Breaking down the products behind Rihanna’s newest business success: skin care.
It goes without saying that Rihanna has been taking retail by storm, redefining industry norms and playing by her own rules: FENTY rules. First Rihanna made waves with FENTY Beauty, providing an incredible 40 shade range foundation- along with some other pretty amazing products. The company’s diverse range of products landed its rightful place on Time Magazine’s 25 best inventions of 2017 and even sparked major beauty retailers, such as L’Oréal, to begin selling and marketing deeper cosmetic shades for woman of color. Next it was Savage X FENTY, a lingerie company, which again emphasized inclusivity, showcasing a range of skin tones and sizes for women of all colors and shapes. After lingerie, Rihanna was after the rest of the body with her FENTY fashion brand. FENTY was released under the LVMH group, making Rihanna the first woman and woman of color ever to create a fashion brand with LVMH. Now, Rihanna is after skincare with FENTY Skin, having recently premiered 3 products in its new line. I had the privilege to speak with my good friend Chelsea Cates-Rollins who was able to get her hands on these highly sought after products. Chelsea, take it away!
(Make sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see Chelsea’s full video review as well!)
Chelsea, tell us a little about yourself and for how long you have been a beauty enthusiast?
I am 23 years old and currently working in NYC in digital media after graduating from Babson College in 2018. I have always been into anything and everything beauty – hair, nails, makeup etc. My earliest memory is playing in my moms makeup when I was 10 years old and taking a picture, I thought was so cute at the time, but definitely cringe worthy now.
What made you want to purchase Rihanna’s FENTY Skin products?
I LOVE Rihanna, I’m pretty sure if you ask any of my friends they would tell you the same. When she first came out with Fenty Beauty I bought one of their first products, which was the Gloss Bomb and loved it! After that I said “if Rihanna comes out with a skincare line I’ll buy it” and lo and behold she did and I bought it.
Can you give us a quick rundown of each product and your initial impressions?
She came out with 3 products in her first launch and, before I go into detail, one of those was a Sunscreen, which I appreciated especially coming from a Black woman. Specifically, in the Black community applying sunscreen isn’t normalized and I think that was a great first addition to the line. Now going into my overall first impressions…
Cleanser (rating: 9/10)
The cleanser suds up really well and gives your face a fresh clean feeling without drying it out which is amazing!! The only reason I didn’t give this a full 10/10 is because although it smells great, fragrance can be harsh for a lot of people’s skin so that eliminates a few candidates. And, although the packaging is great for travel because it is a twist cap, a bit of the cleanser dries up on the cap and touches whatever surface you put it on which can also be a bit harmful for people with sensitive skin.
“Fat Water” a.k.a Toner (rating: 9/10)
Similar to the cleanser, it’s just the packaging that deducts that one point, mainly because it is a bit harder of a plastic and you can accidentally use too much product pushing (which I have done….multiple times). Other than that, I love the Fat Water and I actually see a physical difference, mainly in the amount of oil my face accumulates. I have combination skin, but it’s more oily than dry and since this is a pore refining toner it doesn’t help get rid of large pores, but definitely helps shrink them a.k.a less oil on your face throughout the day!!
Sunscreen SPF 30 (rating: 10/10)
And finally the sunscreen, my favorite honestly. I love this stuff! It does have a bit of fragrance so sensitive skin people be warned, but it’s not overwhelming. It smells great, isn’t greasy, you don’t need to use a lot of product, and the bottle is reusable! So, anytime you need a refill you only need to purchase the inside portion with the actual product. This is probably my favorite packaging because of that, and it also travels well. A lot of people use this as a moisturizer, which it technically is based on the name, but I personally still use a moisturizer and add this on top as my sunscreen.
What is your favorite product out of the collection and why?
I already brought this up, but definitely the sunscreen! I do like all the products and I have seen a difference in my skin, but the sunscreen is really my favorite. Not only because it looks great, smells great, and feels great, but because it’s promoting more people to protect their skin from the sun and I love that!
How do these products compare to the skin care products that you already own?
I dibble and dabble in a lot of different products, but since quarantine i’ve been doing a bit more research trying to understand things and I do enjoy these products better. I still use my other serums in my routine, but I haven’t yet switched back to my old cleanser, toner, and sunscreen. Will I? Not sure maybe, it’s only been about a week and a half since I started using Fenty Skin, so time will tell. For now though, I am going to stick to using Fenty Skin. I think there are a lot of comparable products, but in the end it’s all about what you believe your skin needs and listening to it when a product it doesn’t agree with your skin.
Are these products worth their price?
I for sure think these are worth the price!! Skin care is generally expensive if you’re going for more high end products and I have paid more for other skin care products than I have for these, i’ll admit. So if you’re looking for a bit more of an upscale product, you won’t break the bank, but this isn’t your standard drug store skin products (and nothing wrong with your typical drugstore products I use them too), but compared to a Drunk Elephant, Youth to the People, or other similar to this, Fenty Skin is definitely more affordable!
Are these products something you can see yourself using every day and replacing your old products with?
Yes for sure! I already replaced my old everyday products for these and I use these products day and night, besides the sunscreen I only use that during the day. Overall, these products aren’t harsh, do not try out your skin, and are super easy to incorporate into your everyday life busy or not.
Last question. What are your overall final impressions of Rihanna’s skin care debut and do you think her line competes with other popular brands, such as Kylie Skin, The Ordinary, and Glossier?
In all honesty I haven’t tried Kylie Skin or Glossier, but I moved from The Ordinary toner (which I loved and still do love) to the Fat Water Toner. I really like Fat Water Toner, mainly because I saw a difference in my pores after the first night I used it. I still use my ordinary serums in my everyday routine and I still use my drug store Ceerave moisturizer and aloe vera gel, but for the products that did get replaced by Rihanna’s products I will miss, but at the moment don’t plan on going back.
Watch Chelsea’s Review
Ursula D. 