We all know Rihanna. She sings, designs clothes, models for brands, makes the best clapbacks on social media… the list can go on. Basically, Rihanna is a queen, and even she acknowledges this title.
Courtesy of Giphy
In September 2017, Rihanna launched her first-ever cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty, as her real name is Robyn Fenty. The line, exclusively launched through Sephora, initially featured several products including the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer, Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter, Match Stix Trio, Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick, Match Stix Matte Skinstick and Invisimatte Blotting Paper. The line also included a variety of blending tools such as brushes and makeup sponges.
Just weeks after her initial launch, Fenty Beauty announced their 2017 Holiday Collection, which included their Galaxy Eyeshadow Palette, Cosmic Gloss Lip Glitter, Super Hyper-Glitz Lipstick, and Eclipse 2-in-1 Glitter Release Eyeliner. According to Rihanna herself, she was inspired to create a line that was diverse enough to match anyone’s skin tone, so everyone would feel included, and MAN, DID. SHE. DELIVER.
Arguably the most heavily publicized product release of 2017, the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation features forty (40!) shades of foundation, ranging from 100 to 490. The foundation is aimed to match any skin type, shade, and undertone.
Courtesy of Emilyloke
This was a smart move on Rihanna’s part to market her foundation as something that “anyone could wear.” Those who have extremely pale skin tones or particularly pigmented skin tones tend to have trouble finding a foundation match. Women with color especially know the struggle of trying to find a foundation that matches your skin perfectly, without your makeup looking too ashy or making you look like you got a bad tan. Nyma Tang, a YouTuber who became famous for her very dark skin tone, tried out the darkest shade of the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, and surprisingly, it matched!
Courtesy of Ytimg
This is huge for the cosmetics industry, as many other high-end brands only feature a limited color range. Tarte’s BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen only features five shades, and IT COSMETICS’ Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ only features a selection of seven shades. The contrast between the color ranges are stark, and the public has clearly taken an interest. Fenty Beauty’s skyrocketing sales have only compared to that of Kylie Cosmetics’ Lip Kits. As of currently, Fenty Beauty has dominated the cosmetics industry in the last quarter of 2017, and it doesn’t look like it’s going downhill anytime soon. Fenty Beauty’s other products are nothing to disregard. The Match Stix Trio is a triplet of cream contour, highlight and concealer sticks targeted towards four different ranges of skin tones.
Courtesy of Sephora
The Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter comes in five shades, serves as a powder highlight, and the Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick is a cream-based alternative. All of the products in the Fenty Beauty line are long-wearing, blendable and high-quality. It is also interesting that Rihanna decided to come out with lip glosses and metallic lipsticks that contrast the matte, liquid lipstick trend that has swept the mid-2010’s.
It seems that rather than going for a more matte look, Fenty Beauty’s products lean towards an overall “glowy” look, with more focus on face highlight and glossy lips. This seems to go along with the trend of having a more healthy glow to the face, mimicking the Korean beauty trend of the dewy look. However, the main discussion surrounding Fenty Beauty is its foundation shade range, and honestly, all women of color are thanking Rihanna for finally taking them into consideration. This is a victory for them, and as the brand expands, I predict Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty will continue to change the cosmetics industry with its shade ranges and inclusion of different skin tones, undertones and skin types.