First and foremost, I want to say I am so thankful that Fenty Skin even considered sending me PR (for testing and reviewing purposes, not paid). Being a what they call, “micro-influencer” I really did not expect this from such a well-known brand. I am so thankful. Although my thoughts about the individual products may vary I am so glad that someone like Rihanna is using her platform in order to create skincare products that include any skin tone and skin type. It’s also decently priced. A little expensive if you are used to The Ordinary prices, a little less expensive than the high-end Sephora brands like Tatcha and First Aid Beauty. I love being able to try a variety of brands and products. I am so lucky that I have skin that allows me to do that. Reminder as you are reading my thoughts, I have normal skin, that is somewhat sensitive but not really. Some products do irritate me, but I haven’t run into too many that have. I’m just going to get it out of the way now. The products each have fragrance, colorants, and the Fat Water has witch hazel water (not the best), so if you are sensitive to any of these or trying to keep them out of your routine, there you go!

Rihanna recently released a new brand and line, Fenty Skin, (duh). The brand initial release included a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer and SPF product. I was excited because her promo videos are always amazing, she included such a variety of skin tones and people (A$AP Rocky, yes please). I’m definitely interested to see what’s next. Serums? Men’s Line? For now, we have the 3 products. We’ll start with the cleanser.

1. Total Cleans’r- $25

I usually am very cautious with cleansers because I can get super stripped and dry from them. I had some hopes for this. It is advertised to be enough for a makeup removing cleanser and regular cleanser in one. My initial reaction was “how”. A recent trend (that I love), double cleansing, has taken over the skincare world for the better. It has people throwing out their environmentally UNfriendly makeup wipes that just irritate skin and instead they’re using cleansing balms or oils. Using a balm or oil helps breakup and basically dissolve any makeup or SPF residue on the face that a water-based cleanser can’t necessarily do. So, I had two thoughts, is it thick enough for this? Is it going to be drying? Now, when I tried it (without double cleansing) it did remove about 75% of my makeup. But really only my face makeup like foundation, bronzer, highlighter, etc. It didn’t really remove eye makeup, mascara, eyeliner. I also was nervous of the color (it’s a really pretty pink) and the scent (fig). Fragrance in general doesn’t really bother my skin but I prefer to not sensitize my skin. At the beginning I had the fangirl in me and was thinking “I can add some fragrance into my routine, its Rihanna” yeah no I took that right back.

My thoughts: I don’t cleanse in the morning; my normal skin type allows me to just rinse my face. I would feel super dry when cleansing in the morning. So, I waited until the evening to test out this product, without double cleansing, and a full face of makeup. I love the twist packaging, I think its super cool. The scent wasn’t awful but it was noticeable for sure. Like I said above, it didn’t necessarily take off all of my makeup but I normally use a cleansing balm anyways so this didn’t really impact my idea of it being a 2-in-1 makeup removing cleanser and water-based cleanser. After cleansing and drying my face, I felt like my skin was tight and dry. I personally am not a fan of this product, but for combination to oily skin types (that aren’t irritated by fragrance/colorants) this may work for you. Usually with cleansers, fragrance isn’t as bad because it gets washed off but it can also sensitize and cause irritation with some skin types. Sensitive skin types I would be cautious. This one is ranked #3 for me. Not the best for my personal skin type.

2. Fat Water- $28

Before I say anything, Rihanna KILLED the packaging, look how gorgeous this is. When I opened the PR box, I was in awe and my eyes instantly went to this.

This product definitely stole the show when she dropped details about the line. It was about to change the way we see toners. Fenty Skin released Fat Water which is a toner-serum hybrid. It’s thick like a serum but has the pore-refining toner aspects. I had high hopes for this product solely because although it’s a pore refining toner, it has such good hydrating ingredients (right?). I originally was filming my initial thoughts to share, but I had to step back from them and reevaluate because although I wanted to share my full thoughts and not completely bash Fenty Skin. I love Rihanna and like I said, this is amazing for so many reasons. So, when I went to use the Fat Water, I was so excited. It was a thick serum like product that I thought was going to somehow hydrate and refine pores at the same time.

My thoughts: I was very concerned from the beginning that witch hazel water being the second ingredient would cause some havoc in the skincare world. Which it did, for a good reason. We all run away from 100% witch hazel products because they’re drying and stripping but what’s the difference with witch hazel water? Is it more hydrating? Honestly, I still have no idea but I think that this ingredient is the reason why it didn’t work for me. I used and I felt dry, tight, and in need of some hyaluronic acid serum ASAP. It was a serum-toner hybrid but didn’t really hydrate like a serum. This product will most likely be amazing for those combination to oily skin types, but for my normal skin it was too drying. I was so upset my skin didn’t like this because its such a cool concept, the packaging is A1, and I heard so many amazing things. It also had the faint fig scent, and the ingredient list contains fragrance but it’s pretty low on the list. Once again, I don’t get bothered by fragrance but I try to stay away from it as much as possible because I prefer not to sensitize my skin or cause irritation. Sensitive skin types, be cautious using this if you try it. Combination to oily skin, you may really love this! Ranked #2 on my list. I still technically could use it with hydrating products on top. I will definitely use the product up because I don’t want to waste it but I wouldn’t repurchase.

3. Hydra Vizor- $35

Props once again to Rihanna for the packaging. I love the refillable SPF concept. Instead of purchasing the purple casing and SPF bottle every time, Rihanna has created refillable SPF inserts. This not only reduces waste but it also will be a little cheaper for both the manufacturer and consumer. The full product with both the casing and SPF tube is $35 and the refillable SPF tube is $30. This really isn’t that big of a saving but it does reduce waste so. One of my concerns, and others too honestly, is the amount of product you get. Sunscreen especially should be applied liberally multiple times a day so how long will this really last? If you love it, it may be worth it.

My thoughts: I was especially excited to try the Hydra Vizor for a few reasons. First, not many brands come out with a sunscreen that works for every skin types no matter how light or dark their consumers skin is. Second, it claims to not pill, which is one of my biggest pet peeves EVER in skincare. Lastly, it’s claimed to be moisturizing and not drying. It’s especially a big issue for black men and women to find a sunscreen product that doesn’t leave a white cast. Well, Rihanna took it upon herself and did an AMAZING job in this department. This product leaves absolutely NO white cast what so ever. It’s a light pink color that blends so elegantly without having to rub it in for hours. I really really really loved this product at first. My only issue honestly with this product is it’s a little too greasy for my skin type. It’s also not hydrating enough for me to use as my only moisturizer. I do love a dewy glow when applying skincare and makeup. So I don’t really aim for a matte look, but I also don’t want to look greasy. It does have a nice lumonsity to it, but I still looked greasy after a few hours. I tried to love this product in so many ways. I tried by applying a different moisturizing product before then using Hydra Vizor, I tried using setting powder after applying it, and I even tried applying makeup overtop of it to see if that would reduce the shine. After basically a trial in error of wanting to make this product work for me, I couldn’t. I felt like my pores looked HUGE which doesn’t happen often for me. I also felt like my skin was becoming a little texturized. I wasn’t really breaking out into huge zits but I normally have smooth textured skin and I was getting small bumps especially around my T-zone. I still liked this product the best although it didn’t work for me. I still want to somehow make it work, or at least use up the product. I wouldn’t repurchase.

Final Words…

Overall, the 3 Fenty Skin products didn’t work well for me and my skin type. That’s not at all to say that I don’t recommend it. Although I love recommending products to people, I also think if you have the ability to expand your product horizon you should. Although I do recommend to be cautious based on the ingredients and certain skin types, it’s really up to you. I 100% would have bought Fenty Skin to try if they didn’t send me PR because I was just as intrigued as anyone else. I am so glad that Rihanna is using her platform and developing products for black men and women to be able to use. It’s so important that brands include products like this that don’t completely leave out a skin tone. SPF is especially important for every single race, ethnicity, skin tone, and so on. We all need sun protection. So although these products didn’t work for me, I hope that they work well for those who have been previously excluded from products like these because of brands that ignore these issues. Rihanna, I love you and there’s so much more to come with this brand and I am so excited. Thank you, Fenty Skin for allowing me the opportunity to share my thoughts and review. You definitely made me feel like I sort of made it in the skincare influencer world!

UPDATE: to anyone who has been following my Instagram page. Instagram has completely deleted my page due to a third party falsely reporting my account. I am trying to contact Instagram and appeal the deactivation but they are impossible to reach, so for now my original @straightupskincare account has been deactivated (by Instagram). I have created a backup account in the meantime so I can keep sharing content with everyone! I hope I get straightupskincare back but if not, the temporary page will become my new page. The handle is @skinbyrileyb. Thank you so much for all the support! I was almost at 4k on the original account so let’s hope I can get back up there!