The Fenty Effect can’t stop, won’t stop; and thankfully, it now doesn’t cost $34 to find your perfect foundation match, as less than a year after Fenty Beauty’s groundbreaking 40-shade launch, it now feels almost requisite for other cosmetics brands to get into the act.
Doesn’t inclusion feel—and look—good, y’all?
Who got next? Affordable favorite NYX Professional Makeup, which is determined to outdo everyone else in the game with the launch of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation, a new formulation available in an impressive 45 shades that promises-24 hour staying power.
Admittedly, 45 is far from our favorite number these days, but when we heard the brand had teamed up with one of our favorite YouTube beauty vloggers, Alissa Ashley, to develop their newest offering, we were intrigued. After all, Ashley is currently one of the most popular—and down-to-earth—beauty influencers in the game, known for her dazzling smile and flawless, honey-colored skin.
So would Ashley be able to help the brand develop shades on the deeper end of the spectrum? From the looks of the range—which appears to include 9-11 shades on the decidedly deep end (same number as the fairest shades)—the answer is yes. As Ashley told Allure.com:
The main thing I did was help develop shades. We noticed that a lot of in-between shades were missing. Nyx already has an amazing shade range to begin with, but even though it was good, it could still be improved by adding some middle or in-between shades. For example, I’m someone who has to constantly mix different shades to match my skin tone. When developing this new range, we found that if we mixed two together or tweaked it by adding a slight undertone, we could get those in-between shades.
The result is a shade range with hopefully even more nuance than other launches, each shade identifiable by both a number and name. As Allure explains, “nearly half the shades have decimals, indicating subtle variations in undertones. Alissa Ashley herself uses shade 15.9 Warm Honey, a medium tan with caramel undertones.”
Touting itself as full-coverage, long-lasting, waterproof, highly pigmented, mattifying, and noncomedogenic, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is also purportedly lightweight, as Ashley told Allure:
With most full-coverage foundations, sometimes I feel like there’s not a lot of wiggle room. They only give you the option of really full coverage, but with this, you can layer it for either a natural or glam look. ... With Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, I find that if I put a thin layer on, I’m still able to get a really flawless look. If I put on a second layer, I’m able to get even more, full coverage with up to 24 hours of wear as an added bonus.
Of course, Ashley’s collaboration comes hot on the heels of another big YouTube-influenced foundation launch: friend and fellow beauty vlogger Jackie Aina’s collaboration with Too Faced hit shelves in late June, expanding their line of Born This Way foundations to 35 shades.
But while Aina’s collaboration will cost you $39 per bottle, Nyx (now owned by L’Oreal), which built its brand on “department store beauty at drugstore prices,” will be pricing Can’t Stop Won’t Stop at $15 when it launches on August 16 (alongside an equally-priced Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Matte Primer).
Interested in seeing if Nyx and Ashley found your perfect match? The line will be available both in Nyx stores and on their website, and, as always, at Ulta Beauty.