MAC Cosmetics is currently in the headlines for a tutorial they posted on their social media pages, but it is not attracting positive attention.
The international beauty brand, usually praised for its inclusivity and diverse representation, is being schooled on their Ramadan-themed makeup tutorial. According to several media outlets, including CNN, in an attempt to highlight Islamic culture the brand seemed to confuse suhoor with iftar. Suhoor is a meal consumed right before sunrise, before the day of fasting begins, and iftar is a meal to break fast after sunset during the Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.
The "mixup" has caused several responses from commenters all over social media especially on Twitter:
Despite tweets such as the ones above, several Muslim women spoke out offering factors that may have been overlooked with the delivery of the ad:
Rhianna Beaumont, co-founder of Culturing Success and co-creator of the hashtag #AFROHIJABI, shared with 21Ninety that she too was against the MAC ad and felt as though it did not portray an accurate depiction of Muslim women during suhoor. However, after speaking to her Arab friends, her outlook on the ad shifted.
"My stance on the video initially was firstly that every little thing is becoming commercialised, and secondly who’s crazy enough to think Muslim women wake up at 2am in the morning and get a full face of makeup on just to eat suhoor," Beaumont exclaimed. "After discussing the video with a few of my Arab friends, they explained that it is actually a gathering in Arab culture, which puts a whole different spin on the video and makes me see it differently. I now don’t see it as such a big deal but I feel like the rest of the Muslim community feels the same."
What’s your take: Did MAC miss the mark or did they nail the opportunity to be inclusive?