It looks like we're FINALLY getting some updates on Bad Gal Riri's forthcoming album, after R&B legend The Dream revealed some details in an all-encompassing interview.
It's been almost three years since her last work, 2016's ANTI, and since then Rihanna has taken on world domination through fashion and cosmetics.
Savage x Fenty and Fenty Beauty have been hugely successful, and we thank her for those gems, but now we need the TUNES to match, mmkay?
Fans have been waiting a long time to hear more music from the iconic singer, and her newest record is "about done", according to The Dream. The singer has worked closely with Rihanna since 2007.
When asked about the versatile artists' newest work, he said; "She’s cooking, she’s about done. She’s about done. Super close." TAKE IT OUT OF THE OVEN.
He flat out refused to give any more details about the Disturbia hitmaker's album, but also teased that Beyoncé is "doing something" in the studio. Praise the Lawd, the Queens are returning to their thrones.
Speaking in an interview with Ebro Darden, he said: “I actually haven’t talked to her about it – I’ve talked to the team about it because it’s kind of just being coordinated. But she’s doing something."
RiRi recently joked to her fans that her internet connection was too poor to answer their questions about her album, though many are saying her ninth studio album is close to being finished.
The singer posted a video to her Instagram Stories which featured her waving a wad of cash, smiling and blowing a kiss to the camera, with the caption, '"Fans: "Where the album?" Me: sorry my connection poor."
Kuk Harrell, who worked with the star on ANTI, and co-wrote songs such as Umbrella and Only Girl (In the World), recently responded to one of the singer’s fans who asked about the album, saying;
"R9 is great. R9 is amazing. It’s incredible, And that’s all I’m going to say." Obviously it's amazing, but we need it NOW.
There have been zero announcements yet on a release date, but we'll be patient for Bad Gal RiRi.
Irish beauty entrepreneur Suzanne Jackson has revealed she is adding a FULL lipstick collection to her brand SoSu by SJ.
The make-up mogul revealed on her Instagram account yesterday that she's been working on a signature lipstick range, launching next month.
She captioned the video;
"Can you deal?! Full lipstick collection coming soon. You asked, we listened! Lipsticks, liners and glosses! Launching in Feb! More details soon! Who’s excited?"
Suzanne Jackson already has a hugely extensive beauty product collection; her false eyelash range, contour palettes, highlighter kits and eyeshadow palettes have caused a frenzy.
After creating a successful business through blogging, Jackson turned her talents to cosmetics, creating SOSU by SJ.
Despite her brand being only two years old, it's already stocked by major retailers such as Boohoo, Primary and PrettyLittleThing all over Europe.
Celebrity MUA fans of the expanding brand include Emma McVey, Lauren Pope, Chloe Lloyd, Jelena Peric, Megan McKenna and Khinda Hawari.
The recent eyeshadow palette collaboration of SOSUbySJ x Keilidh was massively popular, and we're sure the new lipstick range will generate a similar reaction.
Roll on February, we NEED those gorgeous lip colours ASAP.
We, on the other hand, roll out of bed and can only pray that we manage to look semi-decent instead of the apocalyptic zombie which was passed out in bed only moments earlier…
If I can remember to put toothpaste on my toothbrush instead of moisturiser, I think I’m winning.
These celebrity gals, however, are often expected to look #RedCarpetReady 24 hours a day, which sounds exhausting, to be honest.
We decided it was time to watch these notorious Vogue Vids to study the movements and cosmetic habits of faces such as Bad Gal Riri (she doesn’t need make-up, make-up needs her), Emily Ratajkowski, Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid to see just how relatable these ladies are.
We were inspired by the hilarious Maddison Bush, who uploaded parody version of a make-up tutorial while attempting to imitate Vogue's famous faces.
Hint: not relatable in the slightest. Not even close to it.
1. First up, Bella Hadid.
As we all know, Bella is one half of the supermodel sister duo of herself and Gigi Hadid, AKA: two of the most ridiculously stunning human beings on the planet. We actually doubt if they’re human… they look like they were made in a laboratory for beautiful people. No fair.
From the very start of these videos, it’s already hard to find anything in common with these women. They are all doing their beauty regime in unnaturally aesthetic bathrooms in luxurious hotels or mansions, whereas we’re struggling to find a mirror that isn’t covered in foundation smudge marks, or are possibly in the queue for the house bathroom for the last 35 minutes.
From the second models such as Bella face the camera, it’s difficult to choke down the fact that they aren’t wearing any make-up because they already look damn FLAWLESS.
Like, wig = snatched from the beginning. *sigh*
The videos are also alarmingly short, considering most of us take at least 15 minutes to put our faces on. The fact that famous faces only take 5 minutes to look that good is frankly both disturbing and insulting to my pale palour.
(I’ve been asked if I am anaemic countless times, I’ve just started saying yes now, it’s easier).
Bella begins by saying “models can do their own make-up too!” Good to know, Bella. Good to know. You’re very normal.
She continues by saying, “I look really tired because I’ve been travelling for two months straight.” You poor gal Bella, travelling the world in private jets and glamorous clothing must be devastating to your complexion.
Bella uses concealer, a contour stick, highlighter, brow pencil, lash primer and mascara to complete her look in five minutes.
By the end of the video, she’s essentially ready for the Victoria’s Secret carpet, minus the wings. It’s offensive. *cries in poor*
Relatability level: 2/5.
2. Kendall Jenner. Also known as ‘KANDALL JANNARRR’.
She’s already using products we can’t even dream of affording without selling our organs illegally online, so the relatability factor is null from the beginning.
She claims that she “learns a lot from being on set.” Us too, Kendall. We frequent photoshoots on the reg constantly, it’s the cross we bear.
Relatability level: 1/5. Sorry Kendall, but your bathroom alone is next level boujee.
3. Lili Reinhart.
Our third gal is Riverdale’s gorgeous Betty Cooper herself, Lili Reinhart. We have high hopes for this one, seeing as her social media presence is all about positivity and female empowerment, as well as Cole Sprouse, AKA Coal Sprouts, Jughead Jones.
Lili also begins her video by eating food on camera, it seems to be a common ‘relatability’ tactic. This time, it’s Chinese food. She has us hooked.
She also admits from the beginning that she already has foundation on, thank God. If that was her natural complexion I think I’d have had to tell her to stay in her lane.
Lili doesn’t mention the products which she uses, which we translate to mean that we probably cannot afford them…
She uses pink eyeshadow, lip gloss, a basic nude foundation and of course, concealer and highlighter. Voila, she’s ready for her close-up.
Relatability level: 3/5. She’s the winner so far, mainly due to her Chinese wontons. They just look so tasty.
4. Emily Ratajkowski.
Ah, the notorious sexy selfie queen.We have serious doubts about the relatability level of this gal, she’s got cheekbones for days and an enviable glowing tan.
Plus she could look sexy even if she went to Coppers until 6am the night before and had an absolute ‘mare when those jägerbombs came back to haunt her. The hardest look to pull off, arguably.
She comments that “I do my own make-up for red carpets a lot”. Same, tbh…
All this girl needs is Pat McGrath lipgloss, her blush which she confesses to be addicted to, and a bit of concealer. Wait… that’s it? That’s all it takes? Seriously?
We quit. We are the weakest link, goodbye.
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Relatability level: 0/5. Sorry Emily, but you took a duck-face selfie when you were done, and DIDN’T delete it or take a second take. That’s downright blasphemy in our books, we need at least 13 photos before we can find one we don’t hate.
5. Rihanna
Last, but not least, BAD GAL RIRI. An icon. A sass queen. Fenty Beauty extraordinaire, we have high hopes for this one.
From the beginning of the ten minute long gift, RiRi shows off her bubbly personality without plugging her own products at all, which is a miracle in itself.
If you haven’t tried using Fenty Beauty products, girl you are MISSING OUT. They’re flawless.
Some of Rihanna’s best quotes from this video include:
“Everyone knows concealer is made for hiding bags and dark circles, and hangovers and bad decisions.” YAS queen, she’s in the know. Riri gets the struggle.
“You’ve got to have powder for when you get greasy on the fly, honey.” Preach it.
“Pink eyeshadow says summer, sunset, love, drama, BITCHES.” We would pray to the church of Rihanna, honestly.
“The key to highlighter is not to be afraid, make-up is fun. It’s there to play with.” She hits the nail on the head, so many of us can find make-up intensely frustrating when we are expected to follow certain trends and look a certain way.
At the end of the day, beauty products should be used for our own enjoyment and empowerment, and if make-up doesn’t empower you, your natural beauty is all you need.
Riri claims that she learned how to contour when she gained weight and wanted to hide her ‘double chin’ and forehead, which was hugely surprising to us. Superstar celebrities have insecurities too, gals.
“The best teacher is yourself.” Say it louder for the people in the back, Rihanna. Everyone has their own unique look, individual face and preferred beauty regimens. You don’t have to look to famous people to understand your own complexion, all you need is you.
Riri relatability level: 4/5. Her personality is down-to-earth, her tips are one of a kind and her products are gold star standard.
We have to remind ourselves that these celebrities have picked up countless tips from the top make-up artists in the business, whereas we got free eyeshadows from magazines as 11-year-olds back when YouTube make-up tutorials didn’t exist (yes, there was a time, believe it or not) and gave ourselves pinkeye.
I lost count of how many allergic reactions I had to dodgy make-up after my 3827th eye infection from cheap “make-up”.
I wouldn’t even call it make-up honestly, I suspect that magazine eyeshadows were essentially homemade concoctions of flour and food dye.
Fast forward a few years, and YouTube beauty accounts have blown up across the internet, courtesy of teenagers who are DYING to know how to contour.
The word contour genuinely did not exist until recently in Ireland, we were simple folk back then.
There was eyeshadow (roughly 4 colours), orange foundation, mascara and lip gloss which was just Vaseline that had notions about itself.
In 2018, the cosmetic industry is bigger than ever, and is only beginning to include minorities in its world, thanks to brands such as Fenty Beauty creating more foundation shades.
It can be difficult to relate to any models in the beauty industry, no matter who they are. However you mould your own look in the mirror, imitate Rihanna and declare “I look cute!”
Always finish your look by feeling yo’self, it matters that you are feeling good, not just looking good.
Checking your bank balance can be depressing at the best of times, but realising you have zero funds for beauty essentials is the absolute pits.
Thanks to some makeup-loving tech gods, this situation is currently facing extinction as a range of new “socially activated” vending machines will soon be rolled out across the UK, finally allowing cosmetic junkies to pay for products with their selfies.
According to Grazia, SocialVend machines will reward users for answering questions or sharing Instagram posts which feature a brand’s hashtag, therefore enabling social media users to benefit in a material way from all that time spent online.
With Harry Potter makeup brushes casting a spell over social media, it seems there is huge demand for movie themed cosmetics.
And now the incredible people at Storybook Cosmetics – aka the geniuses who brought the Patronus palette to life – have set their sights on one of our all-time favourite flicks.
Last week, the brand used Instagram to showcase its ideas for a Mean Girls makeup palette and, so far, the Internet reacted with a squeal, speed tagging and pretty much every Regina George quote you can think of.
A photo posted by Mandy, Missy & Erin (@storybookcosmetics) on
Dressed in Burn Book packaging, the palette would feature cleverly named eyeshadow shades including ‘Wednesday’, ‘Army Pants’, ‘So Fetch’, ‘Mouse…Duh’, ‘You Can’t Sit With Us’, ‘ESPN or Something’, ‘Glen Coco’ and ‘Flip Flops’.
According to Refinery29 the project is still its infancy, but since Storybook Cosmetics are seeking licencing permission to create the Burn Book palette, we’re hopeful that this dream will soon become a reality.
A multi-million dollar ring of fake cosmetics was seized in the US recently.
The seizure included all of our everyday products such as lip balms, baby oil and even sanitary pads.
There has been a sharp rise in counterfeit products in recent years and many people buy their favourite make-up brands at knock-off prices online.
We all love a good bargain, but what are the risks of these counterfeit products for your skin?
Rather serious it would seem!
Allergic reactions and sore, red eyes are just some of the complaints that arise from using these products.
When you buy a products from a high-street seller, you are buying something that has been tested and adheres to standard laws. These laws do not apply to something that is counterfeit.
Therefore, we do not know what we are using.
In relation to the massive haul in the US, District Attorney Kathleen Rice had this to say: “Health and beauty products like lip balms, oils, shampoos and inhalers are highly regulated in order to protect the consumer.”
In order too avail of this protection you need to purchase your make-up from a reputable source.
Here are some ways to spot a fake make-up product:
Packaging – is it quality and well made? If not then it may be fake.
Small details – have a look at the real deal and see the small details that make up the product. These may be missing off a fake.
Names – Many counterfeits simply number their products where as many real products will have actual names rather than numbers.
Font and Colour – Have a close look at the font of the real product as well as the colour. If it is off kilter even by a fraction there is a big chance you have a fake on your hands.
The best way to avoid fake make-up products is to always buy your goods from high-street, reputable sellers and always question a suspiciously low price.
