Just a week ago, pretty much everyone was freaking out upon the launch of Fenty Beauty. And the main dish? The Fenty Beauty foundation with its whopping 40 shades! Even I was thrilled to hear about it, that's why I initially checked when it would be available in the Philippines, and to my surprise, it was already posted at Sephora.ph for PHP1,950. It may sound expensive, but I actually think it's a reasonable price. I was expecting something a little more than PHP3,000 just like Kylie's lip kit when it was released back then, but I think that's only because there was no official distributor of Kylie's in the Philippines so we had to pay for all the import taxes. Anyway, because of the hype and accessibility of Fenty, I couldn't help but click that checkout button.
This is my first time purchasing from Sephora, and I must admit I'm impressed with their service. The items came a long way from Singapore, and it only took 4 days for my order to arrive. It included a swatch size sample of different shades, but if you buy 2 or more items from the Fenty collection, you'll be eligible for the bottle sample of the foundation. I also got a Sephora tote bag and Burt's Bees hydrating water as a gift.
So, the hype is there, but the real question here is—is it worth it? Read on to see my full review of the Fenty Beauty by Rihanna foundation .
The foundation comes with a sleek pump bottle which is ideal for sanitation. This is the swatch—on the left is the unblended, and if you can see, on the right is the blended. I got the shade 210, which is a medium neutral undertone. I was supposed to get the 240 which is a medium warm, but I figured it might be too dark or too yellow when set. If you don't know your shade, Sephora has a shade finder which you can match with the shade of the foundation you're currently using. Mine is equivalent to the NC20 of the Mac Studio Fix Foundation.
This is my face without any makeup on. It is evident that I have imperfections such as redness, blemishes, and clogged pores and blackheads on my cheeks and forehead.
This is what it looks like with one layer of the foundation. It has a medium coverage and matte finish which I like. It dries easily so I suggest you do half of your face first. The shade looks light upon application, but that's because (a) I intentionally chose a lighter shade than my actual skin tone because foundations tend to oxidize on me since I'm acidic, and (b) the Fenty team actually said on their IG story that Fenty foundations turn darker—but do NOT oxidize which means the foundation changes color to green or orange—once set.
This is the closeup of the imperfections on my cheeks. As you can see, they still peek through, but they're quite covered already. Btw, clogged pores are difficult to cover up no matter what foundation I use so I'm not surprised by this.
This is with two layers of the foundation. The first time I used this, I was amazed at how buildable the coverage is. It's very easy to blend with no caking. It's also very natural looking once set and feels light on the face. This is the only foundation that I've used that is very buildable but doesn't feel heavy.
Here's the closeup photo. Some of my clogged pores still peek through but the coverage is obviously better. After all, concealers were invented to do the job of covering up those little annoying imperfections.
 |
Products Used:
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Foundation
Mumuso Eyeliner
Careline Liquid Matte Lipstick in shade Gotta Go
|
Here's a full makeup look snapped with a lumee light inside my room. As you can see, it gets so much better once set.
While this one is snapped with just the room's light. I really am in love with the finish of this foundation.
But of course, I also had to test its longevity to see if it's good for holding up oil. If you want to know the oil control power of a foundation, a tropical country like the Philippines is the perfect place to do it because the heat is literally everywhere. Btw, since I haven't been wearing any makeup for the recent weeks, my officemates immediately noticed its effect on my skin. One of them said I was glowing! Yep, it's totally matte but not flat.
Here's my face at 8:40 AM. I didn't use a primer nor did I set my face with any powder so this was solely the foundation. At this time, I was already at work. I rode the train for 30 minutes and walked under the sun for 10 minutes. While walking, I noticed a wee amount of oil on my nose but nothing tragic. Note that I have a combination skin so my t-zone tends to get oily really quickly.
This was taken at 1:30 PM. Our office has AC, but I did go out to buy food for lunch. I also blotted once just to see the oil and there was much lesser than I normally would have especially on the t-zone. Again, nothing tragic. I didn't retouch with powder or anything.
This was at 4:30 PM. I did not use a blotting paper so there was already some noticeable oil on my face, and my imperfections were peeking though. When I blotted, it looked just fine after all.
Throughout the day that I wore this, I didn't notice any sensitivity on my face. Although I do have some clogged pores, it neither irritated them nor triggered new ones. So I can say that it's good for sensitive skin. Although if you do have sensitive skin, you still have to be careful as it might affect you differently.
Throughout the day that I wore this, I didn't notice any sensitivity on my face. Although I do have some clogged pores, it neither irritated them nor triggered new ones. So I can say that it's good for sensitive skin. Although if you do have sensitive skin, you still have to be careful as it might affect you differently.
VERDICT:
PROS:
- Natural looking; feels just like the skin!
- Good for oily skin; long wearing
- Matte finish but not flat
- Easy to blend
- Buildable coverage (medium to full)
- Wide range of shades
- Sanitary packaging
- Reasonable price
CONS:
- God, I can't think of any! Rihanna has blessed my face!
RATING: 5.0 out of 5.0!
WOULD I REPURCHASE? Totally! This is my new holy grail foundation!
This post is not in any way sponsored. The item was purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own. Keep in mind that while it worked fine for me, it may not give you the same exact results. :-)
Have you tried any item from the Fenty Beauty collection? What are your thoughts about it? Let me know in the comments below!
Have you tried any item from the Fenty Beauty collection? What are your thoughts about it? Let me know in the comments below!
