I've been wearing Fenty Beauty by Rihanna for three months, and here's what I think

After months of anticipation, Rihanna unveiled her debut make-up collection, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, last September. Like many of the celebrity collections that have gone before, it caused round-the-block queues at Harvey Nichols in London and sent social media into a frenzy. But was it really worth the hype? 

Having got my hands on the majority of the range, I've been trying them for three months now. A disclaimer: I’m not an actual beauty critic here at The Telegraph, but I do enjoy a great highlighter, love a good eyebrow pencil and I'm pretty tough to please when it comes to make-up.

The staple products in my beauty routine have been the same for years, and in the past, the only way to wean me off them has been with a brilliant recommendation from someone with a similar look or skin tone as mine, or by a highly anticipated launch. With a whooping 40 shades and mixed reviews on social media (the majority of which are good), Fenty Beauty by Rihanna more than piqued my interest. Three months down, here are my thoughts...

The shade names are genius

‘Trophy Wife’ (a bright yellow-toned highlighter) ‘Trippin’ and ‘Yacht Lyfe’ (both shimmery skin sticks) are just a few of her tongue-in-cheek names. The shades are just as colourful and super pigmented. The pale rose gold shade, Trippin, has been my go-to highlight as it only needs one light stroke for a long-lasting glow. Case in point, I went out in the evening the first day I wore it - 11 hours after first applying it - and someone complimented me on my glowy skin. If you're one to layer up a cream highlight with a powder one on top, rest assured you won't need to do that with this one as it has a great colour pay-off. 

The magnetic packaging is really satisfying

The Match Stix Skinsticks come in both shimmer versions and creamy matte skin shades. The latter, which acts as a concealer or contour colour depending on your skin tone, was too drying for my skin, particularly on the areas I'd want to disguise dark circles or blemishes.

The great thing about the Skinsticks is their pale pink magnetic packaging, allowing them to clip together creating a honeycomb shape looks really interesting on my dressing table. If you're someone who likes to top-up throughout the day, they stick together making them easier to find in your bag. Obviously you'll need to buy more than one to allow for this, and at ￡21 each or ￡46 for a set of three, it could be a pricey investment.

The foundation has earned its hype...

Although only if matte foundation is your thing. I'm not a fan of full coverage for everyday wear, so the Pro Filt'r Foundation, ￡26, works well for me as the formula is lightweight, but builds easily and covers flaws without any cakiness. As it's matte, I find it doesn't need setting with powder, but if you have oily skin, I recommend the Invisimatte Blotting Powder, ￡24. 

What's worth noting though is that it originally took me three encounters with the wrong shades to find the one that suited me best. If you haven't committed to them yet, I'd recommend heading to Harvey Nichols to try them out as a few of the shades look very similar, but slight differences in the undertones mean they may not work for you. I was certain, for instance, that 320 would be my shade, but it turned out to have a pink base, and I'm yellow-toned. Instead, the shade 310, which I initially thought would be too light, was a perfect match, and I've been wearing it most days since. 

While the huge shade range was what originally lured me in, the darker colours were notoriously hard to find when the brand launched. Over 20 of the Fenty Beauty shades would count as medium to dark, but there were countless Tweets and Instagram posts within the first month revealing that many of these had completely sold out online and in store. Many of the darker shades are now back in stock here.  

The price points aren't ridiculous

At ￡26 for foundation, the Pro Filt'r Foundation is ￡10 cheaper than the one I'd usually buy, and it's slightly bigger. It's worth noting that I've been wearing it almost every day for three months and haven't used even half the bottle as a little goes a long way. The brushes are also well-priced from ￡19 for a small portable one to ￡26 for a full-sized foundation brush. I've found the latter, or a beauty blender, works best with the foundation. 

Although they're my favourites from the range, the Killawatt Freestyle Highlight Duo's are the only items I think are slightly overpriced at ￡21 for a small amount of product. The compact would last a long time, though, and it does have a mirror and nice packaging.   

Clockwise from top left; Portable Contour & Concealer Brush, ￡19, Harvey Nichols; Killawatt Highlighter in Chic Phreak, ￡26, Harvey Nichols; Pro Filt'r Foundation, ￡26, Harvey Nichols; Gloss Bomb, ￡16, Harvey Nichols, Shimmer Skinstix in Sinamon, ￡21, Harvey Nichols.

The brushes are surprisingly good

I’m a big believer that a workwoman is only as good as her tools, so I think good brushes are worth the investment. If I’m honest I wasn't expecting these to be any good, but the brushes are soft, dense and really well-priced for the quality. 

The Full Bodied Foundation Brush, ￡26, is great and has a chic design. I've really put it through its paces over the months, happily using it to apply the foundation, my own concealer and then the Invisimatte Blotting Powder, ￡24 when I need it, and it works well for all. I've washed it a handful of times and it works as new once it's dry. 

The standout products may surprise you

While Instagram and Snapchat went crazy for the golden-yellow Killawatt Highlighter in Trophy Wife, ￡26, for me the standout highlight shade is Trippin, ￡21, in the Match Stix Shimmer Stick. The shimmery rose gold hue is ideal for medium to dark skin tones and works well for everyday wear.   

I highly recommend the Invisimatte Blotting Powder, ￡24, if you have oily skin, too.  I wasn't expecting it to actually be invisible on my skin as it's a white matte shade, but it absorbed my oily T-zone with ease. 

Although it's said this collection was skin-focused, the Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, ￡16, is really flattering if a glossy lip is your thing.  

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