Fenty Beauty’s Hector Espinal Tells Us How To Get That Rihanna Glow All Year Long

Bronzer, for summer? No doubt about it. But since you’re already bronzer in the hotter seasons (aka Singapore all year long), Fenty Beauty’s Hector Espinal, says the art lies in knowing where and how to bronze so you carry that sexy, healthy, sun-kissed flush throughout the year. We speak to the brand’s jet-setting Global Makeup Artist about the do’s and don’t’s of these trans-seasonal beauty must-haves, the Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers.

On misconceptions of bronzer…

When you think about bronzing, people usually think, “do I contour with this”? It is more of a tool to accentuate your skin’s natural flush—perfect for when summer fades and you think, “how do I get that skin back?” The key is to understand that bronzing is about targeting and hugging high points of the face—forehead, apples of cheeks, nose bridge and a little bit on the chin. I cannot bronze enough, honestly.

The dos and don’ts of bronzer…

The dos: Use it to build and bring out the natural glow of skin; less is more; and use a good brush that hugs the facial contours. The don’ts: Never apply in the centre of the face; it’s not meant to make you look darker—it’s not a tanning product; and do not create harsh lines.

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The creation process…

This was my baby project as soon as I walked into Fenty Beauty. The process took a long time because we were trying to master both the lighter and darker skin tones—because once you’re in the medium range it’s very easy to find a bronzer option, but not so much for the others. It was also having a proper conversation about inclusivity, which I feel we’ve done a good job of, to make sure everyone is included. So for ivory skin tones, we found that bronzers were often too orange or red to match, so we created more suitable neutral shade that balanced out the colours, but still kept an orange-y option for those who prefer a more reddish warmed up glow. For deeper skin tones, bronzing was rarely a topic of conversation. They felt no need to bronze, so it was about changing that mentality, and industry perspective overall, to tell them that this is going to give you a healthy flush. Like how when you’ve been on vacation and come back and go “why do I look so sexy”? It’s that sun-kissed, golden glow that we want to achieve constantly. But it was challenging refining each shade, and for Mocha Mami, it was at our campaign shoot that we were like, “it’s not showing up” and I had to jump on a plane in 24 hours to fix the shade, if not we were going to have to delay that for another six months. It’s all about balancing pigment, undertone and colour saturation. We never want someone to apply bronzer and feel like its too much, too little, or too muddy—we wanted to create a bronzer that was like a sun kiss in a little compact.

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Best ways to pick a bronzer…

We’ve already done the job for our Fenty fam—we got you, sis. See the families of foundation are divided into light, medium, tan and deep. So what we did was create two bronzers per family. Universal shades for each skin tone as a starting point, so it’s easier for you to navigate.

Fenty Beauty and the concept of inclusivity…

I worked in Sephora for eight years, and I never noticed we were missing that market. It took a global artist like Rihanna to come into the industry and shake things up to bring that level of awareness we all needed—and it’s been amazing. Now, travelling the world and meeting different women who find their shade no matter where we are is so rewarding. It should be an ongoing conversation for everyone, and I’m glad I am part of the pioneers for it. We continue that conversation with our people, the Fenty fam, for all our launches. Like bronzers, if we feel one skin tone can’t wear a shade, we don’t go ahead with it. Everything needs to be diverse for us.

Must buys for a major glow up no matter the season…

Our Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers, Body Lava and Gloss Bomb for the perfect glow.

Beauty guilty pleasures…

Definitely over-bronzing. Some days I wake up and I go, I just want a strong cheek, and some days I warm up the entire perimeter of my face. I love bronzer, I cannot get enough of it.

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