Normally, I would advise caution when hugging complete strangers, but if I ever run into Rihanna at the gym (I can totes see Riri doing squats) or TJ’s, I’m going to walk up to that lady and give her the tightest freaking bear hug. I don’t even care if her people jujitsu me and take my @ss to the floor. I’ll take that risk! Because I want to personally thank her for releasing her new Fenty foundation. I think it’s life changing. It’s really, really, REALLY good.
When I heard it would be available in 40 shades (OMG!), I was like, “OK, Riri, I’m not sure if I completely buy into the whole celebrity makeup line thing, but I SEE YOU, GURL.” And I appreciate what you did. 🙂 I mean, who releases a foundation in 40 shades? You know as well as I do how hard it is to find a perfect undertone match, especially for ladies and gents at the extreme ends of the light/dark spectrum.
Then I took it for a test run and officially leveled up to R.S.S. (Rihanna Stalker Status).
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is a $34 medium-to-full coverage liquid foundation that comes in a 1.08-oz. glass bottle with a pump.
Now, can I vent about my new pet peeve? I can’t stand it when foundation leaks out of a pump applicator after I use it. It happens with a lot of foundation pumps, including this one, I’m sad to say, and I’m a grumpy-grump about it because I don’t like wasting product. NOT EVEN A DROP.
Seriously, why can’t companies figure out how to stop foundation pumps from leaking?? Someone needs to solve this pressing problem and build a better mousetrap. Then, give me a fat cut of the proceeds, because y’all gonna make millions. I’m just saying.
I wear this foundation in shade 310, which is a little warm for me, but it’s a pretty close match. For reference, I’m a MAC NC42 with dry cheeks and an oily T-zone. Occasionally, I also break out.
Application
After shaking the bottle to mix it up, apply it with a brush, a dampened makeup sponge or your fingers. I like using my fingers because they warm up the liquid, making it more fluid-like, and I can really control how much I use (rather, how little, since I don’t like to apply a ton of foundation) and press the product into my skin.
Ooh! — try mixing equal parts of this with the Fenty primer (one word: excellent), and then apply the mix with your fingers. I do that sometimes, too.
Wait for it to dry
It takes about a minute to completely dry down and reveal this shade’s true color, because, at least on me, it oxidizes a little (just a very, very little).
Soft matte finish
The finish is soft and matte like a super subtle satin. It’s not a pearl, and it doesn’t shimmer, but it does have more oomph than a regular matte. I think it makes skin look like it was just washed, dried and kissed by a magical makeup angel, #blessed.
Haha!
Your skin will still look like skin
I can still still see my freckles after using one layer, and Julian the pimple is mostly covered, but not completely covered. It starts at medium coverage, which you can also build with additional layers. Any redness or unevenly pigmented areas are gone. My skin tone looks uniform, my pores look smaller, and my fine lines look softer. It creates a smoother canvas, but my skin still looks like skin.
You can easily keep building up to full coverage if you use two or three layers, but I feel like the foundation starts to lose some of its magical power at that point, because the more you put on, the more obvious it looks.
It’s crazy sweat-proof!
It was practically a sauna here last weekend. It was really, REALLY hot, but this foundation still looked completely intact late Saturday afternoon.
Like a pumped-up version of MAC Next to Nothing
I think another thing I like about this foundation is that it looks so much like MAC Next to Nothing Face Colour, which I also love. Both of them feel like next to nothing, steer clear of my fine lines, smooth my pores, and do the whole “I forgot I was wearing makeup!” thing.
The major diff between them is that Fenty’s foundation is medium-to-full coverage, and MAC Next to Nothing goes from sheer to medium.
Hell, yes!
Basically, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is the sh*t. I can’t recommend it enough.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Eesha says
September 12th, 2017 at 10:00 pmYour skin actually looks like skin and your radiant in all pictures. Very intrigued by this foundation.
LindaLibraLoca says
September 12th, 2017 at 10:33 pmYes, yes, yes! It sounds like it is everything I wanted it to be and more! Now I only have to find out when it will be available in Germany and which of the 40 (!!!) foundation shades needs to be mine. Which are things I totally could have figured out before, but I was afraid the second I knew all this i´d press buy without waiting for reviews…
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Eleni says
September 13th, 2017 at 12:02 amSounds incredible! Let’s see when that releases in the U.K. and I willl definitely check it out! Big thumbs up for the forty shades! Hope they’re yellow toned enough 🙂
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Ashley says
September 13th, 2017 at 8:53 pmThe line launched at Harvey Nichols on the 8th (same day as the U.S. launch). Idk where their locations are so I don’t know if that’s helpful at all. =/ Haha
Carmina Mendoza says
September 13th, 2017 at 3:53 amHave you had any problems whith fine lines?
Think it’s already available in México.
Astrid says
September 13th, 2017 at 4:57 amOhhh sounds very good! Feeling super lucky our US vacation is just on time with the release ?.
And I totally get you on the pump too… especially when I feel like I only need a tiny bit more to extra cover a spot… but nope it has to come out huge!
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Chris25 says
September 13th, 2017 at 5:34 amYay! I’ll be adding this to my list.
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Kim says
September 13th, 2017 at 6:36 amIt does look lovely and it’s definitely pore minimizing! Is there any spf? I looked a bit online but didn’t see anything about that. It’s a must for my tinted moisturizers because I’m way too lazy to apply sunscreen as a separate step! 🙂
Indya says
September 13th, 2017 at 6:57 amOk, so I didn’t immediately buy any of her foundation because there was only a small display at my Sephora. But now I am convinced! Maybe I’ll try and go get matched in another store!
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Margaret says
September 13th, 2017 at 7:10 amI’m glad this foundation worked so well for you. For me, unfortunately, it was a miss. I found the foundation dry, powdery and very hard to blend, as it dried very quickly on my face. At first, it looked beautiful, but within half an hour, it began to accentuate every pore, line and dry patch, and just sat there on my face, forming tiny clumps, instead of sort of melding with it. Two hours after application, it started to slide off and kept going south the rest of the day. I did use Fenty Beauty primer on half of my face, I tried different moisturizers, but that didn’t make any difference. I used shade 150 and I wonder whether the lighter shades are a bit of a dud, because when I read reviews on Sephora website, it seems that the lighter shades feel drier/chalkier. Although many reviewers also mentioned that this foundation oxidizes, mine did not. Color wise, it was a perfect match for me, which is rather rare.
Sandra says
September 17th, 2017 at 10:23 amI also had problems with this foundation and I’m glad I only got a sample of this. I’m an oily girl and I had high hopes. Instead, my face is a cakey, texturized hot mess. I feel like every fine line is emphasized and I look at least 10 years older. I cannot for the life of me get this to blend on my nose, and it gathers by the sides of my nose and the corners of my mouth, and NO amount of blending can make it better. The shade (260) was absolutely perfect; when I was being matched, we couldn’t easily see where it was swatched. I wanted to love this foundation for that alone (I’m borderline cool/neutral, so a lot of foundations pull yellow on me), but I just can’t. I may give it ONE more try and try mixing a little primer in to see if it works, but I’d really like to fine a foundation that isn’t a chemistry experiment…..
Vanessa Rivera says
September 13th, 2017 at 11:38 amI have been patiently waiting for your thoughts on this foundation, knowing if Karen loves it, I will too! I know that I need it, but you just put me over the top with your pictures! I need to physically go into Sephora and shadematch as I’ve been in hibernation with my newborn daughter, and think I am no longer the same nc42 as you lol
Laure says
September 13th, 2017 at 12:51 pmDamn… I might need to actually invest in a foundation.
Kelsey says
September 13th, 2017 at 1:48 pmI heard that the foundation is self-setting (i.e.; doesn’t need a setting powder). is that true?
Candace says
September 17th, 2017 at 5:22 pmTrue. I don’t set mine and it wears a full day on my oily skin
Erin says
September 13th, 2017 at 3:20 pmI hope the shades will still match this casper once it oxidizes.
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Juvy says
September 13th, 2017 at 5:04 pmSweet! I’m definitely going to give a try!!
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Reehana Shah says
September 14th, 2017 at 7:15 pmDid anyone notice a difference in formula between shades? My experience so far with this foundation has been SO strange! I picked up a sample of 140 and loved the way it made my skin look, exactly the way you describe it Karen, but the color was a little off. So I also got a sample of 130 to try and it could not have been more different. It looked horrendous on me! It accentuated every bit of dryness, texture, fine lines, everything! It was almost impossible to blend and separated around my nose and chin and hardly lasted half a day. I applied both shades the same way, Fenty primer and damp beauty blender, but they literally acted like two completely different foundations. So weird. I’m so confused by this! Has anyone had a similar experience I wonder?
Margaret says
September 21st, 2017 at 1:36 pmSo, after I read your post, I decided to go to Sephora and try another shade, and… what a difference! The 150 that I originally tried was horrible, ie. made my skin look older, drier and accentuated every pore and imperfection. But when I tried 160, which still matches nicely, is actually quite nice on my skin. Also, the lady at Sephora said that the Fenty primer tends to dry out the skin somewhat, so if anyone had dry skin areas, etc., to use a primer that is more moisturizing. There seems to be something to it because a. the foundation looks better when I put in on my bare skin vs. Fenty primer; b. I tried this foundation over Hourglass No.28 primer and over Laura Mercier primer, and it looks even nicer (Laura Mercier one seems to work better). The new shade also lasted very well through my workout. Very inconsistent formula at the very least.
Chantel says
September 15th, 2017 at 6:36 amDid you try on 300? I am NC42 but when I went on YouTube to watch people try on 310 it looked dark. I haven’t found to many tutorials with 300. I went ahead and ordered 300. I hope it doesn’t look ashy.
Candace says
September 17th, 2017 at 5:21 pmI’m NC42, bought shade 300 and it’s perfect match for me!
Deanna says
September 15th, 2017 at 11:23 amLooks beautiful on you. ?
Kay says
January 24th, 2018 at 7:06 amI’m also MAC NC42 with dry cheeks and an oily T-zone, who occasionally breaks out ?. Did you find that this was good on oily/acne prone skin? I find my Mac foundation causes me to break out more than usual.
Karen says
January 24th, 2018 at 10:06 amHi Kay,
I didn’t have any issues with it breaking me out. 🙂