When Rihanna announced that Fenty Beauty would release an inclusive collection of Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzer ($30, Sephora), fans could not wait! So many makeup lovers with deeper skin tones had been avoiding bronzer simply because few brands even make one that goes deep enough for their complexions. So as usual, Rihanna came to the rescue with new bronzers meant to have everyone from the fairest to the deepest looking beautiful and sun-kissed.
Now that the bronzers have hit stores, fans are trying out the products to see what those pigments actually do on deep skin tones. Beauty influencer Nyma Tang tried the darkest shade, and unfortunately her experience with the bronzer was a bit of a letdown.
Fenty Beauty announced a new bronzer release in March, and the internet immediately freaked out.
"A post-vacay bronze all year round! The NEW #SUNSTALKRBRONZER gives instant warmth that brings out the right undertones for a sun-soaked glow! This creamy, powder bronzer comes in 8 shades," the brand described in an Instagram announcement.
Fenty Beauty fans were SHOOK, to put it mildly. Bronzer is a beauty product that many brands fail at making inclusive. Some brands do not offer darker shades at all. Others provide one or two that seem to only work for deeper medium skin tones.
Fenty Beauty seemed very intentional about creating bronzers that serve all skin complexions.
"Bronzer isn’t one shade fits all! It took @badgalriri over two years to develop the perfect bronzer that brings out the right pigments for a natural warmth and glow on all skin tones," the brand wrote on Instagram. The eight bronzers released were specifically meant to "add instant warmth for the fairest to the deepest." Fenty Beauty fans could not wait to get their hands on such magic!
Unfortunately, Nyma Tang didn't have the best fit with the darkest shade of the Fenty Beauty bronzer.
Tang rose to beauty YouTube fame with her Darkest Shade series. She is known for trying the deepest shade in any lineup of makeup products and giving the real tea about just how "inclusive" the range truly is. She has become one of the go-to beauty YouTubers for anyone with a very deep complexion who wants a review that they can actually reference. Of course, Tang had to try the new inclusive shades from the Fenty Beauty bronzer lineup.
She bought the two darkest bronzer shades in the new Fenty Beauty collection.
She purchased the shades Cocoa Naughty (deep shade with neutral undertones) and Cocoa Mami (very deep shade with warm red undertones).
“I always pick up the last two of everything just because I just never know," she explained. "I always want to cover my bases. I would definitely not use Cocoa Naughty as a bronzer, so we’re not even going to go down that route.” Since Tang determined that the Cocoa Naughty shade is too light for her complexion, she slid it to the side.
Tang decided to give the Mocha Mami bronzer a shot.
At first sight, she loved the packaging but suspected that the bronzer might not do any, well, bronzing for her. "Packaging is fire. I love the gold," Tang described. "[The product] looks very red. It kind of reminds me of a blush." Tang decided that she would try to build up the bronzer as much as she could to get the desired bronzing effect.
Tang also clarified what bronzer is actually supposed to do for the face as opposed to contour, blush, and highlighting products...
“What I consider a bronzer is the sun hits certain parts of your face," she explained. "It hits certain high points of your face, so that’s why [it] usually [looks] a little more tanned around the perimeter.” For more clarity, people normally apply bronzer to around the outer perimeter of the face and along the cheekbones. The purpose of it is to give your face a sun-kissed look that appears natural. It's basically the post-vacay look you can achieve all year-round, as Fenty Beauty advertised.
Unfortunately, she didn't get that warmed-up effect at all when she applied the Mocha Mami shade.
The Fenty Beauty bronzer nearly disappeared on her face. “Right now, I don’t even know if it’s showing up as a blush,” she shared. Tang also tried to apply the product around the outer parts of her face. She noticed that instead of adding dimension, the Mocha Mami shade did the complete opposite.
“We’re losing it. We’re losing the dimension," she said, as she blended the product into her forehead. "It’s kind of making my forehead look really one-dimensional.”
"I would go darker with the bronzer," Tang advised Fenty Beauty.
"Early 400s maybe could use this bronzer, but then the latter side of the 400s, I feel like it’s not going to give you the same effect that it’s given the people in the 300s or the 200s or the 100s," Tang shared. "What it looks like on someone like Rihanna's or Alissa [Ashley's] or Jackie [Aina]’s skin tone, it did do the bronzing situation that I expect. I would go darker with the bronzer… I feel like I’m not getting the same results that I see on someone with the lighter skin tones.
Tang even pointed out that the dark-skinned model featured on the Fenty Beauty website also looks like she is wearing a blush instead of a bronzer.
The proof is in the profile shot. There does appear to be a reddish tint to the model's cheek that reads as blush. If the Mocha Mami bronzer is applied elsewhere, then I'm not noting it. Yes for this face she's serving though!
Nyma Tang isn't alone in her belief that the Fenty Beauty bronzer lineup could use more shades.
Beauty YouTuber Too Much Mouth also wished for another shade. She did love how warm the Mocha Mami bronzer looked, although its intensity requires light, careful blending. "As for the shade, I feel like I'm somewhere in between the second to last shade [Cocoa Naughty]," she explained. "I'm somewhere right in between there. The second to last shade [Cocoa Naughty], I just feel is too light for me. This shade Mocha Mami… I have to use a light hand because she can get crazy real quick."
Fingers crossed for Rihanna and Fenty Beauty to expand the bronzer shade range!
It's still an amazing thing that Fenty Beauty created deeper bronzer shades for its first release. Fenty Beauty has also made inclusivity part of its brand story since its inception, so this need to expand its shade range doesn't register as purposeful exclusion. If anything, it's an opportunity for expansion, which I'm sure the brand will be making happen at some point in the future. May we all enjoy a sun-kissed look for the rest of the year!
Watch Nyma Tang's full Fenty Beauty try-on here.
