On Friday the 8th of September 2017, the WHOLE world got to finally see Rihanna’s much talked about makeup line, Fenty Beauty. Released exclusively at Sephora worldwide and at Harvey Nichols in the UK (and ALL at the same time! How’s that for fairness?!). Shelves inside every Sephora flagship store and Harvey Nichols shop were stocked up with the new coveted collection and everywhere you looked inside those stores, was shuffling beauty lovers browsing through all of the new products! One fact in particular about this new collection (which was on everybody’s minds), was the incredible 40 shade selection of the liquid foundation! Say what now? Yep! Riri has ultimately thought of EVERYBODY with this collection, having brought out the extensive 40 unique shades in the medium-to-full coverage offering. You know I HAD to pick up a couple of items to trial out, check out my first haul below..
Intro
Rihanna explained it quite simply at the launch… she wanted to create something for the palest person and the darkest person. Keeping in mind that not everybody has yellow or pink undertones, some people have red undertones, etc. Siri also explained that she hoped to be so inclusive that nobody had to say the usual dreaded words ‘Oh, thats a nice colour but it’ll only look nice on such and such, not really me.’ Basically Rihanna has thought of everything, and everyone. I really admire that an artist (mostly musical/singing/acting) can come out with a makeup brand all on her own, and do it SO WELL that it honestly puts some other competing high-end brands much lower in variety and convenience. Because in reality; WE’RE all different colours, tones, undertones, and every one of us would love to look OUR best self! So the variety Rihanna has accommodated for is truly outstanding and a real testament to herself, her dedication and her character. I am so impressed with this collection and how it has been launched, here’s why: everybody around the world got to purchase and try the products at the same time, meaning no country was ahead or behind. I like that a lot because why not? Why shouldn’t everybody get to witness the products and experience it at the same time? I feel that way it’s completely more fun, and also fair for everybody to not have to wait months for a release just because they’re in a certain other country. That is the first thing I really loved and was very impressed by. The second thing I really loved was that Rihanna actually physically went to the Fenty Beauty launch in New York as it happened, and celebrated with everybody. Riri also talked to the media and explained her goals and ideas for the collection, making it very clear that she had thought of everyone. Browse my unboxed haul below…
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In my order was: the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer – a pore smoothing and diffusing primer that sets a base for longwear foundation application and also states to decrease shine, the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shades ‘100’ & ‘120’ – a quick drying, matte liquid foundation that provides a medium-to-full coverage and longwear, the Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in ‘Starstruck’ – a light, creamy shimmer formula in a magnetised stick for creating a perfectly lit highlight or blush the cheeks, the Full-Bodied Foundation Brush 110, the Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in ‘Metal Moon’ (also available in ‘Trophy Wife’), and the Match Stix Matte Skinstick in ‘Porcelain. I’ll go through the swatches and product reviews shortly from the products I purchased and have tried. For now I’ll talk about my favourite product and why it is my fave, and I’m talking about the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer! It is fantastic! Not only does it feel extremely light-weighted, but it also absorbs extremely well into the skin. Without an oily feeling too, it also smooths the surface on the skin and smells amazing! In fact, the scent smells like an old fave perfume of mine called ‘Amour’, by Kenzo. A really lovely vanilla-esque, musk scent that gives me reminiscent thoughts of the years I wore the fragrance. Now let’s talk about the products at hand.
The Products & Formulas
Let’s start with my favourite product, the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer, it is a true stand-out. This primer formula isn’t your average thick film texture, it is not anything silicone-like at all, it’s actually very thin, light-weighted and creamy instead. It absorbs into the skin like chocolate would melt on your fingers on a warm day. But thats not all, it provides an incredible lit-from-within glow from the skin! It blurs, mattifies and perfects the base of the skin. It does an amazing job of getting the skin ready for the foundation application, I was extremely impressed with the primer and better yet, it smells delicious! Onto the foundation; the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is a very comfortable liquid matte foundation that feels light on the skin, smoothing to touch and easily blends out. One thing to mention is that it dries quite quickly, so you have to be very fast at blending it out. It also does dry-down to a slightly darker colour after applying, not necessarily oxidising but definitely dries to a touch darker tone so I advise anyone to pick the shade the next tone down that would otherwise be too light for them, or select your matched shade but also the one lighter incase. The Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter is so finely milled, such a smooth textured creamy powder that melts into your skin and is so shiny! I have loved this! The Match Stix Matte Skinstick is a creamy textured formula, coming in a solid stick and interestingly enough it is very blend-able and covers pretty well.
Pricing
Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer – $32 USD | $46 AUD | £24 GBP
Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation – $34 USD | $50 AUD | £26 GBP
Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter – $34 USD | $50 AUD | £26 GBP
Match Stix Matte Skinstick – $25 USD | $37 AUD | £21 GBP
Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick – $25 USD | $37 AUD | £21 GBP
Full-Bodied Foundation Brush 110 – $34 USD | $47 AUD | £26 GBP
Where To Buy
Exclusively available at Sephora, and at Harvey Nichols in the UK. For Australia; the collection can be found at Sephora Australia and of course for my American readers, you can find the Fenty Beauty collection at Sephora US. For my British readers from the UK, the collection can be found directly at Harvey Nichols. The previous links will take you all straight to the collection.
Availability
Everything from the collection is permanent and is available at all Sephora stores worldwide and at Harvey Nichols stores in the UK. If by chance one item or certain items sell out, do not fear as the products will be consistently restocked. Nobody should ever have to miss out! If you follow those links provided above under ‘Where To Buy’, they will take you straight directly to the Fenty Beauty collection.
Other Products Available
So far I’ve only talked about the products that I had bought & trialled myself, but there is still a lot of other items available in the collection that I haven’t yet tested. Going onto other items worth a mention, there is the Cheek Hugging Highlight Brush 120 which is a specially designed brush to hug the curve of our cheeks, brow bones, cupid’s bow, the bridge of our noses and even our collarbones to create the most precise killa glow! Then there is the Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer which is a shea-butter infused formula to provide high explosive shine whilst giving the look of fuller, smoother lips. It comes in a universal rose-nude shade that Rihanna hand-picked, its meant to compliment everybody and has a delicious vanilla-peach scent. Next is the Precision Makeup Sponge 100 – a 3-sided latex-free sponge, the slanted edge to allow controlled stippling, the mini-moon edge for perfected coverage & flawless blending, and the rounded edge for all-over buffing. The Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter Duo that features two shimmers, one subtle (for everyday wear) and one supercharged (for a night-time high-shine glow), this can be used anywhere you desire to be LIT. The last products worth mentioning is the Invisimatte Blotting Paper – a portable blotting paper roll used for quick touch-ups and is refillable, the case it comes in also has a mirror. The very last products to mention is the Portable Contour & Concealer Brush, the Portable Highlighter Brush and the Portable Touch-Up Brush, all three portable brushes come in a very compact plastic, retractable and magnetised honeycomb-shaped handle. They’re the perfect size for on-the-go, in-your-handbag type scenarios. I feel like the magnetic ability will stop anyone from losing their brushes in the bottom of their handbag or makeup bag.
Repurchase?
110% YES! It is seriously that great! The whole collection is amazing but my most favourite product is definitely the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer! Hands down, its one of the best formulated primers that I’ve ever tried. I’m a huge fan of the Primer The Original by my beloved Australis Cosmetics but I can easily add the Fenty Beauty primer to my go-to list as well. Onto the other products, in terms of repurchasing, I would reorder the highlighters, the brush and the concealer. And whilst I like the foundation as it is light-weight, smoothing, and has a nice build able coverage, I think once it dries down the slightly darker oxidised tone is a bit of a let down. Overall, the foundation is good, but does oxidise a tad. This is just my own taste, I prefer Urban Decay’s All Nighter or MAC’s Studio Fix, or of course Estee Lauder’s Double Wear. But the rest of the products, I would definitely repurchase!
Have you tried any products from the Fenty Beauty line? What did you like?
