I have lived here in Munich for a little over 3 years now. Outside of the freakishly cold winter,( I’m from the southern parts of the United States so forgive my sensitivity) I absolutely love it here. There is so much available here for my family and I am so lucky to have cultivated very meaningful friendships.
However, there are somethings that as a black woman I find lacking or over-looked here that are very important to women no matter what ethnicity around the world.
Beauty cosmetics. To most women, makeup is usually integral to our daily routine. For me, I love to wear it to finish up my look. The only problem for me here is that my color options are severely limited. I can not go into the local DM and shop for reasonably priced makeup that is remotely anywhere my skin tone. My skin tone is not represented and that of many other women of color. I have to go to expensive lengths to get makeup for my skin tone.
Not much of a selection for darker skintones
I do have one option available to me here. It’s MAC makeup. They do have a more extensive shade selection. The problem is that MAC makeup causes me to suffer breakouts and occasionally cast an orange shade to my skin. I usually have to stock up on foundations and powders when I travel back home to North Carolina, or travel to Paris or London where I can buy several brands of makeup specifically for Women of color.
Recently I reached out to Munich based makeup artist Anatasia Onishko.
Makeup Artist Anastasia Onishko
It was by chance that I found out about her. She was trying to find women of color to makeover and photograph for her portfolio. She was looking for the whole spectrum of skin tones to work with to broaden her makeup application expertise, which I find commendable. I took to the time to look through her work, and I was really impressed with her skill as a MUA (Makeup Artist) A few weeks ago I sat down with Anatasia for a for a makeup session.
She is a graduate of Lily Meets Lola Makeup Artistry school. She took time to consult with me about my skin tone and then with her Lily Meets Lola foundation, she created my perfect foundation to match my skin. It really felt good to have that amount of attention paid to my skin. She mixed and matched and mixed and matched again to get it just right. I truly appreciated her efforts to get a perfect match, instead of a close enough match. So now I have a new option with my makeup concerns. When I want to look special, I know that I can call on Anastasia to get the job done right. (checkout some of her work here)
That still leaves the problem of not having the convenience of going to my local drug store to get a cheap makeup that matches my skin tone. Or being able to have local access to the makeup brands that cater to women of color.
So what’s the solution to this problem? Women of all colors need to feel empowered and beautiful first on the inside, and then on the outside, but what are major cosmetic companies telling us? Are they saying that beauty stops at this shade and doesn’t include us?
I would like the makeup industry to pay attention and realize that all women would like their beauty recognized. Or maybe the German cosmetic retail industry will realize that they can order the full range of shades from Covergirl and Maybelline that includes the darker skin tones and still be profitable……….(Steps off Soapbox)
PS
Fortunately for me I have found my perfect match in foundation after much searching.
Kiki Walden–
For those of you who are interested in working with Anatasia Onishko please find her info below
https://www.facebook.com/AnastasiaBeautyAndArt
email: anastasia.beautyandart@gmail.com
munichmom.com 
Thanks for this post! I went through a similar struggle finding the right foundation when I first moved to Europe from the US. When I would find a decent match, I could never find it again, either because local stores didn’t carry it or it was discontinued. My friend recommended Bare Essentials to me and I have been using it ever since. Also, I haven’t had any skin problems as I result of using it, which I did when I tried brands like MAC and L’Oreal. What I like most about it is that it sits very lightly on top of the skin, without clogging pores or making your face sweat. I’ve bought it at Douglas in Munich, but it might be available in other stores. Would love to hear if you have any tips for women with natural hair in Munich
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Thanks for the advice Tandi. I really appreciate it. We need all of the options put out to the public who are affected by this. I am already brainstorming about my newest article, which will be about natural
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