In case you missed it, a whopping 10 new shades of Rihanna's beloved Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipsticks are entering the world today at Sephora and Fenty Beauty. Because Fenty Beauty is touted as one of the most inclusive beauty brands in the world right now, we thought we'd put every single one of these new shades to the test on both a light and a deep skin tone.
See two Revelist beauty staffers try on every single new Mattemoiselle shade, with the exception of the shade I Quit, and get completely different results than what they bargained for.
Nicola was worried right off the bat about Ballerina Blackout, and she was right to be.
"Such a light and bright bubblegum pink shade was not one that I anticipated looking good on very pale skin with pink undertones," she said. "I felt just a little bit washed out — this shade is definitely best suited for medium and deep skin tones."
Blake, on the other hand, also had a few doubts, but surprisingly fell in love.
"I'm usually not into super girlie pinks, but I saw the potential in Ballerina Blackout," she said. "I located the perfect brown liner for this color, and now I can't get enough of wearing them together."
Nicola noted (and adored) the huge similarities between Thicc and her other favorite Fenty Mattemoiselle shade, Spanked.
"Thicc is like if you took Spanked and removed all the pink from it," she said. "Like Spanked, it's probably one of the most flattering 'nude' shades I've ever worn, and that's coming from a strict bright-red kinda of girl."
For Blake, though, Thicc was a little too nude.
"Thicc is a great color, but definitely needed some dimension on my skin," she said. "It was too close to my skin tone for no added color." She advises wearing a slightly darker lip liner with Thicc if you're medium- to deep-toned.
Pumpkin Rose was not love at first sight for Nicola, but she thinks she can learn to love it.
"A muted orange like this is such a hard find in the makeup industry — props to Rihanna for always striving to make products that are truly unique," she said. "But I think I'll be more accustomed to wearing this hard-to-match shade after playing around with it a little more."
Blake felt the same way about Pumpkin Rose as Nicola felt about Ballerina Blackout.
"This color wasn't quite for me. The yellow undertones of my skin mixed with the yellow undertones of this orange hue didn't quite give me the 'oomph' I was looking for."
Tiger Tini might have proved Nicola's favorite of the entire collection.
"Holy hell. I have worn a lot of bright lipsticks in my day, but none have popped onscreen as much as this one — like it's hard to look at, it's so bright." she said. "I have a lot of true orange, burnt orange, and coral lipsticks, but none of them look quite like this."
Tiger Tini had Blake feeling pretty dang good, too.
"I don't look quite like Rihanna in it, but I get why she loves it," she said. "The color is so striking. The second I put it on, I felt like I belonged in Tahiti, not New York."
Dragon Mami was also a winner for Nicola, but she could barely discern it from Tiger Tini on her light skin tone.
"When looking back at these photos, I could barely tell which of these shades was Tiger Tini and which was Dragon Mami," she said. "But I did really love Tiger Tini, so that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Dragon Mami definitely showed its true pink color on Blake, who felt the lipstick is not for the faint of heart.
"Do not, I repeat, do not wear this color without a solid face beat. I did, and I feel like I didn't do it justice. A color this popping is the perfect finish to a dramatic makeup look."
Flamingo Acid was also a front-runner in the contest to be Nicola's favorite shade.
"I have worn through so many deep berry shades just like this in liquid formulas, and now I'm twice as stoked that I can have one just like it in the Mattemoiselle formula, which is one of the most comfortable ones I've ever tried."
Blake was feeling equally stoked about Flamingo Acid.
"I LOVE THIS COLOR," she said. "It's one of the only colors in the collection that I felt didn't need any lip liner. If you've been searching for the perfect berry, look no further."
Violet Fury on a light skin tone is certainly not for self-proclaimed wallflowers, Nicola noted.
"Violet Fury really sticks out on light skin — if that's your thing, you're going to love this rare, true purple. But if you'd rather play it casual, keep looking. But also, Violet Fury would make a really good band name."
Blake couldn't help but notice that Violet Fury's formula is just slightly different from the rest of the pack.
"Purple isn't my thing, but if it's yours, then you're guaranteed to fall in love. Hydrate your lips well underneath this one; it's thick."
Turks & Caicos had Nicola feeling a little daring.
"This is definitely one of those shades that looks good on everyone but requires patience and confidence in spades — therefore, it often goes untouched at the makeup counter. But looking at how flattering this deep teal is when I'm wearing very little makeup has me feeling I ought to give stuff like this a go more often."
Blake loved how smoothly Turks & Caicos applied, but couldn't quite shake the Rihanna Effect.
"This is yet another color that I know looks 100% better on Rih than it does on me, and I'm OK with that. But if you like vibrant blues, then this is a great option," she said. "Plus, it goes on so, so smooth."
Nicola, a frequent black liquid lipstick wearer, was stunned by F'In Black's powerful color payoff and true black hue.
"Black lipstick is usually just a purple or a blue that was oversaturated to the point that it became black — and most of the time you can spot that undertone in black lipsticks. Not this one. Fenty describes it as a navy black, but on my pale skin that has yet to be seen."
Even Blake, who's never worn black lipstick ever, took a shine to F'In Black.
"How is is that Fenty has perfected the black lip so flawlessly? This was the first time I had EVER tried black lipstick, and now I'm sold."
