ON BEAUTY AND TRUTH

OUR DECISION TO PHOTOSHOP SKIN TONES

Hi Mavens,

The subject of photoshopping skin tones on our nail polish swatches has a lot of you talking lately, and we want to be an active part of that conversation. It’s a juicy topic.

First, we’re lucky to have such a cool, in-it-with-us fan base. One that pays close attention to what we’re doing, and tells us when we’re heading in a right or wrong direction. It’s hard to express how appreciative we are! You’re seriously the best.

Yes we are photoshopping skin tones to show each color’s range of potential. We’d never think to sneak that decision by you, which is why we made it as obvious as possible by using the exact same photo, adjusting only the skin color.

So, what’s up with photoshopping skin?

You want to see colors on skin tones. So do we. Like the world-at-large, Julep HQ is not just one color.
Time is of the essence. Each month we roll out up to 13 new colors. 13 colors times three (or more) skin tones takes way more days than we currently have in the photo studio and the editing suite.
We don’t hire models for swatches. We do it ourselves! Pulling a handful (zing!) of coworkers out of their jobs on a regular basis wasn’t sustainable for any of us, so we’re trying the new approach of only pulling one person away from her desk all day. The decision of “who?” is not guided by skin tone, but by bandwidth. As a result, sometimes we photoshop darker skin lighter or lighter skin darker.
Photoshop is amazing. We chose some real-life skin tones we wanted to see, and color-matched them perfectly. A group of us gathered around a computer screen to compare the altered skin tones to real ones. The verdict? Photoshop is crazy impressive.
It’s standard practice across the beauty biz. We aren’t breaking new ground with our altered skin tones. The only renegade thing we’re doing is being so open about it.

We’re genuinely sorry to learn that some are upset by our decision. We love that you’re voicing your concerns, and we hope this letter of transparency will help put some light on the subject.

Finally, please let us assure you (because it can’t be said enough): We will never subscribe to the unhealthy & unrealistic photoshopping that idealizes unattainable perfection and puts enormous pressure on women who simply want to feel beautiful, every day.

Here’s to all the world’s colors,

Julep

TAGGED: JULEP MAVEN SWATCHES PHOTOSHOP SKIN TONES