Woman Says Ulta Beauty Worker Told Her She Was 'Too Dark' For Makeup In Store

HOLMDEL, N.J. (CBS Local) -- A black woman says an employee at an Ulta Beauty store in New Jersey told her that her skin was "too dark for most colors in the store" after she arrived for a makeover.

Ebony Kankam London, who lives in Houston, was visiting her husband's family in New Jersey and went to the Ulta store in Holmdel on Dec. 28 to get her makeup done for her baby shower.

An Ulta Beauty consultant said they could do it and London scheduled an appointment.

"I brought in a picture for reference and was told that my skin tone was too dark for most colors in the store," London wrote on her Facebook and Instagram accounts, which featured side-by-side images of the beauty look she wanted to achieve and what she looked like after getting her makeover.

The employee then asked if she had ever had her makeup done professionally.

"Like I felt like I was in 1990 when makeup was made for one type of skin," London said in the posts. "In a store full of people who didn't look like me, I felt sad and upset. Like my skin tone was a problem."

London said the salon manager called to offer to do her makeup again.

Ulta Beauty also released a statement through its Twitter in response to this incident.

"We stand for equality, inclusivity and diversity and when we hear that we are not meeting that expectation, we want to understand what our guest is feeling, and hold ourselves accountable to do better," Ulta wrote.

"We will be taking additional steps towards continuing our depth of training and education of our stylists and make-up artists in our stores to meet all of our guests' needs and create an inclusive experience for everyone," the tweet continued.

Despite the incident, London wrote on Facebook that she still had "a great baby shower."

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• New Jersey