Makeup Spotlight: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
Makeup is a fun, amazing tool that so many girls and boys can use to express themselves–the brand a person chooses to use can say a lot about them. Many people in the beauty community know that while there is a lot of fun and love in the community, there are also parts of the community that need to be recognized from time to time–lack of a shade range from a brand, bad formulas from a popular brand because it has a celebrity’s face on it, and often, very problematic beauty influencers.
While the latter is almost always called out when it needs to be, I think it’s important to highlight the brands and people that do good for the community, whether it’s to bring a game changing product to the market or bring a very diverse shade range of foundation, or just being a great brand overall.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna has done all three of the previous things mentioned: her brand first came out on the market in 2017 with their Pro Filt’R Foundation with a total of 40 shades. Typically, an average amount of shades in a brand is around 30. Ten extra shades for a foundation range makes a big difference. Right off the bat, Fenty Beauty came off to me as a brand that was inclusive of all skin tones and genders. For someone like myself who has a hard time finding the perfect shade match, usually having to settle for a foundation that is slightly too light, Fenty Beauty is the first and only brand that I have found my exact foundation shade. Since 2017, Fenty Beauty has expanded their shade range from 40 shades to 50.
Normally, I do not tend to buy from brands that are owned by celebrities, but Rihanna clearly had a motivation and purpose for her brand. It wasn’t just to capitalize off her name, but to actually shake up the beauty community with her brand that shows inclusivity for all. A foundation range of 50 shades is intimidating for a brand that’s been around longer and has only ever offered 30 shades at most.
Besides the diverse shade range Fenty Beauty has, the brand owned by Rihanna comes out with different products every so often. A liquid lipstick range called Stunna Lip Paints, Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick, Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter, The Gloss Bomb, Contour Kits called Match Stix–the list for Fenty Beauty goes on. They have built an entire catalogue that any makeup lover can refer to if they need something for their collection.
Rihanna has not only made a name for herself, but has made her introduction into the beauty world a memorable one, and still a very, very relevant one. The models she uses for her campaigns all have different skin tones. The message Rihanna has behind her brand is loud and clear.
When I look at Fenty Beauty, I see myself. I see that Fenty Beauty recognizes people with darker skin tones and recognizes them loudly. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna sees diversity and inclusivity as beautiful and the beauty world may never and should ever be the same again.