Sometimes it feels like Rihanna can do no wrong. She’s gifted bikes to Malawian schoolgirls, recently gave a fan a $1 ticket to her Diamond Ball (which raises money to support underprivileged communities), and can walk across sidewalk grates in stilettos. And now, the Barbadian singer’s first foray into cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, has received all the praise: it’s cruelty-free, the foundation comes in an impressive 40 shades, and its campaign features a racially diverse cast of beauties. The latest score for RiRi is all the love the albino community is throwing her way for offering super-duper light foundations, like shade #110. The shade is designed for fair skin with cool undertones, which, surprisingly, is rarely found in your standard cosmetics aisle.
“I had a small freak out today… my neck and face finally match each other,” Krystal Robinson, an albino beauty blogger, wrote on Facebook. Krystal later turned to Instagram to show off how the foundation looked on their skin, captioning the picture, “#AlbinoMatch.”
Rihanna showed Krystal some support by sharing screen captures of Krystal’s celebratory post to her Instagram stories. “Out of the dozen or so foundations I’ve purchased in the past couple years, only one of them has been wearable at all,” Krystal said in an interview after Rihanna’s shoutout. “And although a lot of high-end products have lighter shades, it’s frustrating to be expected to pay triple or more what a drugstore foundation would be because there are no shades that match you.”
Badgal Riri has made her argument clear: a beauty line should be unpretentious, accessible, and made for everyone. She has also adopted an exhilaratingly egalitarian approach when it comes to delivering Fenty Beauty to the masses. She did a fan’s makeup, posted up at a Sephora checkout desk and sold the products herself, and invited leagues of beauty vloggers to the product launch in NYC. Now that’s true beauty.