Fenty Beauty gloss bomb cream review: How does it compare to the brand’s original gloss formula?

The latest launch from Rihanna’s beauty brand promises a creamy, shimmer-free, pigmented gloss

The new launch features five new shades (iStock/The Independent )

While Rihanna has gifted us her music, fashion, philanthropy work and lingerie designs, it’s also her make-up line, Fenty Beauty, that we can’t get enough of.

The brand caused a stir in the beauty world when it launched in 2017 with a 40-strong foundation shade range, putting other big beauty companies to shame by highlighting their lack of inclusivity. 

Its make-up line has since expanded exponentially into lip products, cream and powder bronzers, blush and highlighter, brushes, eyeshadow palettes, concealers, foundations, face powder, mascara and eyebrow products.

In 2020, Rihanna launched her own skincare too, revealing a cleanser, toner serum, two moisturisers and an SPF under the umbrella brand, Fenty Skin.

One of the most popular items from the Fenty Beauty collection is the gloss bomb universal lip luminizer, a rose nude tinted lip gloss that delivers a plumping, non-sticky glow that lasts for hours. It initially launched in one shade called fenty glow, but you can now find it in seven varieties, ranging from a clear gloss to a rich brown shade.

If you’re already a fan of it, you’ll be excited to hear about the brand’s latest lip gloss launch, named gloss bomb cream, which it released last week. Richly pigmented but shimmer-free (unlike the original formula), it claims to be a creamy, comfy formula that will give you fuller-looking lips.

We’ve put the five shades, ranging from a nude pink to a deep brown, to the test to see how it compares to the OG lipgloss, rating it on colour payoff, how long they last and how comfortable they are.

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Fenty Beauty gloss bomb universal lip luminizer: £17, Boots

(Fenty Beauty )

Whether you’re a long-time lipgloss lover or are a die-hard matte lipstick fan, this is a must-have for your make-up bag.

With a slight peach vanilla scent, its defining feature is the wide doe-foot applicator that swipes on an even coating of gloss in an instant.

Creamy but not thick, and far from sticky, it delivers a shimmering wash of texture with a slight tint that’s so sheer you can easily apply on the go without a mirror.

It lasts all day too, still keeping its high shine impact while helping your lips to stay plump and glossy.

One of our favourite ways to wear it is over lipstick, to add a bit of dimension or to stop a matte formula falling flat. Pair it with a nude for a coordinating lip look or apply over a brighter shade such as red or pink, and it won’t alter the colour much, but will stop that dryness that matte lipsticks can often bring.

Costing £17, its larger lipgloss than many on the market and it often feels like you’ll never run out. Banishing all former ideas you had about sticky lipglosses with sickly sweet scents, this product really set the standard for what all lip glosses should be when it launched.

It topped our review of the best lip gloss for 2020 too, with the tester describing it as "a thick yet non-sticky formula that feels deeply nourishing on your lips.”

“It lasts much longer than any of its competitors, and even plumps lips much more than products marketed as lip plumpers,” they added.

Since its success, the brand has also launched six more shades, from clear to a pale pink, fuchsia pink, coral and chocolate brown if you did want to add a sheer wash of colour.

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Fenty Beauty gloss bomb cream: £17, Boots

(Fenty Beauty)

Rihanna’s beauty brand’s latest launch is a five shade line-up of pigmented glosses. The packaging is nearly exactly the same as the original, with a 9ml glass-like tube, gold lid and an embossed “FB” on the top. 

On first impressions, it’s a more neutral palette than we’re used to seeing from other Fenty Beauty lip products, which are usually high impact and deliver bold colour well. Its red and fuchsia pink matte liquid lipsticks are well loved, and for good reason. 

The lightest shade is honey waffles, a caramel brown, while others include “mauve wives”, a purple-tinted rose, fenty glow, a universal nude, “fruit snackz” a berry red and cookie jar, a chocolate caramel brown. 

We were pleased to find the same doe-foot applicator that comes with the original lipgloss that makes application precise and easy, delivering an even layer of product every time.

The formula is slightly thicker than the original lipgloss, due to the pigment, but we were very impressed with how rich the colour payoff was, staying true to the shade in the tube and product photos. They all have a high-shine, glass-like finish that doesn’t diminish over time and still held up well after sipping on a mug of tea.  

Thankfully there’s no stickiness at all to report, nor did it ever smudge beyond our lip line. They all remove easily too, we tried using micellar water with a reusable cotton pad and in one swipe our lips were bare. Shades like “fruit snackz” and cookie jar, which have more pigment to deliver an intense, even colour, can often stain lips for days, but we had no issues with this.

It doesn’t feel messy like lip glosses of the early 2000s, instead, it is nourishing and hydrating, even on dry lips. Although for the best results we would recommend using a light layer of lip balm first. 

We were most impressed with “fruit snackz”, a rich red that is often done wrong by other brands and can look patchy. Fenty Beauty has, however, mastered a berry colour that anyone can pull off, that’s bold and as long-lasting as you would expect from the brand.

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The verdict: Fenty Beauty universal lip luminizer vs gloss bomb cream 

Since its launch, the universal lip luminizer has dominated the lip gloss market, thanks to its the smart applicator and long-lasting shine without the stickiness, so if you’re already a fan, you’ll love the new gloss bomb cream formula.

The latest product toes the line brilliantly between a richly pigmented lipstick and a gloss, maintaining the high shine of a glossy product without ending up claggy or uncomfortable. 

If you like to add dimension to your lipstick by adding a gloss on top, this does the job, while also looking great on its own. While we have no complaints about the formula, we’d be keen to see more shades launched too, perhaps a dark plum or a hot pink. 

For more head-to-head make-up reviews, we put Huda Beauty versus Vieve eyeshadow palettes to the test here