Whiteness of a different color
Koosi says: “I see coffee people. Latte, macchiato, cappuccino, espresso…”
The other day I went into a store to buy pressed powder. I have very oily skin, which is probably why I don’t have lines on my vast but very mobile forehead, but if I don’t de-grease my face my glasses start sliding off my nose. I looked at the varieties of face powder and was surprised to see only three shades available, all of them too light for the Filipino complexion. They were certainly too white for me and I’m paler than average because I don’t go out in the sun much (lest I explode).
This store is part of a worldwide chain, and they certainly sell more than three shades of pressed powder. I presumed that these three pale shades were in stock because they were in demand in the Philippines.
So I asked the salesperson if they had any other colors of pressed powder, and she assured me that one of these shades would do: it would “blend” with my skin and become invisible. She added that she herself used the lightest shade. Since she was tanner than I am, this accounted for the fact that her neck was considerably darker than her attractive made-up face.
Have you noticed that many if not most of the women in this city wear make-up too white for their skin tone? This leads to what is popularly known as the “espasol” effect, after the local sweet that is liberally covered in flour. It would appear that Filipinas believe themselves to be lighter-skinned than they actually are, either because they think they’re mestiza (or hoping that some long-dormant recessive gene will kick in) or because they have inordinate faith in their skin-whitening products. Interesting. Many of us think we’re white.
Wrote this in 2005; not much has changed. The Unbearable Whiteness of Being in the Hong Kong Standard.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
December 14th, 2009 at 02:56
Myrza calls it The Great Divide.
December 14th, 2009 at 08:02
THANK YOU. I have noticed the same pressed powder problem (say that three times) here in the Philippines – I personally think that this is part of the conspiracy to advertise skin products as “whiteners”, and to keep importing cheap cosmetics from Korea and Japan. Parang the cosmetics industry here wants us to keep hating ourselves, noh? Which is sad because even the drugstore brands in the States (when I lived there) are offering powders in a wider range of colors than what the same brands are selling here, thus avoiding the “espasol”/ “cement-face” effect.
Anyhoodles, this leads to my personal product rec: Maybelline Clear Smooth Powder, which is cheap by imported-makeup standards (I think it’s only P299) but comes in more than three colors. I’ve seen the full color range sold at my local Mercury Drug – of all places – so I’m assuming that the other Mercury stores would also stock shades other than “white” and “natural.”
December 14th, 2009 at 08:14
Lots of Filipinas use whitening products because they want to be white. Blame it on their unshakable belief that whiter skin is more attractive than darker complexions. Sigh.
If you want to get the right face powder, check out the ones sold by local cosmetic labels such as Fashion 21, Nichido or Fanny Serrano. Their shades are more darker since they are made for Pinay skin. If you don’t have sensitive skin, they will do just fine. :)
December 14th, 2009 at 09:20
These days, being fair/white alone won’t cut it. Them ads insist you have to be “rosy white” or “pinkish white,” because the dry kind of white (from using prepared bleaching pastes made of White Henna and Soap Chips/Etta) makes you look ghastly. They even included a fairness meter in the packaging just so you can keep track of your progress.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:14
Oh, where did you get that cat food jar in the background? I’ve never seen one in any of the groceries or the pet shops I’ve been in. Thanks!
December 14th, 2009 at 10:43
Koosi looks like one of our cats! (oh well, cats of the same “breed” generally look the same) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=54331&id=520692767
December 14th, 2009 at 10:59
You are so correct about this matter. Salespersons always insist that whatever they have in the store would be the right shade for you. And usually they are wrong. Aside from the fact that some of them are not properly trained about make-up stuff, maybe they just want to meet their sales quota for the week/month that they would recommend anything just for you to buy it.
It is a sad story for the workers and a horrifying one for the customers.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:16
The cat food “garapon” behind Koosi came free with four cans of Fancy Feast. Unfortunately Friskies promos are not available at all pet stores and supermarkets. One time they were giving away lint brushes (very useful for cat people) with every purchase of Friskies at SM supermarkets, but the free lint brushes were not available at my neighborhood supermarket.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:48
Reminds me of Prof. Randy David’s column, “The ‘epidermalization of inferiority’ “
December 14th, 2009 at 13:21
In the office, whenever we see a woman (or gay man) with a suspicious tan line on her/his neck, we call it foundation day, hehehe.
December 14th, 2009 at 16:35
espasol effect, so that’s the term.
My friends and I dubbed it ‘mena face’ after the white cream they use.
December 14th, 2009 at 23:56
i don’t think gay men are the only guys who want to be whiter. you’d be surprised how popular whitening products are with straight men.
December 22nd, 2009 at 08:59
I have the same problem and I get irritated whenever I have to buy more powder until I discovered…translucent face powder! it doesn’t “color” your face (since you’re really just after getting the shine off) but effectively keeps it matte.