Hello Funeral Community,

My name is Thea, and I’m the Founder of Cocoa Bloom Beauty. In 2019, my 14 year-old son Keaton passed away as a result of an undetected brain aneurysm. The sudden loss was devastating, but what compounded my grief even more was the anxiety connected to his viewing. Keaton had a deep skin tone, and when I questioned the funeral home about makeup details regarding his presentation, I sensed a hesitation in confidently catering to his shade.

This angered me, I resented the fact that as a grieving mother, I had to deal with an issue that shouldn’t be a concern of any loved one at such a vulnerable time. As difficult as it was, I made the decision to do his makeup myself ( this was after a postoperative coronary that made him almost unrecognizable),

At the time, I tried to mentally disassociate and went into makeup artist autopilot mode, forcing myself to push through the traumatizing reality of the task. As tears flowed, I custom-blended rich shades of brown to cover the ashen, charcoal of his decedent complexion, feeling sad but proud that I could make him look like the Keaton his siblings, friends and teachers remembered - in preparation for their last goodbye.

The experience was excruciating, but it planted the seeds for the journey that led me to this path. I’m driven by a need to empower funeral homes to confidently service the enhancement of All shades of decedents. As an artist, I know that nuanced, skin enhancing shades for POC can be especially challenging to create when faced with limited options, so our goal is to provide a range that removes the guesswork and simplifies the process for you, the professional.