I Tried It: Fenty Beauty vs. Make Up For Ever Foundation
The beauty industry has been SHOOK since early September.
The 8th marked the Friday your favorite bad gal and secret bestie, Rihanna, launched her eponymous makeup line Fenty Beauty. The collection that would change black girls and makeup shelves everywhere.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you can't escape the discussion about Fenty Beauty. Everyone is talking about it, and rightfully so. The brand is all that! One of the main praises is the wide range of foundation shades, namely the darker tones. Rihanna met the demand of the cries from women who felt their voices were unheard by makeup brands, who didn't care to cater to their complexions.
A couple of weeks ago, when Make Up For Ever shared their "40 shades is nothing new to us" post, some people felt it was Fenty Beauty shade. After Rihanna responded with the comments "Still Ashy" and "Shook," her fans filled the comment section with posts claiming Makeup For Ever had "casket ready" shades, among other insults, and I grew curious of how the two brands measured up against each other. I already owned Make Up For Ever, and decided to get Fenty Beauty to put them both to the test.
For an entire day, I wore Fenty on the right side of my face and Make Up For Ever on the left. My skin type is combination and I tend to get oily in the t-zone area on my nose, forehead, cheeks, and chin.
To start, I used a blurring primer by Becca, then applied each foundation with a flat kabuki brush and used the Fenty Match Stix Trio (the concealer, contour, and highlight set) and Trophy Wife Killawatt highlighter to complete the look. I documented the performance of each foundation in the morning, afternoon, and night to see which would perform best.
Here's what I found:
Fenty Pro Filter Foundation
Shade: 360 (it's honestly a smidge too light for my preference, I'm going to swap for one shade darker)
Finish: Matte, smooth natural finish
Coverage: Buildable to medium coverage
Price: $34
Review: I love Rihanna (drops mic). I kid, no, but seriously I do. It was so hard for me to get my hands on this foundation, and I could shoot myself for selecting the wrong color when the restock was briefly available online again for 2.3 seconds. All biases aside, the Pro Filter really does give you a natural “filter like" appearance without your skin looking overly cakey or dry. I had a smooth finish all day, and with a couple of oil blotting touchups my skin still held on to the soft matte look. There was little to no transfer and Trophy Wife had me glistening for the gawds all day long.
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation
Shade: Y455 Praline
Finish: Natural dewy finish
Coverage: Buildable to medium coverage
Price: $43
Review: I already owned the Ultra HD foundation and have always loved it. I really like the way it makes my skin look dewy and healthy while still providing good coverage. It applies smoothly and dries down with a dewy finish. There was a bit more transfer with this foundation because it's not matte, but nothing that would be considered a deal-breaker. Still a top pick in my foundation stash.
Here's how both held up throughout the day:
9am
(Left: Fenty Beauty, Right: Make Up For Ever)
1pm
After the first time blotting for the day.
6pm
Final Thoughts
Both foundations were very similar. They leave your skin looking like skin, they are both buildable, and provide a natural-looking coverage, while still allowing your skin room to breathe. The only difference I noticed throughout an 8-hour day was that the Make Up For Ever side of my face got a little dewier (or oilier in my case), and the Fenty Beauty was a little less oily and nine bucks cheaper. That's it. They both performed well and it all boils down to your preference of wanting either a matte or dewy finish.
I'm giving a round of applause to Rihanna and her team for bringing Fenty Beauty to life and paving the way for other women to trail blaze down a lane that caters to all skin tones from light to dark. Although both brands have similar foundations with a wide range of shades, there is enough room for everyone. It all boils down to preference and what your needs are from a makeup line.
Have you tried Fenty Beauty and Make Up For Ever? What are your thoughts?
- I Tried It: Fenty Beauty vs. Make Up For Ever Foundation - xoNecole ›
- 16 Best Foundations Offering Range For Dark Skin 2020 - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why You Should Implement The Closing Shift Cleaning Hack Into Your Daily Routine
A new cleaning hack could allow you to do away with Saturday cleaning altogether because your house is already tidy. Closing shift cleaning is a viral trend originally named by influencer Clara Pierce, who shared with her followers how she keeps her apartment clean and how that leads to productivity and a better overall experience in her apartment daily.
"Whenever I'm really trying to set myself up for success for the next day, I close up my apartment like I'm closing a shift at work. Sometimes, the closing shift involves cleaning my entire apartment, and other times, it involves cleaning it 10% to make sure that it's better for the next day," Pierce shared with her followers.
The Closing Shift Cleaning Hack
@clararpeirce goodnight 😴🫶🏼 #closingshift #closingshiftcleaning #nightroutine
The closing shift video has garnered over 3.8 million views, and the hashtag #closingshiftcleaning now has over 71.3 million views, proving that TikTok users are benefiting from this cleaning trend. Now that we've entered the spring equinox, I applied this trend to my own home and discovered that spending an hour tidying my home daily versus having days where I clean for hours was far more productive.
The day-to-day ways that your home can become messy with dirty dishes, clothes, boxes from packages, etc., can easily create an environment that isn't conducive to rest. My home is my sanctuary, and with a busy schedule, making time on the weekends for one big clean wasn't giving me the experience that I needed in my home.
But taking the time every night before I went to bed to clean allowed me to wake up in an environment that not only looks good but feels good for my space and my mind. It also helped me to develop a routine to clean my dog's food and drink bowls nightly so that he was also benefiting from the closing shift routine, as the FDA recommends washing pet food bowls and utensils "after each use" and cleaning water bowls daily.
Decluttering experts such as Rebekah of Organize for Love have shared similar organization skills across social media platforms and through their offerings for those looking to organize their homes and lives. In this Instagram post, she discusses the importance of scheduled decluttering as well as having a routine to clean.
Have you tried the closing shift cleaning hack for your daily routine, or are you team "get somebody else to do it" with a weekly housekeeper? Please sound off in the comments, and let's get to cleaning.
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Featured image by Rockaa/Getty Images