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We tried Fenty Beauty's new 'tinsel $how' Christmas 2019 make-up collection – here's what we thought

The limited edition launch features both cult-favourite products and new shades, all in miniature form

Ellie Fry
Wednesday 09 October 2019 14:12 BST
The collection is available from 11 October in Boots and Harvey Nichols
The collection is available from 11 October in Boots and Harvey Nichols

It’s that time of year again where Christmas beauty launches are coming at us thick and fast, and one of the most anticipated reveals has been Rihanna’s make-up line, Fenty Beauty.

But the wait is over as the brand has unveiled its 2019 festive collection named “tinsel $how”, which will be available from 11 October in Harvey Nichols and Boots.

The limited edition collection is a combination of old and new. Cult-favourite products from the brand appear in miniature form, such as the lip gloss shade “fu$$y” and the liquid body highlighter “who needs clothes?”, alongside four new shades of the "gloss bomb" lip gloss formula, a new liquid lipstick and a highlighter.

We got our hands on some of the products from the new collection to help you decide if any of them should make your Christmas list this year.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

The new lip gloss shades have the same winning formula as the originals (Fenty Beauty)

The “glosse posse” lip gloss set features five minis that come in a cute tin which isn’t too festive, so you can use it after Christmas. Aside from “fu$$y”, a dusty pink shade that is already a best-seller, the four new colours are varied, from the iridescent opal shade, “confetti”, to a hot fushia pink, “pretty please”.

The shades are less daunting on the lips than they seem in the bottle. We were expecting a bit more colour pay-off from the brown shade, “chocolit”, but we love the orange one named “cheeky”.

The new minis have the same great qualities as previous shades: they aren't sticky, have a subtle shimmer and feature the brand's signature peach-vanilla scent. At £33 for five 5.5ml lip glosses, the set is good value, considering one standard sized gloss is £16.

Rihanna wanted to create a lipstick 'that wouldn't budge, even as you make out' 

Next up is a mini “stunna lip paint” in a new deep burgundy shade, “underdawg”. This is our favourite packaging from the collection as you can hang it on your Christmas tree, genius.

The longwear matte lipstick would look great on all skin tones and is the perfect dramatic, dark shade for the winter months. It stays put all day too. Again, this is a decent size for a mini at 2ml and the packaging is just as luxurious as the originals.

The 'body lava' liquid highlighter is gel-based, so is moisturising on the skin (Fenty Beauty)

Arguably the best kind of product to buy in a miniature version is the new travel-sized body lava, a gel-based body highlighter that is another firm favourite from the Fenty collection, perfect for taking on holiday.

This launch features “who needs clothes”, a rich gold shimmer that looks great on everyone and it’s less yellow toned than the brand’s other “trophy wife” highlighter shade. Stock up for summer 2020 ladies.

The verdict: Fenty Beauty tinsel $how collection

All in all, we’re impressed with this launch – the packaging is sparkly enough to pay homage to the festive season without being tacky, while the minis are good value. The new shades are diverse so there’s something for everyone here, standouts are the "gloss bomb" lip gloss in the shade “cheeky” and the new "lil stunna" lip paint in the shade “underdawg”

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