Rihanna launched Fenty Skin a couple of weeks ago. It’s a three product range, each is multi-purpose, with more to come in the months ahead. To the surprise of no one, much of it, if not all, is already sold out and they’re promising to restock quickly. Not that anyone should have doubted that Rihanna knows what she’s doing.
To promote Fenty Skin, Rihanna is on the cover of the new issue of Harper’s Bazaar and she does a video demo of the three products which you can watch at that link. What I like about these Rihanna tutorials is how practised she is. The way she moves her hands and handles the product, the way she rubs her palms together, her technique essentially, reminds of me the makeup artists I’ve worked with – that is, I believe that she is not just involved in the business side of her beauty and skincare products but intimately in the development process as an expert. Most of us have experience putting on our own makeup but we’re not necessarily experts at makeup in general. The way you apply sh-t onto your own face isn’t how you would touch and maneuver around someone else’s face, right? Rihanna has clearly put in the time to learn the requirements of financing and marketing the product, but the information required to be able to develop it, and on top of it, how to apply it. She’s done the work, all the work, and she continues to show it to us. This is more than just a celebrity endorsement. And this is why all of her business streams are so incredibly successful – because her customers believe that every ingredient, every stitch, every detail comes from her. And they also believe, as Kahlana Barfield Brown writes in Harper’s Bazaar, that these details, these choices that Rihanna has made in her fashion, beauty, and skincare lines, are chosen with them in mind. Rihanna’s clients feel seen.
As for the reviews, what has been universally praised in the packaging. First of all, as many of you know, sometimes it doesn’t matter how good the product is when the way it’s delivered is sh-t. There’s a zit-zapping ointment that is amazing and never fails me, but the applicator for every bottle I’ve ever bought has broken so I have to constantly keep a separate dropper on hand. Fenty Skin is function. You don’t have to do gymnastics to release the product. And, more importantly, they’ve made significant efforts to reduce waste wherever possible, using already recycled materials that can be continuously recycled and refilled. That said, while some influencers are loving the efficacy, others have reported irritation - and that’s why Rihanna has acknowledged that the skincare space is tricky. What works for me might not work for you.
For example, I exfoliate every day. For some people, this might be too harsh. But it’s been working for me for years. Also my nighttime moisturiser is body lotion. I’ve been using it on my face for years from when I ran out of night cream and forgot to order more so one night after shaving my legs and rubbing Aveeno all of them, I was just like, f-ck it, I’ll just use it for now until I get more of my regular sh-t. And then it seemed like it was working just as well so I got lazy. That might be too heavy for you though.
One thing I have been meaning to add to my nighttime skin routine though is a night serum before the body lotion. I use a daytime antioxidant serum with vitamin C but haven’t felt I’ve needed a serum at night until recently so I just started trying one out the other day. It’s too soon so I can’t speak to results yet but the point is, you may have been already serum-ing at night for a while now because that’s what your skin has required. Skincare is so personal and that’s why people can be so emotional about it. Rihanna obviously understands this and it’s why she’s taken such a personal approach.
As for the photos… well… I mean it’s Rihanna. Even in COVID times she’s going to serve up an amazing photo shoot. This seems to be the most popular image coming out of the spread:
I prefer the one of her changing the lightbulb and the one of looking into the fridge. Because I have so many questions about that fridge! Why are the cans and the juice bottle lying on their sides?! This is probably not a thing for you but it’s giving me anxiety. How can you see what the can is if it’s not standing up? How do you prevent rolling and falling and f-cking up the carbonation? Click here to see the images and to read the full article.
