The recent launch of Fenty Beauty, created by Rihanna, is “the new generation of beauty” as its slogan states.
In addition to appealing to Rihanna’s large and faithful fan base, the line provides a multitude of products for professional and everyday users while celebrating diversity and inclusiveness.
“I’ve been working retail and cosmetics for about four years; we needed a line like this that was diverse for every skin color and every race,” said Alexandria English, makeup artist and Sephora beauty consultant.
The 40 shades focus on undertones in the skin to achieve the perfect color match for skin tones. Warm and cool undertones affect the way a product’s color appears on the skin. Catering the foundation shades to a variety of undertones is what makes the product unlike most that are currently on the market.
“I’m a woman of color and it’s very hard to find foundation shades for us. I refuse to pay $57 for a foundation that’s not even my color,” English said. “Rihanna really took her time to make sure that there was a shade for everyone, and the foundation is affordable; it’s only $34. I love it.”
Not only is the shade range inclusive, but the foundation is formulated to eliminate the process of having to wait and work to blend the product onto your skin.
“It turns into your exact skin color once it dries on the skin. What’s different formula wise from other brands, it takes like three minutes to blend in this foundation. It used to take me an hour to do my makeup, with the Fenty foundation, it takes me 30 minutes. I swear by it,” English said.
Along with the foundation, the Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter is one of the most popular products in the line, providing a luminous look for any occasion. Each powder compact comes with two shades: a glowing and slightly muted color paired with a more bold color with more glitter in the same tone.
“It’s probably the best highlighter I’ve used. I have the Hustla Baby and Mean Money and I loved it,” said Adrianne Canady, junior marketing major. “I use the lighter, less glittery one. I like to put it on my eyelids and then I use the really glittery one just as a highlighter. It’s versatile too, so it’s nice.”
The Shimmer Sticks have also proved to be versatile.
“You can use the Shimmer Sticks as, of course, highlighters, or you can use them as eyeshadows. You can put it on the lips and put the gloss on top, to make it a different color. Sometimes what I like to do is put it on under, before I put on the foundation, just to give the foundation a little bit of radiance,” English explained.
Many who bought the product were intrigued by the line’s popularity online.
“I wanted to buy it because it got hyped so much online,” said Lauren Sankey, senior visual arts major. “I was a bit curious at first and wanted to know if it was worth the hype, but after I went into Sephora, it honestly lived up to all of the reviews.”
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty continues to thrive, and she is set to release a holiday collection. The extension to the original line appears to include a palette of 14 vibrant eyeshadows, multiple lipsticks and liquid eyeliner.
Fenty Beauty is a now permanent brand and will continue to restock.
The entire line is being carried by Sephora, Sephora online and Harvey Nichols.
