By Anna Gombert
Rihanna’s new cosmetic brand has been all over the internet for the past week. And for good reasons. The pop star’s makeup line was a sensation even before it dropped on September 8. First of all, Rihanna making makeup? Iconic just like everything else she does. More importantly, Rihanna making diverse and inclusive makeup? Revolutionary. Literally.
Most mainstream makeup sold in big brand stores like Sephora and Ulta are very Eurocentric and pander toward lighter skin, usually only offering two or three darker shades. Fenty, the name of Rihanna’s brand (also her last name) offers 40 different shades of foundation. She even includes super light shades for people with albinism. On the official Fenty Beauty website she is quoted saying, “Foundation is one of those areas in the beauty industry that has a big void for women at extreme ends of the shade spectrum. There’s this middle ground that’s covered really, really well. But then if you’re very pale or if you’re very dark, there aren’t a lot of options. And so, I wanted to make sure that women of all skin tones were covered so they could be included in what I created.”
She debuted a super inclusive, and honestly quite fire, ad featuring many different versions of beauty with majority women of color, which is rare even in “inclusive” ads. She also featured a woman in a hijab in her video.
Her new line features several makeup products, including the Pro Filt’r foundation and primer, killawatt highlighters in six shades, Match Stix used for highlighting and contouring and a lipgloss. On the website, it explains Rihanna’s desire to make the lipgloss, quoting her, “I made it because I wanted the girls to get kissed more.” The lowest review of the lipgloss is only four stars. Sounds like a good product.
Today she also unveiled a sneak peak of the Fenty holiday collection, dropping on October 13. I don’t think my wallet is ready.
Anna is a sophomore English major with a Women & Gender Studies and Art History double minor.
Graphic by David Giacomini
