With the launch of “Fenty Beauty” last month, Rihanna created a whole new empire of beauty products that focuses on being inclusive of among all skin types and tones.
Fenty’s main goal is to include women of variou sskin types, and this has been something that is constantly in high demand due to the lack of a tonal range in most skin products. This beauty line includes many customizable options and entails 40 shades of foundation, an instant retouch primer, various highlighter (including contour, concealer, highlighter stick trios and freestyle highlighters), blotting and touch-up tools, brushes and a universal lip luminizer.
“Fenty beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races. I wanted everyone to feel included. That’s the real reason I made this line,” Rihanna said.
Inclusivity stands out when comparing Rihanna’s line to other celebrity’s makeup lines, such as Kim Kardashian West’s. KKW’s line of contour and highlighter sticks featured only four shades: light, medium, dark and deep dark. The “deep dark” tone also sparked a lot of controversy because it did not match with some women with darker skin. Many Youtube beauty blogger also criticized its limited tonal range. That said, Fenty Beauty trumps KKW beauty, in my opinion— a large part of beauty is catering to the masses, and Rihanna succeeded in doing so.
“Makeup is there for you to have fun with,” Rihanna said. “It should never feel like pressure. It should never feel like a uniform. Feel free to take chances, and take risks, and dare to do something new or different.”
However, although Rihanna repeatedly states that her makeup is for women of all kinds, I feel that its word choice is discriminatory to everyone using this makeup, especially to those who don’t identify as women. Accepting customers of all genders and sexualities is something that Rihanna doesn’t blatantly make obvious with the way that she has been marketing her beauty line.
Despite marketing her products “for women,” I think that this makeup line is a big step towards incorporating inclusivity into makeup. From music to makeup, Rihanna continues to represent an inspiring and remarkable brand.