Amid all of our impulse beauty buys, Sephora excursions and video tutorials, one question always seems to stand out: why do some of the best beauty brands smell so strange? And why do we keep coming back for more?

Just like clothes and underwear, one size does not fit all. Although hundreds of bottles line the shelves in the skincare aisle at your local store, the majority of skincare and makeup companies sell products that are tailored to benefit Eurocentric skin tones.