From the first time I started to wear makeup when I was 16, I have struggled with finding foundation tones that match me perfectly. I was in that awkward stage where I would have to either buy a shade that was too light for me and risk looking “ashy” or compromise with buying a foundation shade that was too dark for me and leave me with that “muddy” look. Makeup artists would suggest buying two shades and blending them, but in highschool, that was the last thing I wanted to do, even now I hate paying the price for foundation, nevermind two!
I wished so badly that I could go in Target and just buy a foundation off the shelf and know with confidence it would match me. Companies seemingly had every shade for lighter toned people, but for people that have a little more pigment in their skin, they had to choose between an average of three shades and just hope they were lucky enough to be within that margin.
Covergirl had a line called the Covergirl Queen Collection that offered a wide range of colors for people who didn’t have the luxury of their shades being easily available in stores. I never knew about this line until I was in a Walgreens in Pittsburgh. I soon realized that what stores carry depends greatly on your geographical location. I knew that I would never find the Queen Collection in my beach town in Florida (which that is such a problem in itself).
Stores like Sephora and Mac that cater to the high-end side of makeup do a lot better of a job at trying to include everyone. There is even a machine called “Color IQ” that pulls all the brands in the store and tells you what your best match is. Finding the proper foundation shade isn’t just a problem ethnic people deal with, it’s something everyone goes through, and this makes the process significantly easier.
Despite the advances that places like Sephora has made, I know some people of different cultures have felt slighted when they go shopping. When you go to a store, you want to feel like you can shop there, and if certain colors don’t suit your complexion(or are not even made for you) it can feel discouraging.
Rihanna took note of that. She realized that the beauty industry needed a makeover, and I’m more than here for this line. According to Rhianna’s website, Fentybeauty.com, Rihanna’s mission was to launch a makeup line “so that women everywhere would be included,” focusing on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones, creating formulas that work for all skin types, and pinpointing universal shades.
Just by taking a look at the website, her goal was reached with success. The Pro Filt’r foundation features 40 shades with different undertones. Not only are the variations of skin tones amazing, but the foundation has an oil-free formula. The formula is4 made with climate-adaptive technology that’s resistant to sweat and humidity, and won’t clog pores so that wherever you are, it’s going to work on your skin. When living in Florida and dealing with humidity and sun, that is a necessity you are going to want to have when looking for foundation to wear all day.
Fenty Beauty is not just limited to foundation. Rihanna’s makeup line also features highlighters, lip luminizers, shimmer sticks, and anything else you can imagine to finish off that flawless look.
Something I really appreciate about the Fenty Beauty website is how inclusive it is. The models featured are all of different skin tones and ethnicities. Every woman has the right to feel beautiful and confident. It’s okay if your shade and colors aren’t accessible in Target or CVS other brands online can cater to you. No matter how dark you are or how light you are, you can wear makeup.
Though this is an initial review of Fenty Beauty, and I have yet to try the products, I am so excited to. Any woman that is for the empowerment of all women, I love to support. Plus it’s Rhianna…she can do no wrong.
You can find Fenty Beauty online at https://www.fentybeauty.com/index or at Sephora!
“Makeup is there for you to play. It’s there for you to have fun with. It should never feel like pressure, and it should never feel like a uniform.” – Rihanna
HCXOXO,
Imani Taylor
Photos courtesy of FentyBeauty.com