Cover Girl Cosmetics, a Hunt-Valley based arm of Procter & Gamble Co., announced yesterday that, in a bid to shore up its sales to black and other dark-skinned women, it is introducing a wide range of new shades to meet their needs.
In a related move, the company said it had signed Lana Ogilvie, who has appeared on American fashion magazine covers, as the first black model to be signed to an exclusive contract with the brand.
Cover Girl's 72 new products will include liquid makeups, pressed powders, loose powders, blush, lipstick and nail polish. They will go on the market in January.
"They are much richer shades than we previously have had in our line," said Candi Sheffield, Cover Girl's associate advertising manager.
She said that many of the products will appeal to women of all skin shades but that other products are specifically designed to fill gaps "where we haven't met the needs of women of color."
She noted that by 1995, 25 percent of women in the American market will be nonwhite. "That's an important segment and we want to make sure that we at Cover Girl are meeting the needs of all women."
Ms. Ogilvie, a Canadian-born model who has appeared in Elle, Vogue, Mademoiselle and Glamour, will not be used solely in advertising for the new products aimed at dark-skinned women, Ms. Sheffield said.
Ms. Ogilvie joins a group of "Cover Girls" under exclusive contract that includes Christie Brinkley, Rachel Hunter and Carol Alt.
Cover Girl is one of the world's largest brands of moderately priced cosmetics.