A Little on Fenty Beauty

    Well, I'm writing about Fenty Beauty at last, after months of habitual procrastination. I actually got my hands on these shortly after they were launched at Sephora, so that's about half a year dawdling LOL. The craze at that time is still fresh in my mind, the crowded aisles and counters, and how the "hot items" hyped incessantly by bloggers and Youtubers alike sold out in a short time despite apparently well-stocked shelves.

    好咧～總算要來寫Fenty Beauty了。其實它上市不久我就在Sephora入手了，算下來也快半年了囧。當時真的超瘋狂，櫃位時刻擠滿了人，而且雖然我覺得Fenty並沒有要走Kylie或KKW那種動不動秒殺的飢餓行銷，備貨一直蠻充足的，但是幾個明星商品在美妝部落客跟youtubers的力推之下還是在幾天內就短暫斷貨了。

    First things first, I really like the simple yet chic hexagonal motif that runs throughtout Fenty Beauty's product packaging, and there's an embossed "FB" on the cap of each Match Stix and also on the lip gloss. The Match Stixes and their portable brushes in similar packaging are magnetic, which means they would huddle up tight by themselves when placed in close proximity. The items I got -- Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Amber, Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Confetti -- are, incidentally, bestsellers of the brand, which was no surprise given the amount of positive reviews they had from leading Youtubers. To be frank though, I wasn't terribly impressed when I tried them out at the counter, but actual usage after I brought them home tells a different story.

    我是滿喜歡Fenty簡潔俐落的六角形包裝設計的，不管是唇蜜還是修容棒的蓋子上都印有品牌縮寫FB的字樣。修容棒跟同款包裝的刷具都是磁吸式設計，幾個放在一起會吸成一團 XD  這次買的三樣：Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb唇蜜、Match Stix Matte Skinstick 修容棒（色號Amber）以及Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick（色號Confetti）大概都能算熱賣款吧，其實也是被youtube上的試色跟評價生火入手的 (*′艸`*)   但是真的要說，我靠櫃試在手上時真的還好而已，沒有特別驚豔也沒特別雷到，但是買回來用過後又是另一回事了。

    Let's start with the lip gloss, full name Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, with only one shade that Fenty claimed would suit every skintone. This was all the rage at the launch, if you had searched Fenty Beauty on Twitter then you would find everyone raving about the Gloss Bomb. I approached the Fenty counters with high expectations for this one, but was left indifferent due to the overpoweringly sweet syrupy scent and stickiness. Nevertheless, seeing them flying off the shelves like bottled water before a ration and being one of the impressionable consumer masses, naturally I followed suit with one in my cart. The packaging is, of course, the aforementioned hexagonal design, and there's a rather large slanted applicator which I quite like for its speedy yet precise application.

    先講講唇蜜！全名是Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer，只有一個色號，號稱所有膚色都適用。開賣初期這支真的超紅，推特上搜Fenty Beauty大家都在推Gloss Bomb。抱著很大期待靠櫃試在手上後卻沒有很喜歡，感覺很黏而且帶很重的糖漿味（我很不愛糖漿味，覺得像某種小時候吃的退燒藥水 囧＞）。但是因為旁邊大家都人手一支，我於是不甘寂寞（？）的也來一支（腦波超弱）  包裝是一貫的俐落六角形，打開來是蠻大的斜口刷頭，我覺得刷起來很順手，可以迅速把嘴唇塗滿塗勻。

    When I said the actual usage tells a different story, I was alluding to the excellent lip plumping and line-concealing qualities of this gloss that can hardly be construed by a swatch on the back on the hand at the Sephora counter. I have seriously dry lips, there's no other way to put it (if you have any doubts I suggest you peruse my latest Sephora haul post, scroll to the end and you'll see my lip lines in all their pruny glory LOL), but with this gloss I do not have to employ any lip mask or lip balm to get smooth plump juicy lips. And I like the colour too, with a bit of concealer on my lips it shows up a flattering salmon peach pink hue. As for that sweet scent and the stickiness that so turned me off initially, I find the scent less overwhelming and more bearable after a while if you apply but a thin layer, and it feels less sticky too as time passes, although you could still catch a few stray strands of hair on the lips if there's unwelcome wind coming your way ; )

    之所以說買回來用過又是另一回事是因為，這支唇蜜優秀的豐唇和遮唇紋效果不是試在手上能試出來的。我嘴唇其實蠻乾的（有興趣可以看上上篇Sephora敗家文文末的照片就知道可以有多乾多皺了 XDD），但是擦這支不用事先潤唇也能擦出肥美多汁（？）的唇瓣來。顏色我也滿喜歡的，在我唇上（因為唇色深有稍微上一點遮瑕）呈現的是帶點金色亮粉的鮭魚粉橘色。至於我一開始很在意的糖漿味跟黏度，後來擦了一陣子後覺得薄擦的話味道不會太濃郁可以接受，黏性其實也還好不過還是有點黏的，就是擦著不會不舒服但是如果頭髮飄過來還是會黏住一兩根那樣 XD

    I was quite intrigued by the Match Stixes (is there even a consensus plural form though?) especially with the large selection of shades available. The Matte Skinstick in Amber was touted as a grey-toned contour cream to which I was immediately drawn as I find a lot of contour shades too warm for me. I had a much harder time selecting a Shimmer Skinstick, I was briefly infatuated with the ethereal lavender-hued Unicorn, but the purple was too pronounced and it would be difficult to use even on special occasions. So ultimately I ended up with the equally ethereal but more subtle Confetti, a cream highlight in a lilac hue with iridescent sparkles.  

    打從一開始我就對火柴棒Match Stix們感興趣，因為色號選擇很多很澎湃的感覺 XD  這次修容棒我毫不猶豫選了土灰色調的Amber，因為目前手邊的修容色調對都太偏暖很突兀。選打亮棒時就一直躊躇不決，原本屬意很仙很仙的薰衣草紫Unicorn，但是它擦上去對白肌來說紫調太明顯，對我來說太囂張了就算是婚禮或宴會也很難用上。於是最後買了也很仙但比較低調的Confetti，是帶七彩亮粉的淺紫羅蘭色。

    The contour applies quite smoothly and I feel that the taupe shade works well with fair skin. The only drawback is the size I guess, the thick tube and its blunt edges make it rather clumsy for nose shading. As for the highlighter, well, "actual usage tells a different story" applies here as well. I was so enamoured with the gorgeous slightly duochrome lilac shade (you can check out my IG Story or later post for a video swatch), but honestly it does not work too well with foundation. The texture is a bit dry and requires a heavier hand when applying, which unfortunately tends to push away some of your foundation too. Using a brush doesn't help much because the dry texture makes it difficult to pick up product unless you warm it up first. So all in all not the most convenient of highlighters I'd say, though I daresay the effect is lovely.

    修容棒上起來蠻滑順的，偏灰的色調也很適合白肌，看起來比較自然。唯一不爽的是設計的太粗了，而且邊邊是鈍的，作為沒什麼山根的人用這個打鼻影很不順手。打亮嘛，也是買回來用過又是另一回事的典範。現場試色時被超美帶微微偏光的紫羅蘭色迷的不要不要的（有用手機錄了一小段手臂試色影片，晚點會放上IG），但是說真的它跟底妝不太合得來。因為它的質地偏乾，直接上在臉上需要點力道推開，結果就是上好的底妝也會被推開一部分（查評論感覺是某幾個色號比較有這個問題，其他色就還好沒有很乾）。用刷子也比較麻煩，因為除非先溫熱膏體使它軟化，不然質地乾刷子很難抓住粉體也很難上的均勻。總而言之是個有點難搞的打亮，不過不得不說上起來的效果還是蠻美的。

    I used all three of the aforementioned Fenty products in this look. Regarding Confetti, without light hitting it it comes off as a rather natural, slightly pink cast (see Pic 2 below) or is hardly perceptible on the face, such as in Pic 1 below. When the light hits it though, it gives an ethereal yet subtle lilac glow.

    這次是Fenty的修容、打亮、唇蜜全用上了。打亮的部分，光沒有直接打在上面時看起來會像下面圖二那樣透出一點粉調或甚至看不太出來（如圖一，晚點會放的試色影片也是），光線打到時就是有點仙但不會太誇張的淡紫羅蘭色。

    All in all, I feel that Fenty Beauty provides quite good products at a pricepoint that is pretty reasonable, considering it's a celebrity-endorsed brand (take, as a counter example, the Estee Lauder x Victoria Beckham). But these three that I got, they are not really must-haves, I think. The contour and the highlight give beautiful results, but they each have their own little glitches that render them less handy than I'd have liked them to be. That said, the biggest surprise came where I least expected it -- the Gloss Bomb which I thought I'd hate. If you love juicy wet plump lips and can stand cloyingly sweet artificial scent, I'd say you ought to have a go (go for the mini-sized ones that they recently released, those are just so cute : ) )

    總的來說我個人覺得Fenty Beauty的東西還不錯用啦，價錢以一個明星的品牌來說也算很合理了（看看Ester Lauder x Victoria Beckham精美的訂價）﹐但是我買的這三樣其實也沒有到非收不可的地步。修容棒跟打亮棒上臉的效果很不錯，但也都有各自的小缺點，用起來沒我預期的順手。這次比較驚豔的反而是我不太期待的唇蜜，想要水潤豐唇又能忍受超甜糖漿味的姊妹們可以試試，他們最近出了迷你版喔超可愛 XD

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    That's all this time, I guess! Ending this post with a medley of recent Instagrams as per usual. The account name is @bonjourjasmineblog, right now I'm short of time getting ready for work, but after ward rounds later I'll post a short vid of swatches from my phone (perhaps about 11-ish?). If you'd like to watch the duochrome effect of Confetti more closely, do head over to the vid : )

    這次就先這樣啦！照例以近期IG拼圖當結尾。IG帳號是 bonjourjasmineblog，現在趕著去上班沒時間，等等巡完房會把手機裡的手臂試色影片放上喔，對打亮棒的偏光有興趣的可以去看看啦（大概、可能、11點左右）！

Bises! ♥♥