Insights from ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’

In the latest episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan Markle shared her personal experiences with beauty standards, particularly focusing on the impact of her freckles. During the conversation with guest Jamie Kern Lima, Markle revealed that her commercial agent once refrained from submitting her for beauty and skincare advertisements due to her freckles.

A Reflection on Representation

Markle expressed frustration over the perception of freckles as undesirable, stating that they did not align with beauty ideals at the time. “You couldn’t see yourself reflected there,” she noted, highlighting the lack of diverse representation in advertising.

Freckles: A Personal and Cultural Journey

Through the years, Markle has consistently advocated for the visibility of freckles in beauty standards. Since 2017, she has voiced her displeasure regarding the airbrushing of her skin tone and freckles in professional photoshoots. Her makeup artist, Daniel Martin, deliberately used minimal foundation to showcase her natural beauty during her highly publicized wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.

In 2019, while guest editing the September issue of British Vogue, Markle urged photographer Peter Lindbergh to celebrate freckles, stating, “My instructions from the Duchess were clear: ‘I want to see freckles!’” Lindbergh acknowledged that her request resonated with him, signifying a shift in the narrative around beauty.

Personal Reflections and Influences

Markle’s relationship with her freckles is deeply personal. As conveyed in a previous interview with Allure, her father once said, “A face without freckles is a night without stars.” This sentiment inspired her as a child, leading her to pen a book titled A Face Without Freckles is a Night Without Stars, in which she defended her unique attributes.

Acknowledging Progress in Beauty Standards

On her podcast, Markle also praised Kern Lima for her revolutionary approach in the beauty industry, particularly with IT Cosmetics, which includes models that break traditional beauty molds. “That was such new thinking then,” Markle commented, recognizing the strides made in inclusivity within the beauty sector.

Kern Lima responded by reflecting on the skepticism she faced when presenting her vision of beauty that featured real people of all skin tones. Many industry insiders expressed doubt, insisting that “women will only buy makeup from images of unattainable aspiration.”

Barriers Faced in the Acting Industry

Markle further assessed her auditioning experiences, sharing that she often encountered rejection because she did not fit neatly into established categories. “At the start of my auditioning career, you were either the Black girl or the white girl or the Latina girl… so being mixed, I could get into a lot of rooms. That means as a numbers game, [I] heard no even more,” she explained.