Sean Garrette is the sole ambassador for Rihanna’s Fenty Skin brand – but there is more than his journey from being an esthetician transformed into a beauty influencer that brought Garrette to the spotlight: He’s breaking barriers for Black men in the skincare world and it’s more than about time!
Last year, the beauty industry finally got its wake-up call as consumers no longer accepted this intolerable lack of inclusivity. All of a sudden, every brand desperately tried to embrace diversity but only a few successfully managed to not just react but act on the actual demands and expectations. Especially Black Men are often forgotten within the skincare industry, but Fenty Skin is aiming to bring meaningful change in how representation works within the beauty industry. There is still an obvious gap between inclusivity when it comes to makeup in general versus skincare.
Beauty Influencers like Sean Garrette are working hard to fight these hesitations. And Rihanna is leveraging her celebrity voice to promote inclusivity while of course trying to offer products that respond to modern consumer values – we’re still in a market where demand determines supply. By announcing Sean Garrette as the official brand ambassador Rihanna’s brand remains authentic while emphasizing her transformative approach to marketing: in the first teaser for Fenty Skin ASAP Rocky and Lil Nas X were featured alongside Rihanna and it’s quite notable that men are included in a beauty ad and being featured with women, as it suggests that the products will be marketed as unisex.
By promoting her skincare brand more like an aspirational lifestyle product it feels more like buying an experience and showing a world you want to be part of which emphasizes the inclusivity approach of the brand. Garrette tones this approach down a little bit by focusing on skincare being a part of people’s health as well as mental health and not just being about beauty alone. In his philosophy, a major factor for the perfect skincare is getting the skin tone right. That is why Garrette is so passionate about educating People of Color about caring for their skin and protecting it. As he told in an interview, “There are a lot of misconceptions about how to treat dark skin tones, and I love that social media allows for a bigger platform to educate on this topic, in particular.”
