Recently, my Instagram reels (I know they’re cringe but cut me some slack) have been filled with videos of skin color matching. Usually, an older woman stands behind a client and drapes various colored fabrics over their shoulders and across their neck. When a pink scarf elicits an excited face from the client, we’re supposed to assume they have found their true color palette. These range from ‘true autumn’ to ‘cool spring’ and the like. I’ll be honest, I can never tell the difference when a color supposedly brightens someone’s face or brings out their undertones.
I first fled to Instagram reels after finding a similarly strange trend happening on TikTok. Women would sit in front of a green screen and describe whether or not celebrities have a flamboyant, natural body type or a soft, gamine one. They were explaining something called the Kibbe Body Type Test, a test created by David Kibbe in the 1980s. Despite first popping up 40 years ago, the test has just now gone viral on TikTok. As someone who grew up online, it seemed all too familiar to the infographics that flooded sites like Pinterest that told me whether I had a pear or rectangle-shaped body or a heart-shaped face.
All of these classifications — colors, body shapes, face shapes, lowlights, highlights — all operate under the guise that they will help you style yourself better. Some women do enjoy having guides to help them feel their most confident. However, I think classifications like these often work to further box women in. We eliminate any space for creativity and experimentation. If you don’t wear something you like because it doesn’t fit your supposed color range, you’re missing out on that part of life. We also need to think of the young women who take in these messages and begin to limit themselves before they even have the opportunity to truly explore their style. Finally, add in the fact that the differences defined in these videos seem nearly imperceptible. I’m sorry, but how are natural, soft-natural, and flamboyant-natural definable and recognizable?
Overall, a little part of me becomes enraged every time I see a video about Kibbe body types or face shapes. I want people to live life to the fullest, and I believe these classifications are only boxing us in.