As someone blessed by melanin, I've often felt cursed by sunscreen. I know it's important to always wear it [1] . . . but the icky white cast it leaves on my skin doesn't leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Even when I think I've found "the one," I step out in the sun, or see myself in a photo, and realise I've been ghosted.
I'd actually given up on falling for a stand-alone sunscreen product for my darker skin [2], instead opting for BB creams with sun protection wrapped inside [3]. But everything changed when I heard Rihanna [4] was introducing a moisturiser sunscreen as part of her brand-new skin-care line [5]. Surely, she'd also been ghosted this way in the past, so I was cautiously optimistic she could tackle this problem as a Black woman who also happens to be a beauty founder [6].
Did I find love in this hopeless place? You bet I did. See how the Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen looks in both natural and flash photos ahead, and judge my happily ever after for yourself.
How Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Looks in Packaging
When it comes to skin care [7] and other beauty products [8], outward appearances rarely catch my eye. However, this unassembled Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen stood out from the moment I laid eyes on it.
First, none of the products in the Fenty Skin line [9] have any plastic wrapping, and this is the only item that even has any outer packaging (as that's required for SPF products). Its refillable cartridge slides right into a lavender-grey holster and clicks when it's secure. Ever since I received this, I've been toting it around with me, and its strong exterior can definitely stand up to whatever my life throws at it.
How Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Looks Going On
But BYOS — bring-your-own-sunscreen [10] — is nothing new for me. If I'm spending any amount of time in the sun, I always carry my own protection. (It just took one time of needing to borrow from a friend . . . and realising what looked perfectly normal on her made me look like I'd spit up my toothpaste and rubbed it on my face to dry.)
In order to address that dreaded ghost-like tint, this Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen is actually a light pink colour right out of the tube. Don't be concerned by what looks like a glowy sheen once it's on. That totally disappears once the nongreasy cream dries (and there's shine-fighting niacinamide to keep it away, too).
How Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Looks on Skin *Without* Flash
Just a couple minutes after applying, there was no visible difference between my hands, either to the naked eye or in this photo without flash. However, when I touched them, it was obvious which had Fenty Skin on it. The one with the moisturiser sunscreen (my watch hand) felt smoother, as if I had applied primer [11], and I immediately knew makeup could easily couple up with it. This cream also nurtures skin with hyaluronic acid and soothing aloe, and its reef-safe sun protection makes sure ocean coral is treated right [12], too.
How Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Looks on Skin *With* Flash
You'll see, despite an initial shimmer when the Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen was still wet, it's also totally gone even in flash photos (like the one here). Since I personally love to sparkle like yellow diamonds in the light [13], I may just be topping this off with some Fenty Beauty Fairy Bomb [14] to bring back that twinkle.
And now that I've finally met my match and fallen for this moisturiser sunscreen, perhaps Rihanna [15] can add matchmaker to her successful business ventures next?