Name: Sydney Hurley
Social Justice Group: Women’s Role and Representation in the Media (print/ads/tv)
Date of Fieldwork: January 26, 2023
Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Milk Makeup
Type of Fieldwork: Interview and Tour of Organization
What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?[:: :
Our group interviewed and got a tour of the Milk Makeup. Milk Makeup is a clean, vegan and cruelty free brand and is known for their diversity, they strive to show “real people” and enhance your inner beauty. We talked to Kate Ingram, the Director of Creative Operations and Tyler Smart, Chief Creative Officer. When we first got there, we got a full tour of the office and we got to see all of the employees working on future launches, perfecting ideas for new products and working on PR and advertising. The office had a very laid back vibe, and was clear from first glance that the company was committed to creating a community for it’s employees and it’s clients.
When we interviewed Kate and Tyler, we asked about their mission statement and how, as a company they strive to differ from the other makeup brands on the market. The brand started as Milk Studios, where they photographed “real people”. The packaging is meant to be very utilitarian and used as more of a tool to enhance your inner beauty, to promote that there is more than one definition of beauty, which differs from a lot of the cosmetic brands on the market. Kate also mentioned how this brand would probably not have gained as much popularity if it had started in the 90s. The beauty market has changed so much in the last 20 years, and it has become more clear how media representation affects the people on the receiving end. Tyler also talked about how they often hire models who do modeling on the side and have “normal” day jobs. The brand tries to make sure that the prospective buyer feels represented by the models. This interview gave us a new perspective on how media representation is changing for the better and companies are trying to make people feel included and represented.
