Inclusion has always been important for makeup consumers who don't always see themselves represented on the shelves. Since the launch of Fenty Beauty, makeup brands have been falling over themselves to appeal to more customers. But inclusion is more than a marketing trend, and brands are starting to get the message.
According to WWD, the brand will outsell other longer-standing celebrity makeup lines such as Kylie Jenner's Kylie Beauty and Kim Kardashian's KKW in the upcoming months. Online research firm Slice Intelligence found that while Kylie Cosmetics had the highest yearly sales, Fenty Beauty sales in its first month of operation were five times Kylie Cosmetics and 34% higher the following month. Kylie Cosmetics is approaching its two-year anniversary while Fenty Beauty has only launched since September.
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Fenty Beauty has also outperformed other successful makeup brands, such as Kat Von D Beauty (both are owned by Kendo and exclusively on sale in Sephora). Of course, many see that the success comes from the way that Fenty Beauty embraces inclusivity within the brand itself and not as simply an afterthought or marketing quirk. On its release, Fenty launched with a wide variety of shades for foundations and highlighters (that Rihanna spent over two years developing to get just right before they hit the market), since expanding to include eyeshadows and lip products. Unsurprisingly, Slice notes that amongst all of the makeup brands examined, Fenty Beauty had the highest amount of Black and Latinx customers.
When asked about the inclusivity of the line, Rihanna mentioned that it was important to her that the foundation shades were made with everyone in mind. "I wanted things that I love. Then I also wanted things that girls of all skin tones could fall in love with," she tells Refinery29. "That was really important for me. In every product I was like: ‘There needs to be something for a dark-skinned girl; there needs to be something for a really pale girl; there needs to be something in-between'."
Enthusiasm aside, this new research only gives us more proof that Fenty Beauty is changing the makeup game for the better.