【英语语言学习】化妆品的多样性

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Women of color have long been ignored by major cosmetic¹ firms, which meant there wasn't a whole lot of choice if you weren't white. That has changed. Karen Grigsby Bates from NPR's Code Switch team takes a look at why companies now see many shades of women.

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE²: Cosmetics³ mogul Bobbi Brown remembers when she began working as a freelance makeup⁴ artist in the fashion industry in the 1980s, there were challenges to making up black and brown women.

BOBBI BROWN: As a freelance makeup artist, I worked with models from all over the globe and women of many different skin colors, from alabaster⁵, the whitest of white, to the darkest of dark. And often, I would have a bag full of foundations - as a young makeup artist - and nothing worked.

BATES: There just wasn't a lot out there for women of color, especially women with darker skin. Eventually, Brown would find a remedy. But we'll get back to that in a minute. Karen Grant is the global beauty industry analyst⁶ for NPD, a market research group. Grant, who is African-American, says she remembers the workaround many black women used when there was no deep-hued foundation.

KAREN GRANT: Most times I think what women of color did was you'd put on powder. You know, and you might blot⁷ in. You might try to not put on too much so that it didn't make the skin look chalky.

BATES: It was a partial solution. But it didn't work for everyone. For the most part, there just wasn't a wide range of colors for women of color - with one notable exception. In 1973, Fashion Fair cosmetics appeared. Born from the makeup worn by Ebony Fashion Fair models as they walked the runway, Fashion Fair came in hues⁸ that actually worked for brown skin. It engendered⁹ a fierce loyalty¹⁰ among its customers, like beauty blogger Lily Seymour.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

LILY SEYMOUR: These are my three face foundations that I love to use, that match my complexion¹¹ exactly, to the T, by Fashion Fair.

BATES: Another option appeared in 1983, when Prescriptives introduced its custom-blended foundation. As the country's demographics began to change, the cosmetics industry slowly began to realize it needed to wake up and smell the cafe au lait if it wanted to remain relevant and profitable.

JANET PARDO: Skin tones and attitudes and lifestyle and personal relationships, everything changes. And as a result of that, it affects how we do product development here, especially in foundation.

BATES: That's Janet Pardo, Senior VP of product development for Clinique cosmetics, ticking off just some of the factors that affect how her company develops its foundation palette. And, says Pardo...

PARDO: Pallets have to constantly be reevaluated.

BATES: Analyst Karen Grant says as America and Europe become browner through migration¹² and intermarriage, cosmetics companies need to broaden their thinking as well as their palates.

GRANT: This is an opportunity that they can market. And I think the success of brands like Bobbi Brown, like MAC, has made brands take note.

BATES: In fact, MAC is the number one department store brand. Almost half its customer base is women of color. But the mass market's been affected¹³ too. Big companies like Revlon, L'Oreal and Maybelline now feature a wider range of skin tones and celebrity¹⁴ representatives like Halle Berry and Eva Longoria. Cover Girl has the Queen Collection, an entire line devoted¹⁵ to deeper hues, named for singer-actress Queen Latifah.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

QUEEN LATIFAH: If you want your makeup to look fresh even at the end of a long day...

SAM FINE: Queen Collection All Day Flawless Foundation.

BATES: A black spokeswoman for a company as dominant¹⁶ as Cover Girl is huge. Remember makeup artist Bobbi Brown? In 1991, she partnered with a chemist to develop makeup that would work for a wider range of skin tones. Today, the line has 24 foundation colors, from very pale to very deep, that are sold around the globe. The brand remains¹⁷ a favorite for ethnic¹⁸ women because Brown insists that her shades must work for everyone.

BROWN: Not just colors for women of color, but it's the right colors.

BATES: Beauty analyst Karen Grant concurs¹⁹.

GRANT: People are having friends of all different races, nationalities. And people like to shop together and discuss together. And so we do need and look for brands that appeal to all of us.

BATES: And, Grant predicts, the cosmetics companies that will do best in the mosaic²⁰ that is the global market will have products and sales staff that look like the consumers they're hoping to capture. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

1 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

4 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

5 alabaster   

adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石

参考例句：

• The floor was marble tile,and the columns alabaster.地板是由大理石铺成的，柱子则是雪花石膏打造而成。
• Her skin was like alabaster.她的皮肤光洁雪白。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

8 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

9 engendered   

v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The issue engendered controversy. 这个问题引起了争论。
• The meeting engendered several quarrels. 这次会议发生了几次争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

11 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

12 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

15 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

16 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

19 concurs   

同意（concur的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Gilardi concurs that the newly compiled data is a powerful tool. 吉拉迪认同新汇集的数据是一个强有力的工具。
• Curtin concurs that it's been a blessing and a reward. 柯廷也同意这是一种祝福和奖励。

20 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。