What inspired Rihanna to make Fenty Beauty? Singer credited her mother for igniting her passion for makeup

Rihanna is a 9-time Grammy Award winner singer, actress, and a beauty mogul. The Umbrella singer launched her beauty line, Fenty Beauty, in September 2017. In an interview with Time in 2017, the Diamonds singer revealed her inspiration and noted that her "lifelong obsession with makeup" started when she would see her mother putting makeup on. She told InStyle magazine, that her mother,

"worked behind a cosmetics counter at a department store in Barbados, and she did makeup for weddings."

During the launch, Rihanna spoke to Grazia and revealed that she is "inspired by women all the time" and wants to make everyone feel "included." RiRi (Rihanna's nickname) wrote for the founder's note on the website,

"Fenty Beauty by Rihanna was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races."

RiRi Celebrates New Product Launch For Her Fenty Beauty Brand In Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

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What was Rihanna's inspiration to launch Fenty Beauty?

The launch of Fenty Beauty highlighted the need for inclusivity in the beauty market and launched 50 different shades of foundation. RiRi was inspired by her mother at an early age and "loved to watch her" put on makeup. The Where Have You Been singer told InStyle magazine in 2020 that her mother was "not flexible" in letting her put on makeup unless it was for a wedding.

RiRi credited her mother for instilling the love for makeup at an early age and noted that she "knew everything about perfume, skincare, and makeup."

She added,

“She never let me wear makeup, but I was secretly fascinated. So, when she’d leave home, I would play around with hers.”

When she was 15 or 16, RiRi enrolled in a beauty pageant, before she was signed as a singer. She recalled that her mother had done her makeup, and since then, she could never look at her skin "without foundation" on it.

Rihanna told InStyle that she always had an idea of what she wanted to do and that beauty was a "natural fit", since it has been a huge part of her "career and image." She added,

"I wanted to do a line for years, but it needed to be credible, something that industry pros and girls around the world would respect."

According to Rihanna's message on Fenty Beauty's website, makeup should never feel like a "pressure" or a "uniform", but rather something that you can have "fun" or "play" with. According to Sandy Saputo, chief marketing officer at Kendo Brands that includes Fenty Beauty, the team saw headlines that coined the term 'Fenty effect.' She said that it was a call to action for all beauty industries to challenge the status quo of beauty, per Think with Google.

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Fenty Beauty has expanded globally and has partnered with major retailers like, Sephora and Boots. The cosmetic launched the skincare line, Fenty Skin in 2020 and the perfume brand, Fenty fragrance a year later. Rihanna has collaborated with Savage for a lingerie line and more recently launched Fenty Hair.

The singer and actress drew inspiration from her mother's love for makeup and has been able to establish an estimated $2.8 Billion company, per Forbes. RiRi wants that her products make a person feel loved and says, they should experience "fun" when they use them.