety of skin tones, dark skin tones have tried it first. So we hold focus groups. Our last focus group was in November. So the products that we're rolling out now were selected in November, by our focus group. And the way it works is, I bring all the samples from our lab. Sometimes it's 50 samples from our lab. We try and make up the entire day. If one person in the focus group says this looks bad on me, we throw it in the trash. We don't even move to the next person. Okay? And so that's how we make sure that the products we release look great on everyone. Beauty campaigns often influence self-perception.
Maya Gwynn
How do you approach marketing and branding to challenge outdated beauty standards?
NaChé Thompson
So a variety of body types, skin tones, facial features. One of the things that I really hyper focus on right now is nose contour, because you contour your nose so that the bridge will look more thin. And like, why would you do that? What's the point of doing that, really? If you get down to it, it's playing into a European beauty standard. And it leaves a lot of us out. So I'll get there. But that type of thing, like making sure that there are a wide variety of phenotypes and facial features represented in our marketing. And we do a lot of word of mouth. You come to an event that we were at, you've tried on our products, they made you feel beautiful. You buy them, you love them, and then you tell someone else. So we don't do, like, a ton of marketing, but we should.
Maya Gwynn
How do you feel like you're redefining beauty standards?
NaChé Thompson
I think by constantly challenging them and by making everybody learn what's wrong with them. Even down to what I said about nose contour, people don't think about it. We just contour our noses, and that's fine. Maybe I'll contour my nose tomorrow, like, who knows. But when you do it, I want you to do it because you think it looks pretty, not because you think that your nose is unacceptable, because you think you have to, right? And the same thing with the lipstick you wear or the foundation you choose, you can wear red lipstick, you can, you just have to know if that that compliments your skin tone. Every company should offer you an option that works for you.
Maya Gwynn
I still can't believe probably, 10 years ago, it was like a conversation, should dark skinned women wear red lipstick?
NaChé Thompson
It still happens on TikTok. They're still talking about that at times. I remember it used to be like, Oh, you look like a clown in red lipstick if you have dark skin. And so when I'm at events, with my little table, my NaChé Cosmetics table, people would come up and be like, Oh, I don't think I can wear red. And I would say, yes you can, try this. And then to watch their faces, it makes me want to tear up to watch their faces when they see that. “Oh, my gosh, I look beautiful in this color, this shade of red.” Yeah, you do. Because I made sure, before I even released it, that it would look good on someone like you. Just to see that it's not that we look crazy in red lipstick. Sometimes the shade is not right, and sometimes it's the only shade a company offers because they didn't check with us.
Maya Gwynn
For sure. And I remember one of the first people who was wearing red lipstick was a basketball player. Her name is Tina Thompson, and she had fuller lips, and she would play full on games and hoop. With dark red lipstick. And I remember thinking, that's so cool. I was made to feel bad about my lips my whole life, and now I've embraced it. And I remember watching that as the little girl, like, that's really cool.
NaChé Thompson
Those features are gorgeous. Those full lips, that wide nose, like all that stuff, is really pretty. A lot of us have a gap in between our two front teeth - that's gorgeous to me. And we hear our whole lives that it's not.
Maya Gwynn
And it's honoring your family, because usually those things are hereditary. And how do you want your brand to change the conversation for future generations?
NaChé Thompson
I want it to be where that conversation you're talking about, should dark skin people wear red lipstick? Like I don't even want that to be a factor. Whether I want to wear my makeup in a way that looks natural, or I want to wear it in a way that looks eccentric or flamboyant, I should be able to do that, and it'd be no conversation around it. It's not a political act for me to wear makeup. And that's where I want the beauty industry to be, for sure.
Maya Gwynn
So we're gonna move into a rapid fire portion. So just the first thing that comes to your mind. No wrong answers. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
NaChé Thompson
Just Keep Swimming.
Maya Gwynn
Oh so sweet. All right, if you had to teach a master class or give a TED Talk and a random skill that you have, what would it be?
NaChé Thompson
Cleaning up really, really fast before someone comes over.
Maya Gwynn
That's a really good one. I need to do that. What is your favorite IE restaurant? Or just a landmark, they remind you of the Inland Empire.
NaChé Thompson
Bakers. It's only us that has it. I'm almost positive that Bakers is a local thing.
Maya Gwynn
How can people support you and keep up with your work?
People can follow us on social media at NaChé Cosmetics, they can join our email list on our website, NaChéCosmetics.com and if you see a post, share the post. That's the best way to support me.
Maya Gwynn
Amazing. Thank you so much for being here, NaChé.
NaChé Thompson
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it.
Maya Gwynn
NaChé Thompson is Founder of NaChé Cosmetics. Support for this segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments in black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
