Fenty Beauty Cognac Candy Body Lava Review & Swatches
Cognac Candy
Fenty Beauty Cognac Candy Body Lava Body Luminizer ($60.00 for 3.0 fl. oz.) is a light-medium, orange-copper tinted base with fine gold and copper pearl throughout. It had a finer shimmer that produced a glowing sheen when applied to bare skin–lightly dewy and shiny but pearlescent.
It produced the level of coverage anticipated based on the formula’s claims, and whether the tint is really giving a bronzed effect will depend on one’s natural skin tone–I definitely a tint to my skin but it was very subtle when applied and sheered out as a body product.
The texture was more like a liquid gel, so it spread well across my skin and remained lightly dewy with some tackiness, though how it was applied and how much was applied dictated just how tacky it felt. With this formula, I’d recommend applying less over a larger area and building up as necessary to get the effect you’re after because it can get uncomfortably tacky. It’s also not the most transfer-proof and can leave some shimmer on clothes.
I didn’t find that it shifted or migrated during the day, despite never drying down, and that included when worn on cheeks as a liquid highlighter (it didn’t shift my foundation around either).
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
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Formula Overview
$60.00/3 oz. - $20.00 Per Ounce
It's supposed to be a "gel-based body luminizer" that has a "high-shine finish that feels as dewy as it looks" (that should be a key phrase for those who want a product that dries down fully--it even goes further and says "leaves skin feeling dewy to the touch"). It had a sweet, floral scent (described as "floral vanilla" by the brand) that reads more floral than sweet and is light in its intensity--I didn't detect it much while wearing it unless I went trying to sniff it out.
The effect was often the direct result of how much or how little product was applied and so was the dewiness and how it felt post-application. The more product, the tackier it was and the more prone it was to transferring. I put two pumps all along my forearm, and I could easily press my other arm (without any sparkles!) against it and get a decent amount of sparkle on my bare arm 30 minutes post-application. If I used half a pump, the effect of the sparkles was still noticeable and had more of a glowy sheen than overtly dewy or wet-looking and felt more like recently-moisturized skin than tacky to the touch and had minimal transfer.
I wore it on my cheeks as a highlighter, and the dewy shine lasted for 10 hours well over bare skin as well as over foundation without breaking my foundation touch (surprisingly). It stood up to some water and light patting dry with a towel, though I definitely lost some of the effect! Just applied to parts of my body (like shoulders and decolletage) that weren't covered up with clothing, the majority was intact 10 to 12 hours later.
It did a lot of what it says it was going to do but if you want something that dries down fully and doesn't transfer, you'll be disappointed.
Browse all of our Fenty Beauty Body Lava Body Luminizer swatches.
Ingredients
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isododecane, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Silica, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Parfum/Fragrance, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tin Oxide, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).
Who would have predicted these could be so sheer? People who don’t read about them might rule them out as too saturated. They are quite subtle and beautiful. Stay in, stay well, everyone.
Your eye look is just beautiful today.
Thank you, Lesley!
This liquid highlighter is so much more sheerer than it looks in the swatch. A very subtle, but lovely effect.
I definitely want to try these ! I used to love wearing the shimmer lotions when I was a teenager .
Although it’s pretty, I don’t like the idea that it never really dries down.