Fenty Skin: Worth the Hype? Reviewing All 3 Fenty Skin Skin Start'rs
Without a doubt, Fenty Skin was one of the most anticipated skincare launches of the year. 2020 hasn’t had too many highlights, but a new launch for Rihanna who has made strides for inclusivity in every industry she’s launched a Fenty product is easily a highlight. I was lucky enough to receive the Total Cleans’r, Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum, & Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer + SPF at the end of last month so I’ve had some time to play with them and form my opinions!
Before I want to get into the review, I want to put out the disclosure that EVERYONE’S SKIN IS DIFFERENT! I seem to be in the minority of people who don’t *love* the line, but that doesn’t mean that I’m speaking the gospel and people who are raving about it are lying. Conversely, it doesn’t mean the people who love it are the only ones telling the truth and I’m a lying hater. Different people have different skin needs and experiences and opinions; it’s as simple as that.
Also wanted to note that all the products do contain synthetic fragrance (apparently less than 1% according to Rihanna.) I personally find the scents quite strong in all the products, but I’ll get more into it on the individual reviews. They also all contain synthetic dyes.
I also like that they made the packaging recyclable, and they reduced waste by not including unnecessary shrink wrap or outer packaging. All the ingredients lists and relevant information are printed directly onto the bottles (asides from the sunscreen which did come in a box.)
Rihanna developed the line to be sensitive skin friendly. Whether it actually is or not, depends on your skin’s sensitivities. Just like with every other skincare line, it’ll work for some people but not for others.
Fenty Skin Total Cleans’r Remove-It-All Cleanser
Price & Availability: ($25 USD for 145 mL)
Texture: Starts off as a cream and lathers up to a foam as you add water to it.
Fragrance: I don’t like any of the scents in this line 🙃 This has a sickly sweet, vanilla-y, fruity scent.
Packaging: Plastic tube packaging, with a cap that dispenses the product. I personally like this as it’s easy to use, and I don’t have to worry about it breaking when I drop it.
Thoughts: Overall, I didn’t love this. I pH tested it twice and got a pH of about 7/7.5. I haven’t seen anyone else pH test this so I haven’t been able to confirm if this is the norm or not! I’ll update this post when I do. If you’re unfamiliar with the importance of a low pH cleansers, the short version is you want a cleanser that mimics the slightly acidic pH of your skin to prevent your skin’s moisture barrier + microbiome from being wrecked which will in turn irritate your skin. If your skin feels dry, tight, flaky, or sensitized after cleansing— the cleanser is probably irritating your skin. Of course, pH is only one aspect of a cleanser.
Ingredients wise it looks nice— there are no overly harsh surfactants. It also contains a variety of fruit extracts which help hydrate the skin!
This is marketed as both a first cleanser to remove makeup and as a classic foaming second cleanser. Personally, I find very few cleansers to actually suit both of those roles. I’m not going to criticize Fenty for making that claim as half of the new cleanser releases do the same.
Unsurprisingly, I don’t find this great at removing makeup. It will remove some lightweight powder products, but I don’t find it as effective at removing heavier liquid base products like concealer and foundation. As it is so humid and hot out, I tend to layer on primer + powder + setting spray to ensure my face doesn’t melt off in 0.5 seconds after leaving the house. Applying more budegproof makeup = I need a proper oil-based makeup remover. And this ain’t it.
As a second cleanser, it’s alright. It lightly foams up and rinses away pretty clean. There’s a little bit of a slippery feeling at first, but with a few splashes of water, it’s gone. It also works really nicely with the Foreo! The foaming is 👌I don’t use it on my eyes because they’re super sensitive and hate all foaming cleansers.
I do think my skin feels a little bit dry after using this. I don’t think it’s the wooorst thing ever or anything, but I have so many cleansers I love more that I know I won’t be using this up as a face wash. It’ll probably be passed onto a friend or repurposed as a body wash/ makeup brush cleaner.
Fenty Skin Fat Water Pore Refining Toner Serum
Price & Availability: $28.00 for 150 mL via Fenty Skin
Texture: Thick and juicy and viscous. Similar to other thick toners like the Glow Recipe PHA + BHA Pore Tight Toner.
Fragrance: Another sweet, vaguely fruity scent.
Packaging: Clear plastic bottle with a twist open cap. The product is squeezed out.
Thoughts: When I first received the line, this was the product I was most excited to try! A thick toner that I can layer up on and double as a serum? Yes please! The ingredients list is also stacked with hydrating ingredients like niacinamide (which is also brightening & soothing), green tea extract (rich in antioxidants), cactus flower extract, cherry extract, and more.
Unfortunately, the second ingredient is witch hazel. Everyone’s tolerance of witch hazel is different, some people can’t use it at all and some people love it. I fall somewhere in the middle— as long as it’s not too concentrated, I don’t find it sensitizing. But the Fenty toner has a higher concentration of witch hazel than I can tolerate. My skin tingles whenever I apply this, and after it dries down my skin feels matte rather than hydrated.
Even if this didn’t tingle my skin, I would still be hesitant to using too much of this. I generally like applying multiple layers of toner (a la the 7 skin method), but the inclusion of witch hazel means I wouldn’t want to layer up too much. When layering up on toner, I stay away from toners with high concentrations of drying ingredients like drying alcohols, witch hazel, menthol, acids, etc. as layering up on those often sensitizes my skin when applied consistently. I do like that they used witch hazel distillate instead of traditional witch hazel, so the formula is free of denatured alcohol.
If this didn’t have a relatively high concentration witch hazel, I would enjoy this a lot more as the overall ingredients list is nice and I love the viscous consistency!
Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF Sunscreen
Price & Availability: $35.00 for 50 mL via Fenty Skin (Refill is $30)
Texture: Lightweight lotion.
Fragrance: The strongest fragrance from the entire line. I can smell this on my face for a few minutes after application.
Packaging: The refillable packaging is so innovative! You can remove the inner cartridge and replace it with a new airless pump after you’re finished.
Thoughts: This is definitely my favorite of the initial launch! I love that the packaging is refillable, and I love that Rihanna is inspiring her followers to apply SPF!
It’s meant to double as a moisturizer, and I do find it to be hydrating without being heavy or oily (for reference I have dry skin, but in the summer it’s pretty normal.) I did wear this over moisturizer just to see how it layered, and had 0 issues with it. Again, it felt hydrating without overwhelming my skin. I also didn’t have any issues with it pilling with my skincare or makeup.
When dispensed, it initially has a pink tint to it but it quickly dissipates. It’s an all chemical sunscreen (avobenzone, homosalate, & octisalate) so there’s no risk of a white cast on any skin tone (and I would expect nothing less as inclusivity is core to the Fenty brand.) It’s easy for me to rub in and my skin absorbs it pretty readily.
Ingredient wise, it also has niacinamide similar to the toner serum, alongside other juicy fruit extracts including watermelon and aloe as well as hyaluronic acid. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s a silicone free formula (not that silicones are inherently evil, but they can lead to layering issues.) In addition to the aforementioned synthetic fragrance and dye, it also includes citrus essential oils.
The only thing that would prevent me from repurchasing this is the price and the scent. As with every other American sunscreen, while I do like it, I don’t like it more than my affordable Korean and Japanese sunscreens. And as previously mentioned, I don’t care for the scent, and it lingers around. It’s something I would repurchase if I didn’t have the option of purchasing my preferred Asian sunscreens (check this video for my favorites under $25.)
