Ricky’s NYC Will Discourage People From Blackface This Halloween

In the Halloween costume seen ’round the world this past weekend, Julianne Hough (now infamously) dressed up as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes,” the character from “Orange is the New Black,” by darkening her pale skin and blonde hair. Though Julianne has apologized  time and time again since the news broke — and reports have even mentioned that by the time she had left the Halloween party where she wore the costume, she had taken off the face makeup because she realized that she had offended people — it seems that blackface on Halloween has become a widespread enough issue that retailers are now taking note.

MORE: How to Recover From Halloween Makeup

Ricky’s NYC, the beauty supply chain, will be offering “costume concierge” services to customers this Halloween. The concierge isn’t only for this purpose, but they will help in steering light-skinned customers who wish to dress as dark-skinned characters into a more creative direction than simply wearing blackface. The store is hoping that Halloween-goers will understand that there are more unique, creative (and less offensive) ways to dress as a character with a different skin color than their own. “You don’t have to be so literal as to darken your face,” Lorne Lucree, director of marketing at Ricky’s, told the New York Times.

In other news, Miley Cyrus tweeted a picture of her Lil Kim Halloween costume, and for the second year in a row (last year she went as Nicki Minaj), the singer proves that blackface is never necessary. Way to be a role model, Miley.

Image via New York Resident Tourist

[NYT]