Make me look like Rihanna > Having a look at the new ‘Fenty Beauty’ Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor f you're a makeup lover, you're probably aware of the recent launch of Fenty Beauty, a new high-end cosmetics line from pop super star, Rihanna. As of now, the line is fairly minimal and concentrated mostly on perfecting the base—i.e. your foundation and contouring—as opposed to eye shadows and other colour cosmetics. In a public release, Rihanna explained the reasoning for this. “These steps are key to starting your makeup, no matter the look you are going for.” One of the main selling features of this line is its inclusivity: The Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is available in a whopping 40 shades, with a spectrum that will cater to everyone from extremely fair individuals to people of colour with extremely deep-toned skin. As a longtime makeup hoarder and serial sample junkie I was eager to try out this line. That, and I had a secret hope that it might work miracles and somehow super impose Rihanna’s face onto my own. Sadly, that didn’t occur— but I can say with confidence what the hits and misses of this launch were. Starting at the very beginning, Fenty has the Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer. This is meant to go on under the foundation, and it claims that it will prevent shine and reduce the look of pores. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of this primer. Honestly, it has more of a lotion consistency, and compared with other primers I have used it doesn’t diffuse the look of pores at all. As for the claim that it reduces shine, that’s hard to tell. I have combination skin, so I only get oily in certain areas, and while those areas remained matte throughout my day, I’m not sure if that was the work of the primer or the foundation. The primer is $32, so if youre looking to save a couple of bucks I would say take a hard pass on this and try something else in the line. As I said before the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation comes in 40 shades, so colour-matching was pretty quick and painless. This foundation is a bit of a buyer beware—when they say matte, they mean MATTE! The foundation will literally dry down to an almost chalky finish. This makes it perfect for people who have oily skin, but not so great for people with dry skin. It also tends to settle into any fine lines and will crease around the eyes. Unfortunately, because it is so matte, using setting powder is an impossibility if you want to avoid cake- face. At $42 it is a bit expensive, but if you have a hard time colour-matching your skin, this might be a saving grace for you, and it does wear a long time before you have to touch up or reapply. Photo via thedailyflawless.com My favourite product of the line are the Match Stix, especially the Match Stix Trio, which comes with a cream highlight, contour, and blush. I am very pale, and I wear heavy eye makeup—because of this, I tend to go very minimal when it comes to my contour and blush, and these are perfect for that. I had no trouble blending them and they looked super natural, which I appreciate. In singles the Match Stix are $31, or you can get the trio for $67. Many people agree that the Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters are the prize of this line. As someone who likens herself more to Morticia and less to J.Lo, only two of the available highlighters were fitting to my aesthetic (not to mention my skin tone): The single pan Metal Moon, which is a stark silver, and the duo Mean Money/ Hustla Baby, which is more natural. Both were beautiful and blended perfectly. If your'e looking fora single item from Fenty to try out, definitely make it this one. Both the single pans and the duos are available for $42, expensive... but super worth it! There are a couple of items that I tried in store, but I didn’t buy. The Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer was pretty, but it’s not anything special. It is really similar to both the Smashbox and Buxom glosses, and the product is only 9 mL for $18. Similarly, the Invisimatte Blotting Powder works, but it’s no different than Urban Decay’s De-Slick Mattifying Powder. Both are $32, but the Urban Decay is 1g to Fenty’s 8.5g. All in all, there are some definite hits to be found in Fenty Beauty, but there are also some overall misses. EN -W-lOM(o(-t- Mich mB cela ee M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca (¥ RPG hook: Going goblin (¥ Ethical non-monogamy is complicating Tinder (Y The iPhone X: Nothing New And more! SO you want to play ‘Magic: the Gathering ? > A guide to participating in store events for new and old players Lauren Kelly Contributor laying Magic: the Gathering (MtG) is incredibly rewarding, whether you do it casually with a group of friends, at stores to win prizes and be a part of the community, or competitively. In this article, I’m going to focus on playing at your local game store (LGS), and the kinds of events you can take part in. One of the easiest competitive formats of the game for players to access is called Standard. Magic cards are released in groups of thematically- tied sets called blocks, and Standard only allows players to use cards from the last few released blocks. This makes the power level of people’s decks limited, and prices to compete more reasonable. Right now is the perfect time to get into Standard, because with the launch of the new Ixalan set, the blocks Battle for Zendikar and Shadows over Innistrad will be leaving the format. This makes for a fresh format, with people creating new decks and leaving behind ones that relied on the four that are rotating out. Ixalan is also enticing in its own right. While the previous Standard block—Kaladesh—focused on artifacts, vehicles, and inventions, and the most recent block—Amonkhet—was Egyptian-themed, Ixalan features dinosaurs, pirates, and merfolk, among other tribes. This set is promising to be pretty out-there, with cards that have both a fun style and high power. It also means you can make dinosaurs drive trains and run your opponents over. Pretty cool. So how do you go about getting out and playing the game? If you're interested in the new set, a week before each set releases there is a weekend- long event called Prerelease. In this case, Prerelease is running on the weekend of September 23-24. This event also features the Two-Headed Giant game variant, which involves two people entering as a team and playing cooperatively against other teams. If you have a friend who’s more experienced in the game, this is an easy and fun way to learn from them. To take part, players pay a $35-40 entry fee and receive a sealed Prerelease pack with 6 booster packs of 15 cards each, as well as a special Prerelease promo card, which is always a foil rare or mythic rare. It also comes with a life counter die that is unique to the set. For this tournament, you use only the cards you receive to build a deck to compete with. This puts all competitors at roughly equal odds, which makes it a good way to try out the game without needing to invest in a constructed deck. However, make sure to prepare a bit before entering. Familiarize yourself with the rules and new set mechanics, and do some research into the new cards themselves so you know which ones are going to be strong, because it can be deceptive. If you do struggle at all, most people you will play in this format are patient, and will be willing to help you out. If you enjoy Prerelease, the next step is trying out the weekly Standard Showdown. This is a Standard format, of course, which means you have to bring your own pre-constructed decks. For a guide on how to make a serviceable deck, look online and observe others’ deck lists. Going this route will mean you will have to buy individual cards—don't rely on boosters to build with, as these are a huge gamble. Some LGSs require a small entrance fee of five dollars, but that money goes towards the prize pool. Many other stores run them for free. Each store has six Standard Showdown packs to give out at each event, and most stores have different rules for who receives them. These packs contain two regular rares, a full art land, a foil non-rare, and a foil rare, giving these packs high value. However, many LGSs only have a group of about 8-12 players for Standard Showdown, so you don't have to worry too much about placing low and not getting a pack. These events are often held on Saturdays, but check out the tournament schedules of the store you wish to go to on Google Maps ahead of time. When you first start attending events at an LGS you may feel uncomfortable at first. However, as you attend more events, you will get to know the players there better, and possibly make friends. It’s important to give things a chance, so if MtG is something you'd like to try playing, these events are the way to go. You may just find yourself a new hobby.