This Beauty Brand Is Under Fire for Naming a Nail Polish the Most Racist Thing Ever

Like, what the actual hell?!

The year is 2018, and people are still unequivocally dumb and awful. And before you try to tell me otherwise, bombarding me with your positivity and optimistic quotes and your friend Barb who works for the Peace Corps, I bring you sad, sad, proof today.

A beauty brand is currently under fire for naming their black-toned nail polish an incredibly racist, offensive, terrible, WTF-worthy name: “Thick as a N****.” Except without the asterisks, because, I re-iterate, people are dumb and awful.

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(Image credit: @kyliejenner/@kingkyliejenner)

Yes, Wycon Cosmetics, an Italian cosmetics brand, named its new gel nail polish that insanely racist and ignorant phrase, and almost immediately faced backlash across the internet after Italian beauty vlogger Loretta Grace pointed out the name on her social media accounts, according to Forbes.

And if you’re thinking, hey, maybe it was just a mix-up, and the company will immediately issue a deeply apologetic statement, you’d be wrong! Instead, Wycon Cosmetics allegedly responded to the controversy with a simple statement: “They’re made-up names that are a bit crazy.”

The brand then continued to defend its actions, stating that all of its polishes are named after “famous song titles, many of which derive from the landscape of hip-hop,” before including “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Candy Shop,” and “Bootylicious” as examples.

Oh, okay, that’s fine, then. It’s totally fine to use appropriated culture and racial slurs to sell your products, right? Wrong. Just so, so wrong. Thankfully (I guess?), the brand has officially removed its “hip-hop” branding from its website, and is instead using a numbered system for the time being. They also issued a more formal apology on Instagram.

Luckily, though, the internet lives on forever, so we will #neverforget Wycon’s absolute shittiness.

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(Image credit: Hanna Lassen)
Chloe Metzger
Beauty Editor

Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan, overseeing the editorial content and growth strategy of the hair, makeup, and skin space on digital, while also obsessively writing about the best hair products for every hair type (curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare routines that really, truly work (follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She brings nearly a decade of writing and editing expertise, and her work has appeared in AllureHealthFitnessMarie ClaireStyleCaster, and Parents. She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.