Rihanna’s ‘Queen of Shandong’ moment: Fenty Beauty’s savvy China play

The billionaire beauty mogul embraces Chinese culture and digital trends to promote her brand’s expansion in the market.

Pop icon and business mogul Rihanna made a viral splash in China this week with a series of events to promote her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty’s expansion in the market.

The singer yesterday hosted a unique livestream on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, appearing not only on Fenty Beauty’s official channel, but also on the channels of two popular beauty influencers, QierLeo (琦儿Leo) and Shenyexulaoshi (深夜徐老师).

During the livestream, which reportedly drew 70,000 viewers to Fenty Beauty’s session and the influencers’ channels combined, Rihanna helped the KOLs apply makeup using Fenty products such as the Gloss Bomb Lipstick, Diamond Bomb Veil, and Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint. The sales figures from the event have not been disclosed.