“Mel has been talking about going blonde since I met her.” I shrug. “She just couldn’t because of her previous contract.”
She just got signed with Magic Model and was finally released from the horrible company she was with. That girl has horror stories for days. The CEO of that agency needs to step on a few legos for the rest of his life. The things I hear about him and how controlling he is with his girls make me forever grateful that I decided to sign with Magic instead of them.
Helena doesn’t say anything else.
“Stop being mean, Lena. She’s so sweet, and you barely know her,” I scold her with a smile.
While I love taking in baby models, Helena hates making new friends. She doesn’t reply as staff make their way over to us, and we get started. They start Helena’s hair as they do my makeup.I scroll through my emails and forward potential brands I'm interested in working with to Angie.
When I put my phone down and glance at the mirror, something seems off. I only have concealer under my eyes, but it looks too light. I look over at the rest of the makeup and grab the foundation, which is also not my shade.
“Is everything okay, Ms. Loana?”
I turn to the makeup artist with a smile. “You can call me Sage.”
She nods shyly.
“I think this is too light. Can we get a darker shade?”
Her entire face flushes as she searches her bag, and I try to tell her it’s okay, but my reassurance doesn’t help. She pulls out another shade, but they look the same, and it’s three, maybe four shades lighter than me.
“This is all I have…”
I give her a tight smile. I steal a glance at the rest of the makeup and even the contour is too light.Why don’t they have anything in my shade?
“You’re joking.”
I look over at Helena at her rough tone. “It’s fine.” I give her a smile and shake my head, but she doesn’t take the hint.
“No, it isn’t, Sage. This is so unprofessional.” She turns to the makeup artist. “You guys should know her shade and have it.” She waves off the stylist who’s trying to do her hair. “Get your boss in here.”
“Helena, it’s fine. It’s not her fault that–”
“Sage, stop being so damn nice. I bet you all my shoes that my shade is in that bag.” I glance at the makeup bag, and Helena’s lighter shade is certainly there.
I let out a sigh and rise from my seat. Everyone is apologizing to me as I wipe the bit of makeup from my face. I turn to themakeup artist I was working with, and she looks like she’s about to cry.
“It’s okay.” I ignore the huff Helena lets out, but she’s right. This is unprofessional and it also isn’t the first time different teams we work with haven’t had a makeup shade that matched my dark complexion.
I put on a smile and grab her hand. “It’s not your fault. I actually might have my makeup in the car, let me check.”
She’s already nodding as I barely finish my sentence, and I drag in another breath as I grab Helena's keys from her bag. The minute I’m in the car, I’m calling Angie.
“How’s my girl doing?”
I smile at the clear affection in her tone, relaxing in my seat. “Good...” I trail off hesitantly.
She lets out a sigh. “You haven’t even been there for twenty minutes. Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.” How does she know something is wrong? No clue, but I love her for it.
“They don’t have the right shade for my–”
“No, the hell they do not.”
I let my eyes fall shut. I know this is an issue, but I feel so bad that Magic is going to blacklist this brand over something like this. The biggest problem with modeling is the lack of representation, and because of that, Magic Model is so popular considering our diversity. When they hear that the brands who collaborate with us don’t have our makeup shade or stylists who don’t know how to do our curly hair… it’s an issue.
“Walk, Sage.”
“Angie, no. I can’t—”
