I Tried Fenty’s New Skin Tint & Here Are My Unfiltered Thoughts

Since the launch of Fenty Beauty in 2017, founder Rihanna has always had Black women in mind, setting the modern standard for shade ranges with the brand's original foundation, which now boasts 50 swatches. What followed was a selection of eyeshadows and highlighters (to name a few of the brand's makeup products) as well as a simple yet effective skincare range which took the beauty industry by storm.

Up until now, Fenty Beauty only offered full-coverage foundation in matte and hydrating formulas. But with so many of us opting for lighter coverage while working from home – not to mention summer just around the corner – the brand's latest drop couldn't be better timed.

Fenty Beauty's newest launch, Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint, is its first lightweight tint. It's available in 25 shades which correspond to the existing foundations, making it easy to shade-match yourself online or in store. At $39, it's a mid-range product and is available at Sephora and Fenty Beauty.com. The tint offers light-to-medium coverage that can be built up in layers and quickly applied with your fingers, a brush or a sponge depending on your personal preference. The formula is long-wearing so you shouldn't have to touch up throughout the day.

I'll be honest: I jumped at the chance to try Fenty's OG foundation but I found the formula much too cakey and dry for my skin type. So when I heard that the skin tint promises to be a lot lighter in feel and texture, as well as humidity-, sweat- and transfer-resistant, it set my heart on fire. I'm not alone, it seems. When the brand announced the launch last month, the response was enormous, with Black women proclaiming it the best foundation to wear over skincare and SPF.

Skin tints aren't exactly a brand-new innovation and I've tried a variety of lightweight versions, such as Glossier's Perfecting Skin Tint, $32, IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream, $52, and La Mer's Skin Tint, $125 (which has little to no shades for melanated ladies). But I was most excited to try Fenty's tint, a brand which is clearly dedicated and committed to representing Black people. The bottle is small and humble but the product shouldn't be underestimated. Once I had applied my skincare and sunscreen, I gave the bottle a shake and applied a few drops of shade 14 (I'm shade 300 in the Pro Filt'r foundation) on my skin with a makeup brush, as I'm not keen on using my fingers. I was surprised: it gave me a lot more coverage than I'd expected but somehow it still didn't look like I was wearing much. The tint evened out my complexion and blurred my scars and dark circles. It also lent my skin a beautiful, dewy glow.

Thanks to its powerhouse of skincare ingredients such as hydrating hyaluronic acid and moisturizing glycerin, the skin tint left my skin feeling smooth and soft. I was worried that the formula would dry up throughout the day but it didn't, nor did I have to reapply. It lasted all day without any top-ups and I had no issues with build-up under my eyelids like other skin tints and foundations I've used. I noticed that it didn't seem to oxidize or change colour (a downside to many base products) or make my T-zone appear greasy. I have combination skin so I'm oily in places and dry on my cheeks, but this product ticked all the boxes for me. It moisturized and hydrated my dry areas and mattified my oily T-zone, so I'd say it's a suitable product for all skin types and concerns.

Will this replace my CC cream or Glossier skin tint? Yes — I can see myself wearing this as an everyday foundation through the spring and summer months as it's featherlight, dewy and (most importantly) long-wearing yet doesn't clog pores. For the price, it's decent and it definitely does the job. My skin has been crying out for a product like this. It's the one. Cop it now.