On the morning of January 1, we all woke up with hangover face and Rihanna noticed. “It’s the new year. Half of y’all lookin’ busted,” she said in an Instagram video. Naturally, Fenty Beauty had a solution: A new full-coverage concealer in 50 shades, designed to cure “bags, dark circles, hangovers, and bad decisions.” After an interminable January and Fashion Week, The Cut staff took Rihanna’s new Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Concealer for a test run. Read on for our thoughts.
The concealer blended in with my skin tone (incredibly pale) well — too well, I’d say. It seemed to mostly disappear into my skin on application and didn’t offer much coverage. It’s creamy and feels nice, but it didn’t do much for the acne I’m currently dealing with. I’d say it functions more like a very lightweight foundation than it does a concealer. (I usually use Make Up For Ever “Extreme Camouflage” concealer, so I’m used to something pretty heavy duty.)
If your issue is under-eye darkness, this might be a good bet, but if your issue is an insane hormonal face due to a mistaken attempt at seed cycling (don’t ask) then maybe look elsewhere.
I never use concealer, so I waited for the morning after a terrible night’s sleep to try this out on my under-eye area. I used shade 330, Rihanna’s Pro Filt’r shade, and it was a perfect match. That’s all it really took for this product to get on my good side, to be perfectly honest, but I kept going. I applied a few dots under each eye in a triangle shape and blended it out with my finger. I was surprised by how quickly the product sank into my skin with minimal blending.
I was expecting a very matte, almost cakey finish because concealer kind of scares me, but this has more of a soft, filterlike effect like its name implies. It also subtly brightens in a natural-looking way. I looked considerably more rested than I felt well into the night, and nothing pilled or started flaking, so I’m glad I have this handy now. Especially in the midst of Fashion Week.
I really love this concealer. It passed two very important tests to earn my adoration. First, it goes on very well — not too thick, but with a nice creamy consistency. On a busy day of Fashion Week events, I applied it under my eyes for a brightened look, and with some good setting powder, it rarely creased. It reminded me of a lighter and less aggressive version of my other holy grail product, Jouer High Coverage concealer.
But I really knew I loved this concealer when I returned home late from a long day and forgot to remove my makeup. The next morning I woke up with eyeliner and glitter all over my face, but my concealer stayed intact with minimal creasing. After a near 24-hour-day, it held up incredibly.
I mostly use concealer in tandem with my contour routine. But I wanted to try the the new Fenty concealer on a day I wasn’t wearing foundation or very much makeup to see if it could really succeed at blending in with my skin tone. I tried shade 290. I found the formula to be thick, but not difficult to move around your face.
I was able to pat it in under my eyes, on my forehead, and on top of a zit graveyard on my chin with relative ease. I have super dry skin and did notice that the formula had a pretty dry finish. I’m not sure if this is the concealer that would make me consider incorporating it into my routine, but it held better than most formulas I’ve found.
I tried the Fenty concealer on a minimal makeup day. I had just gotten a facial from Sting’s facialist, Joanna Czech, and I didn’t want to cover up my presumably Tantric glow. I tested it out on my most uneven areas: under my eyes and on some chin hyperpigmentation.
I give the Fenty concealer high points for color-matching. There was enough variation among the many shades that I wasn’t confused about which one would suit me. However, something about the finish is a bit off. It’s very creamy and it blends well, but it doesn’t seem to do a great job at actually concealing. It didn’t do much to brighten the shadowiness of my under-eye circles. The more I applied, the grayer they seemed to look. It covered some acne scars okay, but not as well as I would like from a presumably full-coverage concealer.
My guess is that I am too boring for this concealer since all my skin imperfections result from hormones and genetics, rather than blazing and partying. It’s better than many concealers I’ve tried, but not one I would personally incorporate into my routine.
FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNAPro Filt’r Instant Retouch Concealer
$26
at Sephora