Foundation For Dummies And Anyone Who Wants A Really Natural Match

If you aren’t confident about being able to apply foundation for a light, natural finish that really matches your own skin tones, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Match Stix could be the answer

I am the most unmakeuppy person in this office – my beauty bag as of last week consisted, in its entirety, of: a battered Yves St Laurent Faux Cils Mascara (Christmas Stocking ’16), a Diorskin Forever Perfect compact foundation (chosen because I’m fairly confident that you can dab it on at traffic lights without reading glasses and not look section-able), a darkish Tom Ford brow sculptor, a Nars black kohl eye-liner pencil and some too-pink Chanel blush that has come unmoored from its case. That’s it.

That confession serves only as background for just how amazing it is that any new line of beauty products could actually galvanise me to climb out of my sad rut into the harsh light of Dundrum day to flex my plastic. Even more amazing is that it’s the wonderchild of Rihanna, whom I have nothing against per se –it’s just I usually run a mile from pop star diversifications; it took me over a decade to take VB seriously (my loss).

Anyway I’m now in love with the wonder that is Fenty Beauty foundation. I’m not gonna lie, it was the packaging not the products themselves that caught my attention first. Complimentary foundation tones (Match Stix) come in magnetised hexagonal containers that you can combine to create light coverage for even the most difficult skin tones. Nothing has clicked together so satisfyingly since the heady first days of Tetris. You could play with them them all day long.

It’s almost impossible for me to find a good- and by that I mean completely natural looking- over-the-counter foundation in Ireland because I’m only 30% Celtic. The other ethnic bits mean that over the course of the year, or a day, with any exposure to sun whatsoever (despite diligent application of SPF50), my complexion can quickly head right off the Irish charts.

Apparently it takes someone with Rihanna’s colouring to understand how vast one person’s personal colour spectrum can be. She’s answering a call that might not appear to be everyone’s problem at first but actually is. No matter what your genetic background, skin tones are constantly fluctuating and foundation should be adjusted accordingly (just think how pale you go when you’re feeling piquey this time of year compared to peak seaside in July or even last week when you were healthy).

Irish women frequently forget that foundation isn’t supposed to be painted on as a substitute for the colour you wish you were, it’s supposed to even out the colour you are naturally. That sounds basic, but I can’t tell you the number of times people from abroad have asked me what the deal is with Irish women and their bad foundation, especially men who usually wouldn’t know a mascara from a lipstick if one hit them in the face.

Anyway, once you establish your palette, the Fenty system allows you to collect colours within a family so you can build up or down for a really natural look that suits whatever your skin is like at any given moment and can conceal a multitude. The texture is creamy but lighter than air and Rihanna’s brushes are as tactile as can be. So much so, I’d be quite happy to skip the makeup part altogether sometimes and just run them over my face.

In Ireland, Fenty Beauty is available exclusively at Harvey Nichols, Dundrum. Single Matte Match Skinstick, £21