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Fenty Beauty is a cosmetics brand by Rihanna, that was launched on September 8, 2017.

As with the product line, Fenty Beauty also drew international acclaim for diversity in its advertising campaign, which prominently featured numerous black models and other models of color. Faces of the initial Fenty Beauty campaign included Slick Woods, Halima Aden, Leomie Anderson, Indyamarie Jean, Paloma Elsesser, Selena Forrest, Camila Costa, and Duckie Thot. Soon after Rihanna released her line, other brands such as Make Up For Ever and L’Oréal started ad campaigns aimed at women of color. 

Fenty Beauty has embraced makeup use across gender lines, producing an ad in March 2018, called “My Fenty, My Mood”, in which Instagram star and comedian Kway plays his comic character Titi promoting the brand. Also in March 2018, Daniel Kaluuya, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring role in Get Out, appeared on the Oscar red carpet wearing Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’R Foundation (specifically, shades 480 and 490). Time magazine described him as looking “luminous”; in the UK edition of The Huffington Post, Patricia Ekall said his “dewy glow brought the “no-makeup-makeup look” to another level.” Several outlets noted men’s use of makeup was “not unusual”, but said the news nevertheless “pleasantly surprised” fans. 

Rihanna has drawn some criticism for failing to cast transgender models in Fenty Beauty campaigns. In response, she invoked a desire to avoid tokenism and respect privacy, stating:

“…worked with many gifted trans women throughout the years. However, I don’t go around doing trans castings! Just like I don’t do straight non-trans women castings! I respect all women, and whether they’re trans or not is none of my business! It’s personal and some trans women are more comfortable being open about it than others so I have to respect that as a woman myself! I don’t think it’s fair that a trans woman, or man, be used as a convenient marketing tool!”Fenty Beauty did make a sponsored post on Instagram with transgender model Rose Montoya. They later partnered with transgender model and social media influencer Emira D’Spain.

Within one month of release, Fenty Beauty’s sales were valued at $72 million, and sold-out products widely reported, with darker shades of foundation particularly in demand (shoppers noted even testers were often gone from stores.) In the UK, the line became Harvey Nichols’s biggest beauty launch ever (passing previous leader MAC Cosmetics): in September the department stores sold one Fenty Beauty foundation every minute and one lipstick every three minutes. 

The launch helped raise LVMH’s cosmetic and perfume sales for the third quarter of 2017 by 17%.According to Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of LVMH, Fenty Beauty’s sales reached almost 500 million euros ($573 million in 2018. Forbes reported that following 15 months of operation, in 2018, Fenty Beauty accumulated US $570 million in revenue.The entire operation is worth US $2.8 billion.

photo obtained from Fenty Beauty

Photo Credit: Shutterstock