Tarte Cosmetics unveiled its highly-anticipated Shape Tape foundation on Jan. 11 – nearly a year after the release of its highly acclaimed line of Shape Tape concealers. After the announcement of the new foundation line in December, the makeup community was anxiously waiting, but once it was released, Tarte faced backlash. Much of this response came after Tarte posted an Instagram photo showcasing 13 light shades and only two dark shades. The company later disabled the comment section on the post after receiving numerous negative replies.

YouTubers from the beauty community were some of the people that helped fuel the fire. YouTuber Jeffree Star was one of many who decided to voice his opinion by posting a video testing the foundation.

“If a brand does not have an all-inclusive shade range, why bother?” Star said.

Many makeup consumers have the same opinion, including sophomore Chloe Teodoridis.

“Quite honestly, I agree with the beauty influencers because Tarte is not a new or small company by any means,” Teodoridis said. “I don’t really understand why they wouldn’t include everyone.”

Rihanna’s makeup line, Fenty by Rihanna is often compared to Tarte. In 2017, Rihanna revealed she was starting her own cosmetics brand. Many consumers were pleased to hear she was releasing 40 different foundation shades. The brand made sure it had nearly every skin tone and undertone included within the line. Sophomore Maddy Holmes said Rihanna’s line is setting the new bar for makeup exclusivity.

“You have to be really aware of [shade ranges] especially because now you have Rihanna’s beauty line that has 40-something shades,” Holmes said.

Shortly after the launch, Tarte apologized on their Instagram story for the lack of diversity. They explained that the brand wanted to get the product out as fast as possible and made the decision to move forward before all the shades were ready.

“We know there is no excuse and take full responsibility for launching this way,” the post read. “We’re doing everything in our power to bring the unfinished shades to market as fast as we can, at any cost. We can and will do better.”