As far as major beauty launches go, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty was one of this year’s buzziest. The pop star and style icon has previously developed fashion lines with Puma and Dior, but this was her first foray into the world of cosmetics – and anticipation reached a fever pitch after she confirmed that Fenty Beauty foundations would be available in a whopping 40 shades.
Speaking at a launch party for Fenty Beauty on Friday, Rihanna said that diversity was her number one priority when developing the line. “It was really important to me,” she said. “In every product, I was like, there needs to be something for a dark-skinned girl. There needs to be something for a really pale girl. There needs to be someone in between.”
“There’s so many different shades,” Rihanna continued. “There’s red undertones, there’s green undertones, there’s blue undertones, there’s pink undertones, there’s yellow. You just never know, so you want people to appreciate the product and not feel like, ‘Oh, that’s cute, but it only looks good on her’.”
Skin, rather than eyes or lips, is at the centre of this batch of Fenty Beauty products: an unsurprising revelation, given Rihanna’s laser focus on representation. As well as the aforementioned foundations, there are also gleaming powder highlighters, a translucent matte primer, shimmering blush and bronzer sticks, blotting powder and papers and concealing and contouring crayons. Zero eye products and only one lip gloss made the cut – which makes us suspect that this is just the beginning of Rihanna’s beauty empire.
Here, we’ve chosen our highlights from the collection. Happy shopping…
Main image: Rex Features
Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
Best for: combination or oily complexions; those in search of a medium to full coverage foundation for autumn
This velvety foundation delivers a long-lasting matte finish that doesn’t go cakey, and still allows your natural glow to shine through. As with all Fenty Beauty foundations it’s available in 40 shades, divided into four main categories (light, medium, tan and deep) and three undertones (warm, cool and neutral). Pictured here is 480 Neutral.
£26, buy it here
Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick
Best for: delivering a hit of colour and sparkle in one swipe
This solid stick of creamy, shimmery cheek colour comes in 10 shades, from the coppery pink Sinamon to Confetti, a space-age pale lilac. The breadth of hues means that they can be used as blush, bronzer, highlighter and eye shimmer: we particularly like Rum (pictured), a metallic bronze that looks as gorgeous on eyelids as it does swept below the cheekbones.
The millennial pink packaging is also magnetic, allowing it to be attached to the Fenty Beauty portable highlighter brush in your make-up bag.
£21, buy it here
Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Trophy Wife
Best for: When you want to stand out from the crowd
Rihanna wore this deliciously OTT, canary-gold cream-powder highlighter to the Fenty Beauty launch party (main picture), layered along her cheekbones and right up to her eyebrows. If you’re not quite brave enough to go full Ri-Ri, simply dab a tiny bit of gold dust into the inner corners of your eyes or sweep a light wash across your eyelids with a small fluffy brush.
£26, buy it here
Match Stix Matte Stinstick
Best for: concealing and contouring
Buttery sticks of lightweight, ultra-blendable matte colour that can be used to contour as well as disguising blemishes and under-eye shadows. Available in 20 shades, from Porcelain to Espresso (both pictured).
£21, buy it here
Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer
Best for: everyone, anytime, anywhere
Rihanna has never been shy about embracing a statement lip, so it was something of a surprise to see zero lipsticks among the current crop of Fenty Beauty products. All we have is this lip gloss – which is also one of the only products not to come in more than one shade.
Luckily, that one shade is a corker: Fenty Glow, a universally flattering, subtly shimmering rose nude. “I made it because I wanted the girls to get kissed more,” says Rihanna. Amen to that.
£16, buy it here
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