Basma Hameed is living her childhood dream to create her own cosmetics. She has developed a 40-shade foundation called Basma тАФ now selling online and soon to be available in stores at beauty giant┬аSephora.
“It’s still hard to believe, but it’s incredible,” Hameed, 36, said about her success. “You don’t [expect] somebody who’s a burn survivor to launch a beauty brand.”
When she was two years old, living in her native country of Iraq, Hameed was burned by hot oil in a kitchen accident тАФ leaving permanent scars on part of her face that made her┬аa target for bullies.
“I was called every name you can imagine,” she said. “They would just be pointing and laughing.”
Hameed started experimenting with foundation┬аat the age of six┬аto camouflage┬аher scars, but she said the products available were too heavy and didn’t blend well with her skin.
“I had a lot of discoloration in my burn. I always struggled, even finding my shade,” she said. “I felt like I wasn’t being represented by any of the beauty brands.”
Until recently, many foundations offered limited shade ranges that failed to recognize their diverse customer base.
“I promised myself that one day I’ll have my own beauty brand, where everybody feels accepted,” Hameed┬аsaid.
Her family immigrated┬аto Toronto when she was nine. As a young adult, Hameed┬аestablished a successful career in scar camouflage, a technique where scars are┬аtattooed over with flesh-coloured ink.
Basma Hameed is a para-medical tattoo specialist who conceals burn scars with permanent ink
In 2011, Hameed opened her first scar camouflage clinic in Toronto and gained international recognition for her work. In 2016, she opened a second clinic in Los Angeles,┬аwhere Hameed said┬аshe has treated celebrities and royalty (but she won’t divulge names).
Using her experience in scar camouflage, Hameed said she developed her lightweight, 40-shade foundation over the next five years.
“I understood colours so well that I was able to customize anybody’s skin tone.”
Stiff competition
The beauty industry began to embrace, en masse, more inclusive products following the success of pop star Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brand. It launched in 2017 with a 40-shade foundation that scored big with customers.
In response, major competitors widened their shade ranges.
“It’s good business sense, but it’s also reality,” said Cheryl┬аThompson, an associate professor in performance at Toronto Metropolitan University and author of Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture.
“There’s a whole world out there that isn’t of European descent.”
Global cosmetic retail sales totalled $80 billion in 2022, according to a new report by market research companies The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Co. The report projects sales to climb to about┬а$105 billion by 2027, as beauty brands seek out new markets to expand their customer base.
Hameed┬аlaunched┬аher foundation, Basma┬аin 2021. She quickly generated buzz on social media after Kourtney Kardashian’s makeup artist praised the product┬аand┬аposted┬аphotos on Instagram of reality TV star Kardashian wearing it.┬а
“For a small beauty brand to have somebody like a Kardashian wearing your foundation, it was major for us,”┬аHameed┬аsaid.
Her biggest break, however, came in┬аMarch, when Sephora starting selling Hameed’s┬аfoundation┬аon its e-commerce site in both Canada and the United States. The retailer told CBC News on Wednesday that┬аit will┬аsoon start selling Basma in its 100 Canadian stores.
Sephora┬аpartnered with Hameed as part of its diversity and inclusion action┬аplan, which it┬аadopted┬аin response to a 2019-20┬аcompany-commissioned survey on racial bias in U.S. retail. The majority of shoppers surveyed said they felt there was a lack of brands owned by, or made for, people of colour.
As part of its plan, Sephora Canada has committed to selling 25 per cent beauty brands owned by racialized┬аcompanies by 2026.
“[Basma Hameed] is at the┬аcore of all we’re trying to accomplish,”┬аsaid Thomas Haupt, Sephora Canada’s country general manager. “Diversity is important to us as a brand because it’s┬аcritical that we are truly reflecting the community we represent.”
Missing shades
Despite her recent success, Hameed still faces challenges. Some big-name┬аcompetitors, such as┬аRihanna’s┬аbrand, now offer foundations with more than 50 shades.
Hameed also recently addressed criticism that her foundation┬аisn’t┬аinclusive enough.
Golloria George, a beauty blogger, said in a TikTok video that Basma’s┬аdarkest shade was too light for her skin.
“In the beauty industry, dark women should feel included,” said George, who describes herself as a dark-skinned Black woman.
Although foundation products┬аhave become more inclusive, they often don’t provide enough┬аdarker shades, said Thompson of Toronto Metropolitan University.
“I have a hard time finding foundation,” she said.┬а“They just haven’t been putting the science into developing the products that are actually going to address all the little undertones in black skin.”
Hameed said she had to cap her initial line at 40 shades┬аdue to financial constraints. But in response to George’s complaint, she has spent more than two months developing two deeper shades that will be available next year.
“I want to make sure that everybody feels like they’re included,” she said.
