Estée Lauder reviews skin-lightening lines amid Black Lives Matter outcry

Firm to review language and marketing as cosmetics industry accused of hypocrisy

Estee Lauder is reviewing the language and marketing around its skin-lightening creams, after accusations of cultural insensitivity levelled at rival cosmetics firms.

The company, which owns 25 brands including Bobbi Brown, Clinique and La Mer, did not disclose which products would be affected. It will assess the use of terms such as lightening and brightening on its products and if certain product lines should have a wider range of shades, Estee Lauder's senior vice-president, Susan Akkad, told Bloomberg.