CAIRA:
I’m Caira Blackwell.
ROSIE:
I’m Rosie Guerin, and you’re listening to The Wirecutter Show.
ROSIE:
Caira, quick, pop quiz.
CAIRA:
No, I didn’t study.
ROSIE:
Yeah, that’s why it’s pop, dude. What do audiobooks, bendy straws, and cordless vacuums all have in common? Quick.
CAIRA:
I use them all occasionally.
ROSIE:
That might be true, but what I was going for is that they were all originally designed for people with disabilities.
CAIRA:
That’s really cool.
ROSIE:
It is really cool. These are tools that worked so well. They’ve now become mainstream, universal tools many, many, many people use. But there’s one product that still hasn’t reached that status. It’s makeup.
CAIRA:
Yeah, that makes sense. I feel like ease and accessibility has just never been a top priority in the beauty industry. I mean, I wear makeup pretty much every day and I find it hard to use these tools still. But one of our staff writers on the beauty team, Ayanna Redwood-Crawford, recently wrote an article about how beauty brands are now launching more and more accessible makeup and adaptive tools.
ROSIE:
It’s a really, really interesting piece. You might remember Ayanna from our previous episode, which was all about self-tanners.
CAIRA:
Enlightening.
ROSIE:
Enlightening. Now we’ve got her back to talk about how she tested these tools and what she thought of them. Ayanna, welcome back.
AYANNA:
Hi, thanks for having me back.
ROSIE:
Good to see you. Tell us how this piece first came to be.
AYANNA:
So I got to know our paid testers really well from when I worked on the sleep team.
CAIRA:
Can you tell us a little bit more about the paid testers?
ROSIE:
Yeah, who are our paid testers?
AYANNA:
Okay, so our paid testers are a diverse group of people with different abilities, different genders, ages, and they come in and they test pretty much everything for us. On the sleep team, they tested everything, just about everything I’ve covered. And so we got to know each other pretty well. And then when I moved over to the beauty team, they were very comfortable with telling me exactly what their pain points were with beauty products. And that mixed with my own curiosity about accessibility and making sure that the topics that I cover are universally designed and they work well for everyone. That’s how this piece came to be.
CAIRA:
And when you say accessible here in terms of things in the makeup industry, what does that mean exactly? What kinds of challenges were you looking for these brands to be designing for?
AYANNA:
I was specifically looking for brands that made products that would work well for people with hand mobility issues like arthritis or tremors and also people with low vision. I think your hands and your eyes are the things you need the most when you’re putting on makeup and also for people with joint pain of any kind. It was really cool to find brands that solely created adaptable, universally-designed products that are actually good.
CAIRA:
And what kind of products were you looking for? Or were you even looking for any specific products? Because there are a billion makeup things and tools for mascara, eyeliner, anything. So were you kind of hoping to solve specific pain points for your testers?
AYANNA:
First, I was looking for products that can make things easier for everyone. So I was thinking about people who had joint pain. I was thinking about people with arthritis. I was thinking about folks who have tremors. I was also thinking about people who have temporary disabilities like, “Oh, I just broke my arm and it’s my dominant arm.” And I was also thinking about someone who usually has their hands full, like a parent.
CAIRA:
Oh, that’s good.
AYANNA:
So I was like, “Okay, what are the products that someone can use possibly one-handed or if they don’t have a lot of time, or even if they’re a beginner and they need something that is kind of foolproof?”
CAIRA:
God, teenage me would’ve loved that.
ROSIE:
I want to know what surprised you most during this testing.
AYANNA:
What surprised me was that universal design is accessible design. It’s all the same. And whenever I’m writing about something, I always think about the person who needs it the most and then I start from there. So when thinking about accessible beauty tools, I was like, “Okay, who needs this the most?” And it’s obviously people who want to maintain these beauty rituals, but it’s just a literal pain for them or it’s just really uncomfortable or a hassle. So I was like, “Okay, I think that these things that I’m finding are also things that make my life easier and I’m not disabled.” So I was like, “Oh, well, this is absolutely amazing.” And on top of things being easier to hold, easier to grip, and easier to apply, they’re also really good formulations that look pretty and wear well.
ROSIE:
Yeah. I’m curious through your reporting, did you get a sense that companies are thinking about accessibility or thinking about design?
AYANNA:
I think that more brands are starting to understand the value and being accessible to everyone. And I also thought that it was very cool to see brands that solely make adaptive makeup and cosmetics and tools. That was very cool to see. There are also brands like Rare Beauty that have accessible line or products that are accessible within them.
CAIRA:
That’s pretty cool.
AYANNA:
Yeah. They were very good about letting me know which ones I should be testing and which ones wouldn’t make sense.
ROSIE:
So some progress and then also-
AYANNA:
Some progress.
ROSIE:
… some space for improvement.
AYANNA:
Yeah. And I think that what more brands need to realize is that they can make more accessible packaging and cosmetics without sacrificing their aesthetic or even price.
ROSIE:
And it could be a net positive because like you said, accessibility is universal.
AYANNA:
Yeah.
CAIRA:
We’re going to take a quick break and then when we’re back, we’re going to talk with Ayanna about some of the accessible tools she loves and why. Be right back.
ROSIE:
Welcome back. In this episode, we are talking about accessible makeup with our colleague, Ayanna Redwood-Crawford. Ayanna, a lot of your picks are designed to solve the basic problem of gripping and controlling makeup tools. So can you talk about some of the products you think did particularly well for that and why?
AYANNA:
Oh my God, I would love to. So first is the Lyforx’s grip tubing, which is a foam tubing that our testers loved.
CAIRA:
A foam tubing?
AYANNA:
Yes.
CAIRA:
What is tubing?
AYANNA:
It’s a cylindrical tube that has a little hole in it and the holes come in different diameters. So you can stick different things inside of them and it makes it easier to grip onto something that’s hard and cold and long, like a mascara tube or an eyeliner pen.
CAIRA:
Oh.
AYANNA:
Yeah.
CAIRA:
So it’s an accessory that you put on top of your makeup?
AYANNA:
So let’s say you didn’t want to use an accessible beauty product because you already have an eyeliner or a lipstick or a mascara that you love, it’s just hard for you to hold it. This will make it easier for you to do that.
CAIRA:
Cool.
AYANNA:
So what our testers liked about the foam tubing was that it allowed for them to have freedom of movement. So they could use a blush brush at any angle that they wanted and they can apply as much pressure as they usually would. And then they’re also really inexpensive. So you can buy multiple packs of these and have foam tubing for literally everything you own if you wanted to.
CAIRA:
That’s amazing.
AYANNA:
And you can cut them to the size you need them to be.
CAIRA:
So you don’t have to keep transferring them to a different makeup whatever.
AYANNA:
Not if you don’t want to.
CAIRA:
You can just keep them on and they live there now.
ROSIE:
That’s so cool.
CAIRA:
Yeah.
AYANNA:
Okay. So another product that I loved was the Kohl Kreatives Medium Circle Brush, which really changed the way that I thought about makeup brushes in general. Kohl Kreatives is an accessible beauty line. So everything they make is for accessibility purposes.
CAIRA:
Wow.
ROSIE:
That’s really cool.
AYANNA:
So instead of holding a brush like you would a pencil by pinching it, which can be really uncomfortable for people with hand mobility issues, you can instead just hold the brush in your fist and use it vertically.
CAIRA:
Wow.
ROSIE:
Like you’re holding an ice cream cone or something.
AYANNA:
Yeah, exactly. And then the next one that was really great for gripping was the Guide Beauty Blend & Crease Brush. This one is specifically for eyeshadow. So Guide is another adaptive cosmetics line, much like Kohl Kreatives. And this brush is really cool because it has this guide ring that you can slip between two fingers, whichever ones are most comfortable for you, allowing you to apply your eyeshadow more comfortably and with a bit more control.
CAIRA:
I think I need this.
AYANNA:
I mean, in my research, I saw that people were doing a DIY hack, which is putting a spoon up to their eye so that they can have the perfect cut crease or apply eyeshadow that way. And I was like, oh, okay. Well, maybe this might help them have more control over what they’re doing.
CAIRA:
Yeah.
ROSIE:
In testing, did you find that it was pretty intuitive for people to use or was there a little bit of a learning curve for that one?
AYANNA:
There was a tiny bit of a learning curve, but once I was just like, “Oh, you just slip between your fingers.” Everyone was like, “Oh, oh my God. Yeah, of course. You can just do it like this? Oh, this is great.” Yeah.
CAIRA:
That’s so cool. Another theme that I noticed in your guide is products that take some of the precision out of makeup application. So for me personally, I have a really hard time with eyeliner because you have to be so sharp and precise about it without messing up. So what did you find that makes it easier to get a polished look without having to be perfect, like with a perfectly steady surgeon’s hands?
AYANNA:
Okay. Well, the Tilt mascara for one. This is actually my favorite mascara. I legit use it every day.
CAIRA:
And your eyelashes look amazing.
AYANNA:
Thank you so much.
ROSIE:
What do you like so much about it?
AYANNA:
Well, not only is the formula amazing, testers loved how good it feels to hold and apply. So unlike some other mascaras, the wand isn’t bendy at all. It’s also shorter and it curves upward at the tip. So that makes it really easy to get those inner corner lashes without getting mascara on your lids at all. It’s great.
ROSIE:
That’s really cool. So you don’t have to necessarily use as much hand movement when you’re going sort of down to up?
AYANNA:
Yeah. With a straight mascara wand, you really have to be careful when you’re going to your inner corner of your lashes because you can get that wand on the bridge of your nose.
CAIRA:
Do it every day.
AYANNA:
Exactly.
ROSIE:
Yeah. I have a little bit of a hand tremor and I think when I’m trying to get right in that spot you’re talking about, that’s when I have the most trouble.
AYANNA:
Yeah. Yeah, I get that, because it’s also, you get a little nervous when you’re like-
ROSIE:
When you’re that close to your eye.
AYANNA:
… “I don’t want to poke myself in the eye.”
ROSIE:
Absolutely.
AYANNA:
The Sheglam eyeliner is also a good one. This product actually changed my life.
ROSIE:
What is it?
AYANNA:
I’ll say it. First of all, I didn’t know eyeliner stamps even existed. That’s what it is. It’s an eyeliner stamp.
ROSIE:
What does that mean?
AYANNA:
So let me be more specific. It’s not an eyeliner stamp, it’s a wing stamp. So basically you just put the stamp on the corner of your eye and the wing is there. You don’t have to draw it on. I am a person who has been using liquid eyeliner forever and I prefer a wing and I fight for my life every day trying to make sure they match And this eyeliner stamp, it’s just like you don’t have to struggle. You just stamp it on and you’re good on the first go. You just have to make sure that the placement is correct for both of them.
CAIRA:
Right. So they’re even?
AYANNA:
Exactly. We like the sheglam because you can do everything with one pen. So basically you have two sides of the pen, one for your left eye, one for your right, and then you can detach it in the middle and there is an eyeliner marker. It is not like a little thin pen that we’re used to using. The marker makes it so much easier to line your eye.
CAIRA:
Wow.
AYANNA:
Yeah, it’s great.
CAIRA:
This is life-changing stuff.
AYANNA:
I know, and it saves so much time. And I think this would also be really great for beginners.
CAIRA:
Yeah. Again, teenage me would’ve loved that.
ROSIE:
What about lip products? Was there anything that you tested there that you liked?
AYANNA:
We loved the Tilt sheer lip treatment. So first of all, a sheer Lipstick, which doesn’t necessarily offer hydration or a tinted lip balm, which definitely offers hydration but doesn’t have to offer you any color, those are always going to be the best go-tos for a person who wants to add a pretty pop of color on the go without having to look in the mirror or be especially proficient in applying it. So the Tilt sheer lip treatment has a bit of a mixture of both. It’s not quite a lipstick. It is a balm that offers hydration, but it does add enough color that you’re like, “Oh, yeah, I’ve put something on, but I don’t have to be beholden to it all day if I don’t want to be.”
CAIRA:
Yeah. I think you’ve actually let me try this one because I’m one of those people who can’t do a lipstick because I don’t want to reapply and I get it everywhere. And it just makes you look a little more alive, for lack of a better word. You don’t have to worry about it smearing everywhere and looking goofy.
AYANNA:
Exactly. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
ROSIE:
Ayanna, accessibility isn’t of course always about finding the specific tool itself. It can also be about simplifying an entire routine. So what did you find that worked well for people who just wanted to use fewer products overall in their routine or eliminate some of the more complicated steps?
AYANNA:
Yeah, absolutely. So we are in the stickification of everything in cosmetics. And so we were able to find a really great multi-stick in the e.l.f. Monochromatic Multi Stick. So it is a stick that you can get in different colors. It’s short and it’s thick and you can use it on your eyes as an eyeshadow, you can use it as a blush and as a lipstick. So you can throw it in your bag or have it on your vanity and do three things at once. And it’s sheer, so it’s buildable. So you don’t have to put it on and be like, “Well, I’m stuck with this, this really, really deep orange or something.” You can just build it to where you feel comfortable. It’s great.
CAIRA:
And was there a product or a specific category of products that you were really hoping to find an accessible tool for, but you ended up not being able to?
AYANNA:
Well, there was a makeup organizer that I really wanted to find that could be helpful for people with certain cognitive disabilities. The occupational therapist I spoke with, they told me that if you have your tools organized in a way where you can easily see them and pick them up without having to think too much about it, that’s probably the best case scenario. And frankly, I want that for myself too.
CAIRA:
Me too.
AYANNA:
Yeah.
CAIRA:
I just dig through a pouch.
AYANNA:
I also really wanted to find a great vibrating brush that I had seen during my research.
ROSIE:
What is that?
AYANNA:
So it’s an adaptive beauty tool that smooths and blends out makeup without the user having to exert too much effort. This is great for people with tremors or joint pain.
ROSIE:
So interesting.
AYANNA:
The one that we tried, the FlexiBrush, worked pretty well, but it’s expensive. And I wish there were more out there that are just as good as that one.
CAIRA:
And then there’s the challenge of actually being able to see what you’re doing. You mentioned earlier that you wanted to find some tools for people who have low vision as well. So you did test a bunch of different vision aids, but what did you learn about what makes a makeup mirror, for example, genuinely useful for someone who does have low vision?
AYANNA:
I learned a lot through our testers and their feedback. So they all loved the Fancii Vera Vanity. It was really a favorite because it was hands-free and that is a really important feature. We tried things that were like a handheld mirror that had lights on it and we thought that would be good. And people were like, “No, I need my hands to do things.” We also tried these glasses with different magnifications, but it was just too much of a hassle to find the magnification that worked best for you. And so people really love the fancy vanity mirror for that. Our testers also preferred it because it had an adjustable LED light where you can adjust not only the warmth, but the brightness.
CAIRA:
Love.
AYANNA:
That was great.
CAIRA:
And it stands on your desk, I’m assuming, yeah?
AYANNA:
Yes. It stands on the desk. And it also comes with a smaller magnetic magnifying mirror that you can just plop onto the bigger one if you really need to get in there and see what you’re doing close up.
CAIRA:
The name is Fancii. It’s called the Fancii mirror. Does it have a fancy price as well?
AYANNA:
Yeah. So this mirror costs about $140, but we did test this against our budget pick for lighted mirrors, and people just preferred this one because it does get brighter.
CAIRA:
Okay.
ROSIE:
Since we’re talking about cost and prices of these products, I was curious whether you noticed that these adaptive tools, that they’re on the whole more expensive?
AYANNA:
I would say that they’re not. And actually the products on our roundup range everywhere from $5 to 24.
CAIRA:
So that’s like normal pricing.
ROSIE:
Pretty commensurate with pricing.
AYANNA:
Yeah.
ROSIE:
Ayanna, thank you so much for joining us. This was really fun.
AYANNA:
Thanks for having me. It’s great.
ROSIE:
Congrats on the piece. It’s really cool.
AYANNA:
Thank you.
ROSIE:
That’s it for us for today. If you want to check out any of the products Ayanna recommended today, we will link those in our show notes as well as a link to her guide. Thanks for joining us. Talk soon.
The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by me, Rosie Guerin, and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddie Mazziello and Nick Pittman. Today’s episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, Rowan Niemisto, Catherine Anderson, and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor in chief.
CAIRA:
I’m Caira Blackwell.
ROSIE:
And I’m Rosie Guerin. Thank you for listening.
