Painted by Esther has made a name for herself in the beauty world by popularizing a makeup technique called transitional blush.Ngozi EdemeIn the last few weeks, a controversy in the beauty world has generated a lot of conversation. After a popular makeup artist, Patrick Ta, announced the launch of his new product, the Transition Blurring Blush Duo, and provided a makeup tutorial explaining how to use the product, backlash followed. Many online pointed out how Ta was using a technique popularized by celebrity makeup artist Ngozi Edeme, also known as Painted by Esther. Edeme has made a name for herself in the beauty world by popularizing a makeup technique called transitional blush, which is “a layered application technique that extends color from the cheekbone into the under-eye area using a sequence of products typically a brightening liquid or color corrector, concealer, a pigmented blush, and a softer blurring powder—to create a seamless gradient ‘ombré effect’ where the two zones meet,” according to Elle. Edeme is known for her technique that showcases a vibrant pop of pink on the cheeks and has perfected this look especially on deeper and more melanated skin tones. Although Edeme never claimed to have invented the technique, she has widely been credited as the person who brought the style back into the fore. Ta has been called out for what many called the co-optation of a style that Edeme popularized and received even more criticism when it was revealed that his company filed a trademark with the USPTO for the term “transition blush,” although it should be noted that the application is still pending. Patrick Ta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“Generally, trademark rights don’t go to whoever first used a phrase in commerce to identify the brand,” explained trademark attorney Ticora Davis. “It doesn’t always go to the person who coined a catchphrase. We’ve seen this so often with Lil’ Wayne when he said ‘bling bling’ in a rap but he never trademarked and he never tied it to a product or service…or the young lady who said ‘on fleek’ but she never attached that phrase to a product or service. That happens a lot, particularly to those in the African diaspora, where we are shaping the cultural lexicon but we’re not always the producers behind products or services attached to words or phrases.”Davis highlights a wider issue that doesn’t only happen in pop culture but is often seen in the workplace. There is a long history of Black people, and particularly Black women, whose contributions are erased from history, without proper credit or attribution. A historic example of this was the three Black women, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan who were dubbed the “human computers.” These three women were NASA employees whose contributions played a vital role inside and outside of NASA, but who were largely unknown and unacknowledged. Decades later, a similar erasure occurred with the three Black women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, who spearheaded the Black Lives Matter movement and whose contributions have been severely undermined. Executive consultant Ayanna Castro wrote in a piece for Executive Support Magazine that Black women are more likely to have other employees take credit for their ideas. The controversy surrounding the transition blush technique is just another example of how easily, in many different fields and industries, Black women’s contributions go ignored, overlooked and erased. Edeme shared, “This is about my career. I didn’t give the [transition blush technique] a name. The reason [this situation] is so sinister is because that’s the name that’s been written about when talking about me in publications. So, all you have to do is Google it and all these people saying these things about me.” She went on to explain, “It boils down to money. You’re using me in a way that I didn’t consent to be used. [Ta’s team] reached out to me for paid content. There was a script I would have to follow and [Ta’s team] was audacious enough to tell me to give [Ta] the credit for it.”Edeme went on to explain how this whole situation will impact how she approaches her career moving forward. “It’s made me more confident in my abilities. I’m not a front-facing person. I like to be behind the work. I want the work to always speak for me. So [this situation] has dragged me out of my comfort zone and given me confidence moving forward.” Edeme also shared how Black women are often given very little leeway for any missteps or mistakes they make in their careers. “There’s no grace for anything. God forbid; I’m not a perfect victim. I don’t know everything, but you learn as you go. I’m more careful [now].”MORE FOR YOUFor Black women going through a similar type of erasure in their careers, Edeme shared, “If you’re going through this behind the scenes, say something. Crash out. Sometimes people need to be reminded…I’m not to be played with. Obviously, do it respectfully but stand up for yourself. You have to just let go of what is on the other side of fear. You have to be willing to lose sometimes to win.”