In 2020, Rihanna released Fenty Skin, the skincare side of her makeup brand Fenty Beauty. Like its sister brand, Fenty Skin premiered with tons of celebrity promotion, a Rihanna skincare video, and lots of fanfare. And it lived up to the hype.
Fenty Beauty is famous not just for its celebrity mogul, but for its game-changingly wide shade range which has since inspired many makeup brands to step it up when it comes to inclusivity. Rihanna went the opposite way when it came to innovating for Fenty Skin — instead of releasing a high volume of products, she opted to release just four.
The skincare basics set of a glamorous minimalist’s dreams, Fenty Skin resisted the temptation to cater to the maximalist beauty trends by putting out low priced quality-yet-trendy beauty products, unlike some other celebrity makeup and beauty moguls (like … did Kylie Jenner think we believed she used that apricot scrub she tried to sell us?).
With one recent product release, Fenty Skin consists of just five products, which use high quality ingredients for a simple but effective beauty routine: a cleanser, a toning serum, the new eye cream, a night cream, and a sunscreen.
The full five-piece set will set you back around $140, but if you’re only looking to add one or two Fenty products to your skincare routine, here’s how we rank them:
THE BEST: Fat Water Pore-Refining Serum ($28)
The Fat Water Pore-Refining Serum
via Fenty Skin
The Fat Water is Fenty’s standout product. The innovative combination of toner and serum combines the benefits of both in an easy to use formula that doesn’t strip your skin like some toners do (step away from the witch hazel, we’re begging you).
The 2-in-1 super product targets pores and hyperpigmentation while smoothing away fine lines and decreasing oil production while still keeping you hydrated. Key ingredients include niacinamide for skin tone and oil production, cactus flower for hydration, green tea and fig to protect against environmental stressors, and cherries from Rihanna’s home of Barbados, which contain more brightening vitamin c than an orange.
Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen ($35)
Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer
via Fenty Skin
When Rihanna tells you to wear your sunscreen, you do it. Though sunscreen is one of the most important products in a skincare routine, most people don’t wear it everyday — which you should, even indoors.
The Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer is a daytime moisturizer and highly effective, award winning SPF in one. Its lightweight formula melts into your skin to hydrate without clogging your pores. Big bonus: it’s invisible on all skin tones, so no more walking around with a streaky white sunscreen cast.
Key ingredients include: hyaluronic acid, aka the best product for hydration, aloe to soothe and condition, kalahari melon for antioxidants and vitamins, and baobab, a superfruit which intensely hydrates. It comes in refillable packaging too, so just buy a new cartridge and replace when you’re done.
Instant Reset Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream ($40)
Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream
via Fenty Skin
The Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream works overtime. As a night cream, it hydrates your skin deeply overnight to leave you refreshed all through the day. The almost instant effects make your skin “juicy smooth,” which I never knew I wanted until Rihanna said it.
Its power ingredients are similar to the Hydra Vizor, making them the perfect AM/PM pair, but the Recovery Gel-Cream has the added benefits of Japanese raisin tree to detoxify and purify the effects of the day, and Australian lemon myrtle to reduce oil production and shrink pores.
The Newcomer: Flash Nap Instant Revival Eye Gel-Cream ($32)
Flash Nap Instant Revival Eye Gel-Cream
via Fenty Skin
Roll out of bed minutes before work and need an instant skincare pick me up to put yourself together? Take a covert power nap after the post-lunch slump and want to jump onto a Zoom meeting like you didn’t? The newest member of the Fenty Skin fam is the Flash Nap Instant Revival Eye Gel-Cream, a tiny tube that packs a big punch.
The gel-cream doubles (triples?) as a primer for your Fenty Beauty concealer, so it’s lightweight enough to go under your makeup with no pilling, and keeps your makeup from caking — that is, if you’re still wearing makeup over Zoom.
Horse chestnut helps reduce puffiness, Persian silk tree targets signs of tiredness and fatigue, and hyaluronic acid hydrates and nourishes.
Total Cleans’r Remove-It All Cleanser ($25)
Total Cleans’r Remove-It All Cleanser
via Fenty Skin
The Total Cleans’r Remove-It All Cleanser is the perfect, basic face wash when you need a quick, effective wash without the hassle of double cleansing. No more waking up with leftover makeup on your pillow — take off all your make up while giving your skin a deep clean your pillows will thank you for.
Makeup wipes are redundant. The rich lathering cleanser keeps your skin hydrated without stripping or drying it. With antioxidant rich fruit extracts and Ginkgo biloba, a healing and clarifying ingredient, even the most simple product in RiRi’s lineup is a gamechanger.
