By Gabriella Herran and Deja Brumfield
It’s no secret that skincare is incredibly important. It’s also no secret that taking care of your skin can be, and often is, very expensive. From smooth moisturizers to foaming cleansers to anti-aging creams, it’s easy to see how the skincare industry reaches a variety of audiences and because of this, it can be lucrative.
Knowing this, many celebrities have decided to tap into this market as their new entrepreneurial challenge including Kylie Jenner, Alicia Keys, and Rihanna. While their products cost quite a pretty penny, one still wonders is it worth it? In an attempt to find out if these luxurious brands really work we decided to give Fenty Skin by Rihanna a shot. In a span of a month, two of us recorded weekly results and changes in our overall skin quality.
THE PRODUCTS:
This product doubles as a makeup remover and a facial cleanser all without drying your skin out.
This product has a thick texture and is designed to improve the appearance of dark spots and texture all while fighting shine.
This 2-in-1 product is a moisturizer and sunscreen that combats dark spots and discoloration. It reduces flashback when wearing makeup and it is refillable.
All of these products are clean, cruelty-free, vegan, and gluten-free.
BACKGROUND INFO ON TWO DIFFERENT SKIN TYPES:
Deja (Sensitive and oily skin): My skin has always been difficult. It’s oily and very sensitive which is one of the worst possible combinations. I’m usually pretty stressed which doesn’t help the quality of my skin at all. Also, due to COVID-19, I’ve been wearing a mask whenever I leave my apartment so, as you can imagine, my acne has only gotten worse. For the last month, I’ve been using Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser. Before this, I was using CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser before my skin started to react negatively to it. For my moisturizer, I use CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion (both the AM and PM versions), I’ve been using this moisturizer for about a year. I don’t currently use a toner.
Gabby (Sensitive and dry skin): My skin is very sensitive and it has always been a hassle to find products that work best for it. I often struggle with a combination of dry skin and acne. In addition to this moving to a new environment, my skin has had several changes. These changes are due to the air quality and other factors like stress, wearing a mask, and heat. Products I currently use and have been using for the past two years include Origins’ “A Perfect World” cleanser, their moisturizer, “Night-A-Mins,” and Clean and Clear face wash for night and day. I typically use Origins for about two weeks and then switch off to Clean and Clear mainly because my skin begins to dry when I use a product for more than two weeks.
GABBY:
First Impression: After using all three products on the first day, I immediately liked the feeling of how weightless the moisturizer was. Typically, moisturizers I’ve used in the past feel very heavy but this one was light because the texture wasn’t very thick. I also noticed that the moisturizer smelled really good and both the toner and face wash left my face feeling smooth as ever.
Sept. 13 Before Fenty Picture:
Sept. 13th After Fenty Picture:
Week 1 (9/13 -9/20): After a week of trying out all three products, I feel like my face has definitely improved in certain areas. I started off this week breaking out in my chin and cheek areas and after a week of using the products, these areas were not nearly as bad as they started out to be. One thing I did notice was that the moisturizer began to dry my face out. Starting next week, I’m going to use all three products but with minimal moisturizer to see if it makes any difference. Along with this, the cleanser is said to be a makeup remover as well but I noticed I still have makeup residue even after using it. However, it does take off most makeup. Overall, would rate it thus far an 8/10.
Sept. 20 After Fenty Picture:
Week 2 (9/20-9/27): After a second week of trying out all three products, I feel like my face has started to break out a lot more especially in places that I had issues with acne prior to using the products. However, my face does seem to be much brighter and smoother with these products. I also noticed that immediately after applying Fenty it leaves my skin feeling really good in terms of texture, being smooth and lightweight but it looks very oily. Overall, I haven’t really noticed any positive changes in my skin or any major negative ones. Thus far, I would rate it staying at 8/10.
Sept. 27 After Fenty Picture:
Week 3 (9/27-10/4): The third week of using the products seemed to be the most productive for my skin. I finally saw a lot of positive results. Some being that the dark spots that I had prior to using Fenty were starting to get brighter and less noticeable. Areas where I had severe acne and acne scars were starting to clear up, and my face’s texture wasn’t as rough as it first started off being. Overall, my face was starting to see some results after what seemed like forever. Also when using the products this week, I noticed the side effects I had prior to the oiliness and flakiness were no longer happening, my skin had slowly gotten used to the products and reacted very differently this week. I would say it has definitely improved my rating to be a 9/10.
Oct. 4 After Fenty Picture:
Week 4 (10/4-10/11): The fourth week of using these products, I definitely can see a huge difference in my skin. The third week was when I really started to see the results have an effect on my skin but this fourth week is when the results of the product started to completely change how my skin looked and deemed overall. After the results from this week, I definitely think I will continue using Fenty products! My skin no longer feels dry or too oily but rather the texture is smooth and feels lightweight. After a month of testing these products, I have decided to give Fenty an overall rating of 9.5/10.
Oct. 11 After Fenty Picture:
DEJA:
First Impression: When using the face wash for the first time, I immediately noticed how you don’t need to use very much at all, just a dime-sized amount was enough because it lathers up pretty quickly. The face wash smells so good and left my face feeling very smooth. The toner doesn’t have much of a scent at all but it left my face feeling extra clean. The moisturizer by far smelled the best, it has a bit of a flowery scent which concerns me because my skin can be sensitive to scented products. Despite my concern, I still chose to try it and I noticed it felt super light and doesn’t make my pores look/feel clogged which makes me hopeful. Additionally, even though the moisturizer is also sunscreen, it doesn’t leave a gross white film over my skin which is refreshing.
Sept. 13 Before Fenty Pictures:
Week 1 (9/13-9/20): After using all three products for a week I haven’t seen much improvement and it honestly feels like my skin is getting worse. My cheeks are way more broken out than they were before. The face wash is supposed to double as a makeup remover but I noticed that it doesn’t do such a great job and I’m usually left with some residual makeup. It does, however, leave my skin feeling very smooth. The toner seems to have started clearing up some of my dark spots and the moisturizer is great but sometimes I feel like it makes my skin more oily. I’m hoping that my skin gets used to these new products by the end of the trial.
Sept. 20 After Fenty Pictures
Week 2 (9/20-9/27): So far my skin hasn’t gotten any better after two weeks of using all three products. The face wash seems to be cleansing my skin really well and the toner is removing lots of dark spots. The acne on my cheeks has gotten substantially worse and my skin continues to feel really oily, I think this is due to the moisturizer. My skin is sensitive and although I like how light the moisturizer feels, I think the fragrance is starting to mess with my skin. I’m going to stop using the moisturizer starting next week to see if there are any major changes. I’m a little bit frustrated at the moment to see my skin go from bad to worse but I’m hoping that if I remain patient it will get better as time goes on.
Sept. 27 After Fenty Pictures
Week 3 (9/27-10/4): This week I think I’ve not only seen but also felt the most changes. This week I stopped using the moisturizer and just stuck with the face wash and toner and it seems to have made a positive impact. Because I chose to no longer use the Fenty moisturizer, I went back to using the CeraVe moisturizer that I was using prior. My skin is already starting to feel less oily and the acne on my cheeks have started to clear up quite a bit. It’s still nowhere near where I’d like it to be though. The toner is doing a really good job of clearing up my old acne scars and dark spots. This week has also been super stressful so I’m hoping that it’s just the stress making my skin worse and not the products.
Oct. 4 After Fenty Pictures
Week 4 (10/4-10/11): Okay I take back what I said about last week being the week where I saw and felt the most changes because that is most definitely this week. My skin is SO much more clear. Virtually all the acne I had on my cheeks is now gone. I still have a lot of scarring but the toner is doing a great job evening my skin tone and getting rid of dark spots. Just looking back at the last three weeks is insane. I was starting to lose a bit of hope and I was getting more and more frustrated that my skin wasn’t clearing up. For a while, it was starting to feel like my time was wasted because instead of improving, my skin seemed to get worse with each passing week. However, I now see that all I needed was a bit of patience and a little bit of time for my skin to adjust to the new products.
Oct. 11 After Fenty Pictures
Final Thoughts
DEJA: Overall, I think if you’re patient and you allow your skin to adjust to the products then you’ll get the results you desire. The face wash did a great job cleansing the skin and leaving it feeling smooth and hydrated. The toner helped to even out my skin tone and eliminate dark spots. As for the moisturizer/ sunscreen, I don’t think I tried it long enough to be able to make any final judgments but if your skin is sensitive to scented products, I would just be cautious. I definitely believe that it was worth it to try out and I’ll likely continue to use at least the toner as part of my daily skincare routine. I also believe that in the grand scheme of things, the price isn’t too bad, the Fenty products are at the same level of quality as some of the higher shelf skincare brands at a fraction of the cost. If you’re looking to switch up your skincare routine and you want to try out some celebrity skincare brands then go ahead and give Fenty Skin a try, Rih Rih doesn’t disappoint!
GABBY: Overall, I believe these products are definitely worth the price and the time invested. Although it seems to take until the very last weeks to see results, it’s definitely worth waiting for. I know it’s easy to get discouraged when it comes to skin products taking forever to provide results but if you’re patient and willing to stick through it then Fenty Skin is a perfect fit. The price is not only reasonable but the quantity of how much product you get is also fair.
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